Michael Weiss
@mweissohcgl.bsky.social
Historical Linguist, Indo-Europeanist (especially interested in Greek, Italic, Vedic, Tocharian, Old Irish, Anatolian). Cornell Linguistics
C. Hutton 2025 The People that Never Were OUP: "The proposition that the German word Hund and the English word hound are cognate or related etymologically or, to use William Jones’s words, “sprung from some common source,” is difficult to sustain on close examination."
So no cognates. Got it.
So no cognates. Got it.
February 17, 2026 at 12:35 PM
C. Hutton 2025 The People that Never Were OUP: "The proposition that the German word Hund and the English word hound are cognate or related etymologically or, to use William Jones’s words, “sprung from some common source,” is difficult to sustain on close examination."
So no cognates. Got it.
So no cognates. Got it.
The program for the Leiden Summer School has been announced! Hope to see some of you there.
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
Summer School in Languages and Linguistics - Leiden University
The Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics 2026 offers a varied program of introductory as well as more advanced courses in Anatolian, Classics, Descriptive Linguistics, Language Documentat...
www.universiteitleiden.nl
February 14, 2026 at 1:42 PM
The program for the Leiden Summer School has been announced! Hope to see some of you there.
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
Semiticists, is there a more recent treatment of the "middle affricate hypothesis" than Kogan's discussion in Weninger 2011? Is it now communis opinio that "zayin" was an affricate in PS or in Canaanite? I'd be grateful for any pointers. @phdnix.bsky.social ky.social, @bnuyaminim.bsky.social
ky.social
December 22, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Semiticists, is there a more recent treatment of the "middle affricate hypothesis" than Kogan's discussion in Weninger 2011? Is it now communis opinio that "zayin" was an affricate in PS or in Canaanite? I'd be grateful for any pointers. @phdnix.bsky.social ky.social, @bnuyaminim.bsky.social
Α linguistic joke from Maximus Planudes (1260 – c. 1305). The joke is that the 10 highlighted words are all pronounced /erimin/!
August 18, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Α linguistic joke from Maximus Planudes (1260 – c. 1305). The joke is that the 10 highlighted words are all pronounced /erimin/!
If any recently Ph.D.-ed Indo-Europeanist is interested in applying for this, please get in touch with me. Fair warning: it is super-competitive. as.cornell.edu/research/kla...
Klarman Fellowships
The Klarman Fellowships in the College of Arts & Sciences provide postdoctoral opportunities to early-career scholars of outstanding talent, initiative and promise. Among the most selective of its kin...
as.cornell.edu
August 15, 2025 at 3:33 PM
If any recently Ph.D.-ed Indo-Europeanist is interested in applying for this, please get in touch with me. Fair warning: it is super-competitive. as.cornell.edu/research/kla...
An oft-repeated argument in favor of a fronted value for υ in Attic and East Ionic is the “fact” that the letter κ, not ϙ, is used before υ, since it no longer symbolized a back vowel— Qoppa supposedly was only used before back vowels or l plus a back vowel. So Allen Vox Graeca p. 67, n. 11.
August 7, 2025 at 10:32 PM
An oft-repeated argument in favor of a fronted value for υ in Attic and East Ionic is the “fact” that the letter κ, not ϙ, is used before υ, since it no longer symbolized a back vowel— Qoppa supposedly was only used before back vowels or l plus a back vowel. So Allen Vox Graeca p. 67, n. 11.
Amazon review of Kuśiññe Kantwo by Skid Kid: "If you have studies Sanskrit and Buddhism, these would work well. For someone just wanting an elementary book of Tocharian, it is terrible."
July 9, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Amazon review of Kuśiññe Kantwo by Skid Kid: "If you have studies Sanskrit and Buddhism, these would work well. For someone just wanting an elementary book of Tocharian, it is terrible."
packhum.org is down. Does anybody know anything about this?
packhum.org
April 6, 2025 at 12:41 PM
packhum.org is down. Does anybody know anything about this?
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Here are the criteria I use when reviewing Voynich decipherment articles, developed as part of teaching about the Voynich manuscript in linguistics classes. They are independent of any particular language, person, or approach, except that it's for solutions that claim there's underlying meaning
March 31, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Here are the criteria I use when reviewing Voynich decipherment articles, developed as part of teaching about the Voynich manuscript in linguistics classes. They are independent of any particular language, person, or approach, except that it's for solutions that claim there's underlying meaning
You should go!
Applications for the 2025 Leiden Summer School in Languages and Linguistics are now open.
The full list of 14 different programmes (56 classes) is available here: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
The Celtic Programme includes two classes by me about Ancient Celtic languages and Old Irish.
