INTERDISCIPLINARITY IN ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORICAL LINGUISTICS: THE CASE OF ALPHA

Maria Mertzani

Resumo


RESUMO: 

Through a comparative analysis of archaic Greek alphabets with Minoan hieroglyphs, the Linear A and B signs, the Cypro-Minoan and Classical Cypriot syllabaries, as well as other ancient scripts in Mediterranean and Mesopotamia areas (e.g., Egyptian hieroglyphs), the paper examines (a) the graphical shaping of the letter alpha, and (b) its suggested phonetic value throughout the years.  In doing so, an interdisciplinary approach is applied, combining research from the areas of historical linguistics, epigraphy archaeology, and phonosemantics-linguistics.  This is an ongoing research and its existing data so far combat the wide spread belief that the archaic Greek alphabet is originated by the Phoenician alphabet, demonstrating evidence of language similarities (in terms of (a), and (b)), even in early Neolithic Greece and the Balkans.  The paper proposes the adoption of an interdisciplinary methodology in examining and revisiting research in epigraphy and historical linguistics.

ABSTRACT: 

Through a comparative analysis of archaic Greek alphabets with the Minoan hieroglyphs, the Linear A and B signs, the Cypro-Minoan and Classical Cypriot syllabaries, as well as other ancient scripts in Mediterranean and Mesopotamia areas (e.g., Egyptian hieroglyphs), the paper examines (a) the graphical shaping of the letter alpha, and (b) its suggested phonetic value throughout the years. In doing so, an interdisciplinary approach is applied, combining research from the areas of historical linguistics, epigraphy archaeology, and phonosemantics-linguistics. This is an ongoing research and its existing data so far combat the wide spread belief that the archaic Greek alphabet is originated by the Phoenician alphabet, demonstrating evidence of language similarities (in terms of (a), and (b)), even in early Neolithic Greece and the Balkans. The paper proposes the adoption of an interdisciplinary methodology in examining and revisiting research in epigraphy and historical linguistics.


Palavras-chave


Greek alphabet, history of alphabet, letter alpha, phonosemantics of alpha, interdisciplinary methodology

Texto completo:

PDF

Referências


ANDREESCU, R.-R. The sign: typology, context, meaning. In: LUCA, S. A. (Ed.). Proceedings of the International symposium ‘The Danube script: Neo-Eneolithic writing in Southeastern Europe’, May 18-20 2008. Alba Iulia: Altip, 2009. p. 77-85.

BAYLEY, H. The lost language of symbolism. New York: Barnes and Noble Inc, 1919. V. I.

BERNAL, M. On the Transmission of the Alphabet to the Aegean before 1400 BC. Bulletin of the American Schools of Oriental Research, Boston, v. 267, p. 1-19, 1987.

BEST, J.; WOODHUIZEN, F. Ancient Scripts from Greece and Cyprus. Leiden, the Netherlands: E. J. Brill, 1988.

LODD, E. The story of the Alphabet. New York: The University Society Inc, 1900.

COOK, A. B. Zeus- A study in Ancient Religion. Volume II: Zeus God of the Dark Sky (Thunder and Lightning). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1925.

DEFRANCIS, J. Visible Speech. The Diverse Oneness of Writing Systems. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.

DEROY, L. Kubaba, Deesse cretoise. Minos, v. 2, p. 34-56, 1952.

DIRINGER, D. The Alphabet. A Key to the History of Mankind. London, New York: Hutchinson's, 1948.

ECO, U. The Search for the Perfect Language. Great Britain: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1995.

GIMBUTAS, M. The Goddesses and Gods of Old Europe 6500-3500 BC. Myths and Cult Images. Great Britain: Thames and Hudson, 1982.

HAARMANN, H. Changing the canon: Research on ancient writing systems beyond the Mesopotamian bias. In: LUCA, S. A. (Ed.). Proceedings of the International symposium ‘The Danube script: Neo-Eneolithic writing in Southeastern Europe’, May 18-20 2008. Alba Iulia: Altip, 2009. p. 9-36.

