The dominant inhabitants in central Anatolia at this time are Hattians, a people with a distinct culture who speak a non-Indo-European language.

The "Hattic" language is now superseded by the language of the Hittites; it will become the administrative language of the Hittite kingdom over the next six or seven centuries.

“Hittite” is a modern convention for referring to this language, for which the native term was Nesili, i.e., "In the language of Nesa.”

Since Hattic will continue to be used in the Hittite kingdom for religious purposes, and there is substantial continuity between the two cultures, it is not known whether the Hattic speakers— the Hattians—have been displaced by the speakers of Hittite, have been absorbed by them, or have simply adopted their language.