The full list of 14 different programmes (56 classes) is available here: www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/education...
The Celtic Programme includes two classes by me about Ancient Celtic languages and Old Irish.
March 6, 2025 at 3:44 PM
You should go!
Reposted by Michael Weiss
A Summer school in Philosophical #Sanskrit:
The 4th edition of the Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will take place in Vienna, Austria, from July 7 to July 12 2025.
(Fees are ridiculously low: 100 E w/o accommodation or 400 w accommodation & breakfast)
1/
The 4th edition of the Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will take place in Vienna, Austria, from July 7 to July 12 2025.
(Fees are ridiculously low: 100 E w/o accommodation or 400 w accommodation & breakfast)
1/
IKGA
www.oeaw.ac.at
March 5, 2025 at 3:33 PM
A Summer school in Philosophical #Sanskrit:
The 4th edition of the Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will take place in Vienna, Austria, from July 7 to July 12 2025.
(Fees are ridiculously low: 100 E w/o accommodation or 400 w accommodation & breakfast)
1/
The 4th edition of the Vienna Summer School on the Cultural and Intellectual History of Asia will take place in Vienna, Austria, from July 7 to July 12 2025.
(Fees are ridiculously low: 100 E w/o accommodation or 400 w accommodation & breakfast)
1/
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Tracing the Spread of Celtic Languages using Ancient Genomics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.28.640770v1
March 1, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Tracing the Spread of Celtic Languages using Ancient Genomics https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.02.28.640770v1
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Michiel de Vaan, Cantonophonie. Sur l’origine des noms des cantons suisses, Prilly, Les Presses Inverses, 2025.
wp.unil.ch/labelettres/...
wp.unil.ch/labelettres/...
Cantonophonie. Sur l’origine des noms des cantons suisses – LabeLettresFacebookInstagramLinkedinYouTube
wp.unil.ch
February 26, 2025 at 1:21 PM
Michiel de Vaan, Cantonophonie. Sur l’origine des noms des cantons suisses, Prilly, Les Presses Inverses, 2025.
wp.unil.ch/labelettres/...
wp.unil.ch/labelettres/...
Professorship of Latin at Uppsala. N.B. "Research is conducted both at the department and at the university library in areas such as textual criticism, epigraphy, syntax, historical linguistics, metrics and poetry."
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Olle Engkvist Foundation Chair Professor in Latin - Uppsala University
Olle Engkvist Foundation Chair Professor in Latin, Department of Linguistics and Philology, Uppsala University
www.uu.se
February 26, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Professorship of Latin at Uppsala. N.B. "Research is conducted both at the department and at the university library in areas such as textual criticism, epigraphy, syntax, historical linguistics, metrics and poetry."
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
www.uu.se/en/about-uu/...
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Job: Postdoctoral Researcher in Indo-European Studies 70 - 80 % (Universität Zürich) jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie... #linguistics #pie #indoeuropean #anatolian #historicallinguistics #langsky
UZH: Postdoctoral Researcher in Indo-European Studies
The Institute for the Interdisciplinary Study of Language Evolution (University of Zurich) invites applications for a postdoctoral position in Indo-European Studies, preferably with a focus on the Ana...
jobs.uzh.ch
February 24, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Job: Postdoctoral Researcher in Indo-European Studies 70 - 80 % (Universität Zürich) jobs.uzh.ch/job-vacancie... #linguistics #pie #indoeuropean #anatolian #historicallinguistics #langsky
Nice to see this!
Full professorship in Indo-European linguistics and philology at EPHE/PSL, Paris: www.ephe.psl.eu/sites/defaul... (apply by March 11)
February 4, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Nice to see this!
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Great opportunity for students of #Sanskrit who want to reach the next level.
Chris Minkowski will be teaching Sanskrit at the intermediate level again this summer at UTM (June 23 to July 31). There is no tuition for the course this year.
Applicants should send an unofficial transcript and a 200-word statement about research interests to utmla@utoronto.ca before April 30 2025
Applicants should send an unofficial transcript and a 200-word statement about research interests to utmla@utoronto.ca before April 30 2025
January 16, 2025 at 1:27 AM
Great opportunity for students of #Sanskrit who want to reach the next level.