HALLORAN, J. A. The Proto-Sumerian Language Invention Process. Available at: .

HORROCKS, G. Greek. A History of the Language and its Speakers. West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd, 2010.

JEFFERY, L. H. The local scripts of Greece. A study of the origin of the Greek alphabet and its development from the eighth to the fifth centuries B.C. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1990.

JENSEN, H. Sign, Symbol and Script. An account of man’s effort to write. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1970.

LEONARDI, F. M. A Geometric Approach to Phonosemantics. Available at .

MAGNUS, M. What’s in a Word? Studies in Phonosemantics. Unpublished PhD Thesis, NTNU. Available at .

MANDEL, L. Nouveaux regards sur l'antiquité de notre écriture. Communication et Langages, v. 52, p. 29-52, 1982.

MERLINI, M. Semiotic approach to the features of the ‘Danube Script’. Documenta Praehistorica XXXII, Ljubljana, v. 32, p. 233-251, 2005.

MERLINI, M. A comparison between the signs from Tartaria, the Danube script and other early writings. In: LAZAROVICI, C.-M.; LAZAROVICI, G.; MERLINI, M.; MARLER, J. (Eds.). Tartaria and the Sacred Tablets. Rome, Italy: Euro Innovanet Srl. Italy – Institute of Archaeomythology, 2011. p. 263-337.

MERTZANI, M. Iconicity in Mycenaean Greek and its Relationship to Alphabetic Writing. Paper presented at the XII Jornada de História Antiga, 18 - 22 May 2015, NEA (Núcleo de Estudos da Antiguidade) UERJ, Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, May 22, 2015a.

MERTZANI, M. Iconicity in Signed and Spoken Languages: Cases in Greek and LIBRAS. Seminar presented at the Deafness Cognition and Language Research Centre, London - U.K., July 3, 2015b.

MORPUNGO DAVIES, A. Forms of Writing in the Ancient Mediterranean World. In: BAUMANN, G. (Ed.). The Written Word. Literacy in Transition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986. p. 51 77.

OWENS, G. Was there a script in Final Neolithic Greece? In: MARLER, J.; ROBBINS DEXTER, M. (Eds.). Signs of Civilization. Neolithic Symbol System of Southeast Europe. Santa Rosa, CA: Institute of Archaeomythology and Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts, 2009. p. 193-197.

OWENS, G. The structure of Minoan Language (short discussion). Available at .

PALAIMA, T. G. Scribes, Scribal hands and Palaeography. In: DUHOUX, Y.; MORPUNGO DAVIES, A. (Eds.). A companion to Linear B. Mycenean Greek Texts and their World, Volume 2. Louvain-La Neuve-Walpole, MA: Peeters, 2011. p. 33-136.

PARISE, C. V.; PAVANI, F.. Evidence of sound symbolism in simple vocalizations. Experimental Brain Research, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, v. 3, n. 214, p. 373-380, 2011.

PORUCIUC, A. From Bull-and-Butterfly to Alpha and Psi. In: LUCA, S. A. (Ed.). Proceedings of the International symposium ‘The Danube script: Neo-Eneolithic writing in Southeastern Europe’, May 18-20 2008. Alba Iulia: Altip, 2009. p. 37-40.

PALMER, L. R. The Greek Language. London, Boston: Humanities Press, 1980.

TAYLOR, I. The Alphabet. An account of the origin and development of the letters in two volumes – vol. I. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, and Co., 1883.

THOMPSON KLEIN, J. Interdisciplinarity: History, Theory and Practice. Detroit, Michigan: Wayne State University Press, 1990.

ULLMAN, B. L. How Old Is the Greek Alphabet? American Journal of Archaeology, Boston, v. 3, n. 38, p. 359- 381, 1934.




DOI: https://doi.org/10.15210/lepaarq.v12i24.4888

 
Contador de visitas