January 2017 – Writing Systems

Contents of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

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Preface to The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

Preface to The Origin of the Greek Alphabet

The birth of the Greek alphabet in the first quarter of the first millennium BC marks a milestone in the development of the writing systems of mankind. A new type of writing system suited to the phonological structures of Greek and many other European languages had been invented by the Greeks at the latest by the eighth century BC. Continue reading “Preface to The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Abstract of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

This treatise is about how Greek segmental writing evolved from the Phoenician way of writing Greek names with both Phoenician signs and matres lectionis. Continue reading “Abstract of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective”

Section 1 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

1 The role of Phoenician writing in the creation of the Greek alphabet

Nobody knows for certain why, how, when, and where exactly Greek alphabetic writing began. But it is quite certain that the Greek alphabet originated from the Phoenician script. There are evidences that this is the case. The early Greek letters are very much like the Phoenician signs. The order of the letters in the Greek alphabet is basically the same as that of the signs in the Phoenician alphabet. The Greeks called their letters Phoenician signs. Continue reading “Section 1 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Section 2 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

2 Controversy over the nature of Phoenician signs

Since Greek letters were doubtless derived from Phoenician signs, it is important to ascertain the true nature of Phoenician signs before one can understand how Greek alphabetic writing started. A Phoenician sign is generally introduced in books on writing systems as a sign that stands for a consonant. For example, the Phoenician written word <_k_l_m> for ‘king’ (to be read from right to left in accordance with the direction of Phoenician writing) is generally transliterated in roman letters as <mlk>, which obviously cannot be easily pronounced. Continue reading “Section 2 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Section 3 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

3 Phoenician signs seen from the Phoenicians’ perspective

If asked about the nature of their Phoenician signs, a Phoenician would probably explain in non-technical terms that a Phoenician sign had several “sounds”. To illustrate his point, he might read out all the possible “sounds” of a certain sign, say, <_n>. These “sounds” would be transcribed today as /na/, /ni/, /nu/, /na:/, /ni:/, /nu:/, /ne:/, and /no:/. Of these eight “sounds”, three are short and five are long.[1] To write any of these eight “sounds”, he would use the same sign <_n>. When reading the sign <_n> used in actual writing, he would know which of the eight “sounds” it stood for.

Continue reading “Section 3 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Section 4 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

4 The nature of a Phoenician sign

Today one can study directly how the modern Arabic and Hebrew scripts relate to their spoken languages and how their letters are pronounced in a piece of writing. Since the above scripts are descended from Phoenician writing through Aramaic without structural modification, the inner structure of all these Semitic alphabetic scripts should be the same, just as the inner structure of the Greek, Etruscan, Latin, and English alphabetic scripts is the same. Continue reading “Section 4 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Section 5 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

5 Pre-phonemic vs phonemic interpretations of a Phoenician syllable

A Phoenician sign represents in effect several CV syllables, including the weakened C^V. It should be noted here that a Phoenician CV syllable can be spoken with varying degrees of accentuation of V in different polysyllabic words. Phonetically V could take on any value from a fully expressed V to a completely suppressed V, with varying degrees of accentuation of V in between. Continue reading “Section 5 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective”

Section 6 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective

6 The reason why a Phoenician sign has multiple sound values

A Phoenician sign is a phonogram that has multiple sound values, which is quite different from what we commonly know of a phonogram. We usually think that a phonogram basically stands for one sound, such as an Akkadian syllabogram or a Japanese kana. To write such syllables as /na/, /ni/, and /nu/, a Phoenician would use one phonogram while a Japanese person would use three. Continue reading “Section 6 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet : A New Perspective”

Section 7 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

7 The nature of ancient Egyptian writing

(Revised on 12 September 2019)

To understand the nature of Egyptian writing, one must first understand the nature of the Egyptian language because the two are closely related to each other. The ancient Egyptian language and the Semitic languages belong to the Afro-Asiatic language family. As explained in §4, the basic syllable structure of the Semitic languages is cα. Continue reading “Section 7 of The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective”