SEASIAN M20 Final (E's)
Aramaic Derived Script
"Eastern Script": Arabic, Indic, Pahlavi, Nabatean
Malik
"King" in Arabic
Hangeul
"The Great Script" or "The Korean Script" in chinese. The currently used Korean script. Created by Sejong partially for educating the masses, which later became troublesome as it galvanizes literary subversion toward the later kings. Has 48 -> 24 syllabaries. Consonants created based on the position of the tongue when saying the phoneme. Vowels created based on the roundedness of the vowels. Horizontal vowels are rounded;verticals are not.
Phoenician derived script
"Western Script" : Greek, Latin, European script,
Diglossia
- A situation in which two languages (or two varieties of the same language) are used under different conditions within a community, often by the same speakers. The term is usually applied to languages with distinct "high" and "low" (colloquial) varieties, such as Arabic. - A number of quasi- or poorly-intelligible dialects are used by speakers of a particular language depending on the situation in which they find themselves.
Five "Royal" Byblos Inscriptions
- Ahiram sarcophagus < praising the king of Byblos - Abiba'l Inscription - Eliba'l inscription - Yehimilk inscription < praising the king of Byblos - Shipitbal inscription The function of writing is to identify the object donated to the deity
Knossos
A great city in land of Crete, wherein is discovered clay tablets of Linear B. Very little Linear A was found in Knossos.
Aleppo Codex
A hebrew scroll that is important because it has several revolutionary findings: 1. Aleph and Yod change into a square form 2. The presence of dots under certain characters which turns out to be marking for vowels. This marking for vowels is named 'Niqqudot', it eliminates the need for consonants to take the job of vowels.
Semitic languages
A sub family of languages that includes Akkadian, Arabic, Aramaic, Ethiopic, Hebrew, and Phoenician. Semitic scripts do not mark vowels, only the 22 consonants.
What are the 5 consonants morphed into vowels by the greek?
Aleph -> Alpha He -> Epsilon Heth -> Eta Ayin -> Omicron Yodh -> Iota
Alice Kober
American classical scholar with a logical turn of mind who made important progress in deciphering Linear B.
Old Aramaic Alphabet / Aramaic Alphabet
An inscription used in the kingdom of Aram-Damascus in Syria/Assyria. Was the most influential inscription in ancient Near East for over 1000 years. After the reign of Persians/Babylonians, this language became an official diplomatic language of the Babylonian, Assyrian, and Persian Empire. Aramaic's extinction came with the unifying force of Arabic and Islam during the 7th century AD.
Byblos
Ancient phoenician port city in now Lebanon. Earliest evidence for the Phoenician alphabet discovered on five "royal" inscriptions from here.
The Nora Stone
Artifact from 9th to 8th century found in the island of Sardinia. It has phoenician inscriptions that has a lot of components similar to Greek letters. This artifact is important because it shows Phoenician's colonization throughout western Mediterranean and its influence on Greek alphabets.
Winkelhaken
Big fat wedge strokes used to indicate some components of the cuneiform alphabet.
Kufic
Earliest "True" Arabic alphabets, dating back to 8th C CE. Used to write the earliest versions of Al-quraan. It has Aesthethic and functional versions written with different tools. Diglossic script: - lack standardizaiton of sign numbers. - lack determinatives
Sir Flinders Petrie
English Egyptologist; founders of proto-sinaitic artefacts from Serabit el-Khadim.
Naskh
First functional Arabic script. o Developed concurrent with kufic script (8th CCE) similarly unstandardized in the first century of use o But Naskh used all 29 arabic letters from the start, where as kufic started with only 17 letters o Initially considered by schoalrs as the cursive equivalent of kufic o Used a split reed stylus, which allows for greater detail o Demonstrate towards the regulation of letter size, but also determinative sings for ease of reading
[SHORT ANSWER] How and when did Greeks adopt the Phoenician alphabet? Describe the differences between the Phoenician and Greek alphabets.
Greeks adopted the phoenician alphabets around 850 BCE. How? - Mixing of merchants in Cyprus. Phoenicians were successful maritime merchants. - Phoenicians sailing to the Aegean - Greeks sailing to the Levant - Adoption of the alphabet from groups in Turkey
Kana
Kana are syllabic Japanese scripts, a part of the Japanese writing system contrasted with the logographic Chinese characters known in Japan as kanji. Katakana: considered the more high-class script of Japanese compared to Hiragana. Was used by monks. Now, katakana is used to transcribe non-chinese foreign words. Taiwanese Kana: Japanese syllabic system used in Taiwanese language when Japan imperialized Taiwan.
