Talk:Urartian language

Edit needing clarification

Moving text from article here

there are many urartian words, that can be found in kurdish languge. It is needing a deliberate research as to the vocabulary and grammar( Asoss).

This edit requires a better reference than the oblique Asoss. __meco 12:41, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Reference to Armenian language

Are there any scholarly sources that show that Armenian was spoken by the population, or just a web site. The Armenian language has not been attested before ca. 500 AD, in either inscription or in names cited in other languages. Emobatic (talk) 14:54, 24 August 2008 (UTC)

SHALMANAZAR ||| BLAC OBLESK — Preceding unsigned comment added by 97.90.137.162 (talk) 05:15, 11 August 2011 (UTC)

You mean the Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser III? Could you please elaborate? What does it say that is relevant in this context? Please don't play guessing games with us. --Florian Blaschke (talk) 21:43, 23 March 2012 (UTC)

Can you also give the similarities with Kurdish language? The language seems to be very close to Kurdish, too. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.236.99.167 (talk) 08:31, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

Chaldean?

The article states that the Urartians are also known as Chaldeans. Are these the same Chaldeans of the Chaldean Dynasty? Because if so, the article on Chaldea needs correcting, because it is stated there that the Chaldeans were Western Semites.Woscafrench (talk) 21:14, 7 February 2016 (UTC)

It was old hypothesis that chaldeans were migrants from Urartu, but, it was contested in the mid-XX century. Asatrian (talk) 21:48, 12 January 2019 (UTC)

That's a load of horse-raddish. Chaldeans were semitic people - Urartu most definitely was not.104.169.21.238 (talk) 15:28, 26 February 2021 (UTC)

A small population who comprised a ruling class?

'Its prevalence is unclear. While some believe it was probably dominant around Lake Van and in the areas along the upper Zab valley,[2] others believe it was spoken by a relatively small population who comprised a ruling class.[3]'

This doesn't make sense - languages are always originally majority languages of some area. Even assuming that the Urartian speakers were just an elite around Lake Van, they still must have come from some area where they were the majority before they imposed their rule on the populations around Lake Van. I suspect that the article is cited incorrectly, so I've demanded a quotation.--79.100.144.23 (talk) 02:14, 15 April 2022 (UTC)

Incorrect Geographic Nomenclature

Greetings fellow Wikipedians! I believe the wording of the introduction of this article is imprecise in its nomenclature — Lake Van is not in the “Armenian Highlands” area of Turkey, but rather in the historic are known as the Armenian Highlands, part of which -the part where Lake Van is situated- is in modern-day state of Turkey. I will edit to reflect this for now, though please feel free to further discuss/edit the relevant bit, should you believe it beneficial. Cheers! 213.205.241.112 (talk) 17:10, 28 April 2022 (UTC)

Mehmet Kuşman

No mention of Mehmet Kuşman? There should at least be a link to his WP article. Derek Ross | Talk 17:49, 2 February 2025 (UTC)

I'm also a bit surprised he's not mentioned. He even has his own Wikipedia article, where it is mentioned that he is one of only twelve people who can read and write Urartian. A YouTuber also recently made a video about him. —Kri (talk) 21:57, 8 February 2025 (UTC)

A Youtube video is not a reliable source. Anyone can claim they learned the language and say such and such. Do we have any reliable sources backing up anything he says? Nocturnal781 (talk) 00:06, 9 February 2025 (UTC)

Font size in table

Having some columns and some words in the same cell in a smaller font size makes the table look weird to me. Is there any particular reason to do that? Trying to save horizontal space? -- Beland (talk) 08:14, 28 February 2025 (UTC)

(Replying to revert by Fdom5997. -- Beland (talk) 08:15, 28 February 2025 (UTC))

Yes. That is how to do it. It saves space and looks nicer. Not weird Fdom5997 (talk) 18:34, 28 February 2025 (UTC)

Well, if it's just a difference of aesthetic opinion, I guess I'll ask for a third opinion about the font size variance here and on Mbukushu language. -- Beland (talk) 19:31, 28 February 2025 (UTC)

3O Response: I see the argument for smaller text (subcategories deserve smaller font sizes), but at this point, I'm used to a uniform font size. So I'll come down on the uniform side here, without prejudice at all for further discussion. It is, after all, merely aesthetic, and perhaps the other will look better on future devices. Iseult ^Δx talk to me 03:39, 1 March 2025 (UTC)

Another 3O: The small text nicely indicates that those are subcategories. If put into same size, the table looks messier. We have the same thing in many other articles like Miluk language or Navajo language, and I would also oppose attempts to "normalize" the font size there. That said, this edit makes sense as the small small font does not indicate a sub-subcategory, but just an explanatory note. –Austronesier (talk) 19:21, 1 March 2025 (UTC)

OK, I guess I'll just drop this as "no consensus". -- Beland (talk) 03:00, 2 March 2025 (UTC)