Phoenician

Also known as phn, Phoenician language

ancient Semitic language of the Mediterranean

AI overview

Phoenician was an ancient Semitic language spoken by the Phoenicians around the Mediterranean region. It matters historically because the Phoenicians were major traders and seafarers whose language and cultural influence spread across the Mediterranean world.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

Image: Phönizisch-5Sprachen.png

Show 5 more facts

Commons category: Phoenician language
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/PHN
dissolved, abolished or demolished date: 0200-00-00
P10369: Ken Jennings
Wikimedia language code: phn

Sources (5)

via Wikidata · CC0

~32 min read

Article

Phoenician (/fəˈniːʃən/ fə-NEE-shən; Phoenician: śpt knʿn 𐤔𐤐𐤕𐤟𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 lit. 'language of Canaan') is an extinct Canaanite language of the Semitic language family originally spoken in the region surrounding the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Extensive Tyro-Sidonian trade and commercial dominance led to Phoenician becoming a lingua franca of the maritime Mediterranean during the Iron Age. The Phoenician alphabet spread to Greece during this period, where it became the source of all modern European scripts.

Phoenician belongs to the Canaanite languages and as such is quite similar to Biblical Hebrew and other languages of the group, at least in its early stages, and is therefore mutually intelligible with them.