Early Greek Alphabetic Writing

Early Greek Alphabetic Writing

Author: Natalia Elvira Astoreca

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2021-10-31

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1789257441

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Despite the flourishing of epichoric studies on the Archaic Greek scripts in the 1960s, embodied by archaeologists Lilian Hamilton Jeffery and Margherita Guarducci, most scholarship on early alphabetic writing in Greece has focused on questions around the origin of ‘the Greek alphabet’ instead of acknowledging the diversity of alphabetic systems that emerged in Geometric and Archaic times. The present book proposes to bring back the epichoric approach by focusing on the different ways in which the earliest epigraphic evidence represents the spoken Greek dialects. However, instead of continuing the palaeographic methodology of previous studies, this analysis follows the latest trends in grapholinguistics, more specifically the methodology of comparative graphematics. By examining the grapheme-phoneme relationships across Greek-speaking regions, it is possible to recognize that diversity and to draw connections with neighboring contemporaneous alphabets, such as those for Phrygian, Eteocretan and Etruscan. This work, carried out within the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) project, aims to contribute towards the conceptualization of the so-called epichoric scripts as independent alphabets, as well as their framing within the ecology of ancient Mediterranean writing systems. Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.


Book Synopsis Early Greek Alphabetic Writing by : Natalia Elvira Astoreca

Download or read book Early Greek Alphabetic Writing written by Natalia Elvira Astoreca and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2021-10-31 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite the flourishing of epichoric studies on the Archaic Greek scripts in the 1960s, embodied by archaeologists Lilian Hamilton Jeffery and Margherita Guarducci, most scholarship on early alphabetic writing in Greece has focused on questions around the origin of ‘the Greek alphabet’ instead of acknowledging the diversity of alphabetic systems that emerged in Geometric and Archaic times. The present book proposes to bring back the epichoric approach by focusing on the different ways in which the earliest epigraphic evidence represents the spoken Greek dialects. However, instead of continuing the palaeographic methodology of previous studies, this analysis follows the latest trends in grapholinguistics, more specifically the methodology of comparative graphematics. By examining the grapheme-phoneme relationships across Greek-speaking regions, it is possible to recognize that diversity and to draw connections with neighboring contemporaneous alphabets, such as those for Phrygian, Eteocretan and Etruscan. This work, carried out within the Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) project, aims to contribute towards the conceptualization of the so-called epichoric scripts as independent alphabets, as well as their framing within the ecology of ancient Mediterranean writing systems. Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge.

The Early Greek Alphabets

The Early Greek Alphabets

Author: Robert Parker

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2021-08-26

Total Pages: 336

ISBN-13: 0192603833

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The birth of the Greek alphabet marked a new horizon in the history of writing, as the vowelless Phoenician alphabet was borrowed and adapted to write vowels as well as consonants. Rather than creating a single unchanging new tradition, however, its earliest attestations show a very great degree of diversity, as areas of the Greek-speaking world established their own regional variants. This volume asks how, when, where, by whom and for what purposes Greek alphabetic writing developed. Anne Jeffery's Local Scripts of Archaic Greece (1961), re-issued with a valuable supplement in 1990, was an epoch-making contribution to the study of these issues. But much important new evidence has emerged even since 1987, and debate has continued energetically about all the central issues raised by Jeffery's book: the date at which the Phoenician script was taken over and adapted to write vowels with separate signs; the priority of Phrygia or Greece in that process; the question whether the adaptation happened once, and the resulting alphabet then spread outwards, or whether similar adaptations occurred independently in several paces; if the adaptation was a single event, the region where it occurred, and the explanation for the many divergences in local script; what the scripts tell us about the regional divisions of archaic Greece. There has also been a flourishing debate about the development and functions of literacy in archaic Greece. The contributors to this volume bring a range of perspectives to bear in revisiting Jeffery's legacy, including chapters which extend the scope beyond Jeffery, by considering the fortunes of the Greek alphabet in Etruria, in southern Italy, and on coins.


Book Synopsis The Early Greek Alphabets by : Robert Parker

Download or read book The Early Greek Alphabets written by Robert Parker and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2021-08-26 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The birth of the Greek alphabet marked a new horizon in the history of writing, as the vowelless Phoenician alphabet was borrowed and adapted to write vowels as well as consonants. Rather than creating a single unchanging new tradition, however, its earliest attestations show a very great degree of diversity, as areas of the Greek-speaking world established their own regional variants. This volume asks how, when, where, by whom and for what purposes Greek alphabetic writing developed. Anne Jeffery's Local Scripts of Archaic Greece (1961), re-issued with a valuable supplement in 1990, was an epoch-making contribution to the study of these issues. But much important new evidence has emerged even since 1987, and debate has continued energetically about all the central issues raised by Jeffery's book: the date at which the Phoenician script was taken over and adapted to write vowels with separate signs; the priority of Phrygia or Greece in that process; the question whether the adaptation happened once, and the resulting alphabet then spread outwards, or whether similar adaptations occurred independently in several paces; if the adaptation was a single event, the region where it occurred, and the explanation for the many divergences in local script; what the scripts tell us about the regional divisions of archaic Greece. There has also been a flourishing debate about the development and functions of literacy in archaic Greece. The contributors to this volume bring a range of perspectives to bear in revisiting Jeffery's legacy, including chapters which extend the scope beyond Jeffery, by considering the fortunes of the Greek alphabet in Etruria, in southern Italy, and on coins.

