dency to add phonetic complements to logographic writings, where LH lacks such aids to
pronunciation. See, for example, H158, H159, H179 and H183.
Another regularly appearing orthographic variation is the syllabic writing in the first mil-
lennium sources of words that are written logographically in LH. See, for example, H23,
H49 and H125 (tablet B); H187 (tablet P); H213 and H217 (tablet c); H254 and H273
(tablet e). Less regularly we note the writing of some nouns, both proper and common,
without determinatives where they would generally be expected.
Orthographic (linguistic) Variants
Among the most common linguistic variants in the sources are: the presence or absence
of mimation relative to LH (particularly in tablets B and e); incorrectly written case vow-
els; and changes in the pronunciation of vowels. This latter class of variation could be
related to scribal custom or dialect, depending on the particular vowel change and the
form in which it occurs. For example, we find some evidence for the Assyrian vowel shift
/i/ > /a/ in III weak roots (see H45), and the shift of [i] > [e] for some theme vowels, pri-
mae aleph verbal forms, genitive case and oblique plural case vowels. In one instance in
tablet J (H144) we see primae /w/ > /m/, and once in tablet P (H192) we see primae /w/ >
/a/.
Also possibly related to dialect is the occasional difference in the treatment of sibilants in
one source (tablet B, see H60 and H83), and the lack of a terminating vowel in III weak
verbs in another source (tablet T, see H190). Worth noting is the tendency for tablet B to