On Standardisation and Variation in the Introductory Formulae of Neo-Assyrian Letters

Abstract

The introductory formulae of Neo-Assyrian letters sent to the king or a superior official during the eighth century B.C. attest to a highly standardised form of letter writing (especially in the address), proving scribal sensitivity to an established letter writing etiquette. The introductory formula reflects the office of the sender; exactly the same formula (including the greeting) may be used by successive officeholders. Yet these formulae are by no means entirely uniform. In particular, the presence or absence of a blessing may tell us about the sender's relationship with the Assyrian king.

A Full Morphosyntactic Annotation of the State Archives of Assyria Letter Corpus

“…Importantly, the letters in SAAo are one of the best resources for the study of the Neo-Assyrian dialect, a vernacular form of Akkadian different from the Neo-Babylonian dialect to the south as well as older forms of Akkadian such as Old Babylonian. The letters do employ various formulas and fixed expressions as a matter of genre, particularly in the introductory sections or when introducing new topics (see Ponchia 1989, andLuukko 2012). However, in comparison to texts from the same period that are written in a more conservative style (such as royal inscriptions and liturgical works), the letters feature grammatical constructions, linguistic forms, and discourse patterns more evocative of spoken discourse, in addition to reflecting influence from Aramaic (Abraham andSokoloff 2011, Streck 2011).…”