Abstract
This paper attempts to throw a light on the historical explanation of the neuter nouns in Hittite. Hittite distinguishes two grammatical genders: common (a conflation of IE. masculine and feminine) and neuter. On analysis, it can be shown that in later Hittite (after 1380 B. C.) there is, within the nom. -acc., the contamination between two grammatical genders. It is probable that the phase indicates the shift from the neuter to the common. Presumably, the ground for this observed fact might be regarded as an analogical functioning of ‘leveling’, which denotes the process tending to complete the standardized system of declension. Therefore, it may be noted that Hittite was on the way to becoming a genderless language. However, the more detailed investigation of Hittite gender must be made, especially on the attestation of the neuter ‘productive’ stems such as archaic r/n-stems and, as pointed out by P. Brosman, i-, u-stems.
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