Address terms, greetings and phrasing in letters from the long sixth century BCE

What is it about?

This paper analyses how language is used in letters from temples and from private archives in Mesopotamia, roughly the area of modern Iraq. The letters date to the Neo-Babylonian and Persian periods (roughly 600-500 BCE). It discusses the usage of terms of address for letter parties, greeting formulas and direct and indirect expressions in the letters with relation to politeness. The notion of politeness employed here is based on a politeness theory by Brown and Levinson. Of particular interest is the usage of language within a temple hierarchy, as it can inform us on relationships between these officials. For private letters, this article provides further evidence on women being addressed as 'lords' in these texts, strengthening a previous claim by the author.

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Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Photo by the blowup on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The corpus of Late Babylonian letters is extremely rich, and it provides unique insights into ancient minds and ideas. In this, this text type is more immediate than other text groups which stem from more formalised contexts, such as jurisdictional or administrative sources. A thorough analysis of the language used in these letters helps in discerning the relationships between people which are long gone, and thereby helps us understand mechanisms of ancient bureaucracy, politeness, and interaction, bringing these long dead people and their everyday lives back to life. This makes history tangible and more easily understandable. At the same time, it informs us on how bureaucracy evolved, and how relationships between private persons were phrased. This latter point gives us a glimpse into ancient understandings of social structures and coherence.

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