Wadi el-Hol
Major trade route as Egyptian travels to areas above the read sea; predate Serabit el-Khadim by 200 years; important because it suggests the absolute first alphabetic writing (which until now is still undeciphered). Excavated by John Darnell, the artefact was a wall covered with graffiti.
Mojenjo-Daro
Mohenjo-daro "Mound of the Dead Men" is an archaeological site in the province of Sindh, Pakistan. it was one of the largest settlements of the ancient Indus Valley civilization, and one of the world's earliest major cities Where the indus valley inscriptions were found.
Nabatean Scripts
Nabatean (the first arabic Kingdom in Petra, Jordan) script is the precursor of Arabic script and the successor of Aramaic script. The Arabs used to write using Aramaic alphabets, and the Nabatean Script contains the first evidence of distinctive Arabic form of writing.
Ugarit
Northern of Syria, marketplace of so many writing systems and languages. Where the Cuneiform alphabet is created. [Ugaritic Cuneiform] Limitations of Cuneiform alphabet: 1. limited shapes to vertical, horizontal, and Winkelhaken.
Sir Alan Gardiner
Noted resemblance between 'Proto-Sinaitic' signs and pictographic Egyptian hieroglyphs. He gives Semitic names.
Kanji
One of the chinese adopted japanese characters. Has both japanese and chinese pronunciation. Still survives until now.
Linear A
One of two currently undeciphered writing systems used in ancient Greece (Cretan hieroglyphic is the other). Linear A was the primary script used in palace and religious writings of the Minoan civilization. It is the origin of the Linear B script, which was later used by the Mycenaean civilization. Linear A and B share many symbols, but unfortunately the decipherment of Linear B doesn't lead to that of Linear A. Transcribed Minoan.
Proto-Sinaitic
Proto-Sinaitic, also referred to as Sinaitic, Proto-Canaanite, Old Canaanite, or Canaanite,[1] is a term for both a Middle Bronze Age (Middle Kingdom) script attested in a small corpus of inscriptions found at Serabit el-Khadim. Ancestor to phoenician and south Arabian scripts.
Pinyin
Romanization of mandarin characters mainly used in mainland china.
Matres Lectionis
Termed "mother of spelling", this term refers to the use of weak consonants/gutturals as indications of vowels. Used in Aramaic, Arabic, Hebrew, Phoenician language alphabets. This is helpful since at the Iron Age, syllabic writing (that can help indicating vowel) is completely turned into alphabets that are fully consonants. Three consonants that double duty as vowels: 1. Alef (a vowel) 2. Heh (a vowel) 3. Waw (o/u vowel) 4. Yod (i/e vowel)
Indus Valley Script
The Indus script (also known as the Harappan script) is a corpus of symbols produced by the Indus Valley Civilization during the Kot Diji and Mature Harappan periods between 3500 and 1900 BCE. Most inscriptions containing these symbols are extremely short, making it extremely difficult to judge whether or not these symbols constitute a script used to record a language, or even symbolize a writing system. Contender of being a pristine script. Why is might it not be? Possible Mesopotamian Cuneiform influence. (Old Akkadian king Sargon traveling to Meluha -- which was possible Indus Valley). 26 signs.. so they lack evidence and material to decipher. Probably used for accountancy.
Yehimilk Inscription
The Yehimilk inscription consists of seven lines of text inscribed over the top of a previous pseudo-hieroglypic inscription that was written within registers dividing the lines (Gibson 1982, 17). The language of the inscription is Old Byblian, an early Phoenician dialect used primarily in the city of Byblos. One of the five dedicatory royal inscription that bullshits about how great the Byblos king is.
Linear B
The earliest European script we can understand. Artifacts are found in the island of Crete in the city of Knossos. Was used for writing Mycenaean Greek, the earliest attested form of Greek. The script predates the Greek alphabet by several centuries.
Michael Ventris
The eventual decipherer of Linear B. Using analytical techniques, identifying frequency and regularity of certain signs and their context, making guessworks, and making the helpful Linear B Grid system. He confirms that Linear B was written in Greek, which was a breakthrough because people tought Homer was the first one to write in Greek.
Acrophonic Principle
The naming of letters in an alphabet where a sign is not taken the iconic/signified meaning, but instead is taken the first phoneme of the word signifying the sign. For example : Aleph is an Ox, but it does not have any connection to Ox. Instead, we consider the first 'Ah' sound.