@olawikander.bsky.social @bnuyaminim.bsky.social Can you point me towards recent lit. about the vocalization of ancient Phoenician name of Byblos (Akk. Gubla)? I am interested in whether the Greek rendering really implies that they heard it as *gwubl-
January 10, 2025 at 7:14 PM
@olawikander.bsky.social @bnuyaminim.bsky.social Can you point me towards recent lit. about the vocalization of ancient Phoenician name of Byblos (Akk. Gubla)? I am interested in whether the Greek rendering really implies that they heard it as *gwubl-
Lu 62, Roccagloriosa, has the protasis σϝαι ειοκ νειπ fακτιεδ[….. "if x does not do these things" with the incomprehensible form fακτιεδ. This may be an inverse spelling for /fakset/ = Lat. faxit. We have evidence that tiV became s at least at Bantia (Bansae = Bantiae) and final -d was devoiced.
December 29, 2024 at 6:38 PM
Lu 62, Roccagloriosa, has the protasis σϝαι ειοκ νειπ fακτιεδ[….. "if x does not do these things" with the incomprehensible form fακτιεδ. This may be an inverse spelling for /fakset/ = Lat. faxit. We have evidence that tiV became s at least at Bantia (Bansae = Bantiae) and final -d was devoiced.
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Sometimes working with manuscripts gets us really, really close to the people from the past allowing us to hear their voices. This is a story of a letter from a schoolgirl to her teacher, written probably sometime at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. A thread 🧵 #medievalsky /1
December 22, 2024 at 12:02 PM
Sometimes working with manuscripts gets us really, really close to the people from the past allowing us to hear their voices. This is a story of a letter from a schoolgirl to her teacher, written probably sometime at the end of the 9th or the beginning of the 10th century. A thread 🧵 #medievalsky /1
Reposted by Michael Weiss
🏺 The personal name ⟨koma⟩ (less likely ⟨koiśa⟩) is inscribed – not particularly neatly – on the bottom of a ceramic cup from the Giubiasco necropolis in Ticino (CH), dated to the late 1st c. BC. Komā or Kommā is most likely a hypocoristic name formed from a compound with preverb kom- 'with' ...
December 17, 2024 at 1:41 PM
🏺 The personal name ⟨koma⟩ (less likely ⟨koiśa⟩) is inscribed – not particularly neatly – on the bottom of a ceramic cup from the Giubiasco necropolis in Ticino (CH), dated to the late 1st c. BC. Komā or Kommā is most likely a hypocoristic name formed from a compound with preverb kom- 'with' ...
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Someone found me 🙂 Just talked to @bartfun.bsky.social about the "Ten Commandments Tablet" being auctioned by Sotheby's tomorrow. Here's some things I learned while reading up on this case... 1/12
December 17, 2024 at 1:47 PM
Someone found me 🙂 Just talked to @bartfun.bsky.social about the "Ten Commandments Tablet" being auctioned by Sotheby's tomorrow. Here's some things I learned while reading up on this case... 1/12
Reposted by Michael Weiss
Vote on the TLL Latin Word of the Year 2024! Until Dec. 19. The five finalists were published this year in the TLL and don't appear in another standard dictionary of ancient Latin.
⭐️reteiaclor ⭐️retotatototato ⭐️retroactim⭐️revaleo⭐️revolumen
parerga.hypotheses.org/3516
⭐️reteiaclor ⭐️retotatototato ⭐️retroactim⭐️revaleo⭐️revolumen
parerga.hypotheses.org/3516
Latin Word of the Year 2024
With the Vox Anni contest now in its third season, the Thesaurus linguae Latinae community is excited to share with you the contestants for Latin Word of the Year 2024. (Learn more about the previous ...
parerga.hypotheses.org
December 16, 2024 at 11:27 AM
Vote on the TLL Latin Word of the Year 2024! Until Dec. 19. The five finalists were published this year in the TLL and don't appear in another standard dictionary of ancient Latin.
⭐️reteiaclor ⭐️retotatototato ⭐️retroactim⭐️revaleo⭐️revolumen
parerga.hypotheses.org/3516
⭐️reteiaclor ⭐️retotatototato ⭐️retroactim⭐️revaleo⭐️revolumen
parerga.hypotheses.org/3516
Very sad to hear about the passing of Prof. Sharon L. James. She was a great colleague at UNC and a kind and funny person.
December 31, 2023 at 3:28 PM
Very sad to hear about the passing of Prof. Sharon L. James. She was a great colleague at UNC and a kind and funny person.
Schedule for Pavia summer school. Looking forward to teaching here and hearing the other courses (Sept. 2-7)!
github.com/unipv-larl/6...
github.com/unipv-larl/6...
December 18, 2023 at 1:18 PM
Schedule for Pavia summer school. Looking forward to teaching here and hearing the other courses (Sept. 2-7)!
github.com/unipv-larl/6...
github.com/unipv-larl/6...