Arthur Evans
The one who excavated the first Linear B inscriptions and attempted to decipher it all his life, albeit failing. His significant steps: 1. Identified three major inscriptions in crete: hieroglyphic, linear A, linear B. 2. Identify the word dividers (short upright lines) in linear B. 3. deciphers some of the logographics. 4. worked out the counting system
[SHORT ANSWER] what is the relationship between alphabets and national identity?
There is a relationship between language and national identity that has always been ideological. In the past, writing has been used for territorial aspects, acting as a "country borders", an example is what the king of Demascus did. Different cultures differentiate "their" way of writing alphabets to reinforce identity or even ethnic differences. Yet, attempts to standardize alphabetic were also made. For example, the loss of pictographic signs and word dividers in proto Canaanite scripts. This way, alphabetic scripts were both standardizing yet differentiating between cultures.
Sejong The Great
Third son of King Taejeon of Joseon, however he was so apt a ruler that his older brothers abstain their throne for him. Accomplished linguist, eventually created Hangeul.
Wadi el-Hol Inscription
Two inscriptions. 1. Horizontal -resembles Serabit el-Khadim proto-canaanite inscription -undeciphered 2. Vertical - also undeciphered Important because these inscriptions were the first evidence to the rise of alphabets.
Niqqud
Vowel markings in Hebrew
Al-Namara Inscription [identify significance]
Written in: Arabic "the most important Arabic inscription of pre-Islamic times" Discovered by two French archaeologists, René Dussaud and Frédéric Macler in Al-Namara, Syria. After being read by a few scholars, it is agreed that the Namara stone was the burial monument of King Imru' al-Qays. (he is "King of the Arabs")
Jabal Usays Inscriptions [identify significance]
Written in: Arabic The only pre-Islamic inscriptions of historical content. Found during german excavation in Jabal Usays. It is important because of its historical context and the Arbic writing الملك (Malik) which means "King".
Nestor's Cup [identify significance]
Written in: Greek "Nestor's cup I am, good to drink from. Whoever drinks from this cup, him straightaway the desire of beautiful-crowned Aphrodite will seize." -> meaning: some sort of sexual arousal that might happen after drinking from this cup. Also one of the earliest Greek alphabet inscription. The adaptation of phoenician gutturals into "true vowels" appear in Nestor's cup. Heh -> Epsilon Ayin -> Omicron Be able to identify the name Nestorass in the beginning of the inscription (N0143) Materes Lectionis: Aleph, He, Yod, Waw Evidence of adapted true vowels (aleph, he, heth, ayin, yodh)
Dipylon Inscription [Identify significance]
Written in: Greek Inscription on a vase: "Whoever of the dancers now dances most lightly...he shall get me his prize" The earliest Greek alphabet inscription. • Written in hexameter verse, the standard meter in classical Greek and Latin literature
Unicorn Bull
Written in: Indus valley script (extremely short) A seal with carving of a bull with horn (unicorn bull) and an indus valley inscription on top of it. Unicorn bull is a symbolic mythological creature of the harappan.
Siloam Tunnel Inscription [Identify Significance]
Written in: Paleo-Hebrew (first inscription) An artefact found underneath the city of Jerusalem in the Siloam Tunnel. This scribe contains a great variety of alphabetic scripts, written differently from Old-Aramaic showing the development of the alphabet. This artefact is unique because it is written by workers about the workers accomplishing the building of the tunnel. Usually, writing is very elite and speaks only about the greatness of the Gods/Goddesses/Kings. The aleph is sticking upwards (higher), showing nationalization of the alphabet.
Moabite Stone (Mesha Stele)
Written in: Phoenician A stele set up around 840 BCE by King Mesha of Moab (a kingdom located in modern Jordan). Mesha tells how Chemosh, the god of Moab, had been angry with his people and had allowed them to be subjugated to Israel, but at length Chemosh returned and assisted Mesha to throw off the yoke of Israel and restore the lands of Moab. shows religious propaganda used in writing.
Ahirom Sarcophagus [Identify significance]
Written in: Phoenician The Ahiram sarcophagus (also spelled Ahirom) was the sarcophagus of a Phoenician king of Byblos (c. 1000 BC), discovered in 1923 by the French excavator Pierre Montet in tomb V of the royal necropolis of Byblos. Ahirom is not attested in any other Ancient Oriental source. The sarcophagus is famed for its bas relief carvings, and its Phoenician language inscription. - bring attention to sarcophagus; state sponsored writing
Tel Zayit Abecedary [identify significance]
Written in: Proto-Canaanite/Proto-Sinaitic A limestone boulder filled with a "more advanced and less stupid" version of practicing abecedary. It has an ordered sequence of letters. Particularly, waw is placed before he, het is placed before zayin, and lamed is placed before kaph. In this last instance, a large X appears to mark a mistake realized by the scribe himself. This may indicate that the author was poorly educated or that the alphabetic order had yet to fully stabilize. But this is important because it implies some sort of progress to the rise of alphabets. The beginning of standardization of the alphabet.
Cypriot syllabary
a script found in a tablet. The tablet has three lines, two in Greek alphabet and the last one in cypriot syllabic. Language is in Greek. Evans' finding of this syllabic script makes him hypothesize that Cypriot was somehow derived from Linear B, from the Minoan speaking traders settling in cyprus.
Serabit el-Khadim no.349
a stela at Serabit el-Khadim. They count the signs (count the repetitive once), but Only found a dozen distinct signs.
Sibilant
an "s" sound... Phoenician has three: samek, sade, sin. However, that three guttarals are combined into sigma in Greek (albeit sade and sin being used in some dialects -- san and sampi).
Phoenician
important alphabets that we should remember. descending from Proto-Sinaitic
Abecedary/Abjad
is an inscription consisting of the letters of an alphabet, almost always listed in order. Typically, abecedaria (or abecedaries) are practice exercises.
Rongorongo
means: "Chants or recitation" in Easter Island language/ A board from easter island containing undeciphered script. Is it really writing? Where does it come from? Suggests several civilization that might took over Easter Island (western polynesia, Sumatra, China, Indus Valley, etc) Written in boustrophedon direction. Probably a developed proto-writing consisting of phonetic and logographic. Comparable to egyptian hieroglyph at its infancy Usually carved on driftwood.. Important artifacts: Santiago Staff (contender for decipherment because it has repetition of characters and word dividers called phallus glyph) and Mamari Calendar (suggests of a calendrical system due to moon glyphs).
Muhaqqaq
o Attributed to Ibn Nadim and the text Kitab Al-Fihrist o Begins to be used more commonly in texts during the Mamluk sultanate. o Considered the hardest true Arabic calligraphic style o Detail and space specific.
Thuluth
o Developed out of naskh o Either develop in the 8th/9th century BCE or the 11th BCE o Top third of every letter is slanted, the script is written very large o Titles, emphasized words, o Early Qurans use this script for the title pages or for the first word in an important passage or the beginning of a surah o Heavily decorated in harakat (diatric marks above and below the letters) ♣ Represents standardizations of harakat.
Serabit Sphinx
one of the proto-siniatic inscriptions. Also one of the first alphabetic inscriptions along with Wadie-el-Hol. Also one of the earliest signs of acrophonic principle.
Boustrophedon
reading a document "as the ox plows," or from left -> right, then right -> left, so that eyes would not reset whilst reading.
Pylos Tablet
tablet found at ancient Pylos by American Archeologist Carl Blegen. He applied values developed by Ventris and Chadwick, then successfully confirm the decipherment of Linear B.
Semiotics
the study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation.
Guttural
weak vowels, throaty sound.
Izbet Sartah Ostracon Syllabary [identify significance]
written in: Proto-Canaanite/Proto-Sinaitic The scholars who originally examined it had no difficulty reading the individual letters, but they could not discover that the letters spelled anything. Not standardised: containing a lot of mistakes and misspelling. contains abecedary at the bottom Used probably to practice writing letters. Shows how at that time, literacy existed and was practised.
Siniform Script
• "resembling the Chinese script" • Chinese is East Asia's pristine and prestige script. o Lots of writing systems imitate it.
Arabic Script
• Derived from Aramaic • Arabic: 28 letters, 6 vowels • Written from right to left. • One sign for one sound.
Paleo-Hebrew Script
• Dialect of the Canaanite language family • Non monumental inscriptions dating to the 8th - 6th centuries. • Script of Israel and Judah Kingdom. • Lack of monumental inscriptions comparable to Aram, Phoenician, and Moab.
Ibn - Muqla Al- Shirazi
• Persian calligrapher and writer living in the Abbasid Empire • Assumed the position of the grand vizier for the Abbasid caliphs three times • Writes about the standardization of letters in each script type o Standardization is based off the slant f the reed pen ad the size of the aleph o Scritps begin to address an increasing number of dterminatives. (dots for different phonetic values, short and long vowels.) STANDARDIZED ARABIC