Early Greek Alphabetic Writing

Early Greek Alphabetic Writing

Author: Natalia Elvira Astoreca

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2021-10-31

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1789257468

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Most scholarship on early Greek alphabetic writing has focused on the questions around the origin of 'the Greek alphabet', instead of acknowledging the diversity of alphabetic systems that emerged in Geometric and Archaic Greece. The research concerning the so-called epichoric scripts was introduced by Kirchhoff in the 19th century and saw its highest point in the 1960s with the works of Jeffery and Guarducci. Nevertheless, recent epigraphical finds and new possibilities offered by digital tools call for a revised, comprehensive study of these alphabets. Unlike previous research, which was mostly concerned with palaeography, this book presents a linguistic analysis of the epichoric alphabets that follows the latest trends in grapholinguistics and the methodology of comparative graphematics. The latter is a branch of writing systems research focused on the relationship between graphemes and the values that they represent and compares them across writing systems. This study compares the different Greek alphabets in their earliest stages, i.e. 8th and 7th centuries BC, also taking into account other contemporaneous alphabets, like those for Phrygian, Eteocretan and the Italic languages. Through the analysis of the data provided by the epigraphic texts dated within the chronological framework of this thesis, it is possible to identify the different notation systems that Greek-speakers devised to represent their dialects in writing. This brings new insights on the innovations created by these communities and the different alphabetic traditions present in Greece and across the Mediterranean. The conclusion of the book emphasizes the need to study these regional alphabets independently, rather than considering them as part of a unified entity - 'the Greek alphabet' - which did not exist at the time, and creates a new line for future research that intends to frame them individually within the ecology of ancient Mediterranean alphabets.


Book Synopsis Early Greek Alphabetic Writing by : Natalia Elvira Astoreca

Download or read book Early Greek Alphabetic Writing written by Natalia Elvira Astoreca and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2021-10-31 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most scholarship on early Greek alphabetic writing has focused on the questions around the origin of 'the Greek alphabet', instead of acknowledging the diversity of alphabetic systems that emerged in Geometric and Archaic Greece. The research concerning the so-called epichoric scripts was introduced by Kirchhoff in the 19th century and saw its highest point in the 1960s with the works of Jeffery and Guarducci. Nevertheless, recent epigraphical finds and new possibilities offered by digital tools call for a revised, comprehensive study of these alphabets. Unlike previous research, which was mostly concerned with palaeography, this book presents a linguistic analysis of the epichoric alphabets that follows the latest trends in grapholinguistics and the methodology of comparative graphematics. The latter is a branch of writing systems research focused on the relationship between graphemes and the values that they represent and compares them across writing systems. This study compares the different Greek alphabets in their earliest stages, i.e. 8th and 7th centuries BC, also taking into account other contemporaneous alphabets, like those for Phrygian, Eteocretan and the Italic languages. Through the analysis of the data provided by the epigraphic texts dated within the chronological framework of this thesis, it is possible to identify the different notation systems that Greek-speakers devised to represent their dialects in writing. This brings new insights on the innovations created by these communities and the different alphabetic traditions present in Greece and across the Mediterranean. The conclusion of the book emphasizes the need to study these regional alphabets independently, rather than considering them as part of a unified entity - 'the Greek alphabet' - which did not exist at the time, and creates a new line for future research that intends to frame them individually within the ecology of ancient Mediterranean alphabets.

Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet

Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet

Author: Barry B. Powell

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 1996-10-28

Total Pages: 312

ISBN-13: 9780521589079

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A challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.


Book Synopsis Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet by : Barry B. Powell

Download or read book Homer and the Origin of the Greek Alphabet written by Barry B. Powell and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1996-10-28 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A challenging and fascinating enquiry into the genesis of alphabetic writing.

Understanding Relations Between Scripts II

Understanding Relations Between Scripts II

Author: Philippa M. Steele

Publisher: Oxbow Books

Published: 2019-10-10

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1789250951

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Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. Understanding Relations Between Scripts II: Early Alphabets is the first volume in this series, bringing together ten experts on ancient writing, languages and archaeology to present a set of diverse studies on the early development of alphabetic writing systems and their spread across the Levant and Mediterranean during the second and first millennia BC. By taking an interdisciplinary perspective, it sheds new light on alphabetic writing not just as a tool for recording language but also as an element of culture.


Book Synopsis Understanding Relations Between Scripts II by : Philippa M. Steele

Download or read book Understanding Relations Between Scripts II written by Philippa M. Steele and published by Oxbow Books. This book was released on 2019-10-10 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contexts of and Relations between Early Writing Systems (CREWS) is a project funded by the European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 677758), and based in the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge. Understanding Relations Between Scripts II: Early Alphabets is the first volume in this series, bringing together ten experts on ancient writing, languages and archaeology to present a set of diverse studies on the early development of alphabetic writing systems and their spread across the Levant and Mediterranean during the second and first millennia BC. By taking an interdisciplinary perspective, it sheds new light on alphabetic writing not just as a tool for recording language but also as an element of culture.

Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer

Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer

Author: Roger D. Woodard

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 1997

Total Pages: 302

ISBN-13: 0195105206

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Certain characteristic features of the Cypriot script - for example, its strategy for representing consonant sequences and elements of Cypriot Greek phonology - were transferred to the new alphabetic script. Proposing a Cypriot origin of the alphabet at the hands of previously literate adapters brings clarity to various problems of the alphabet, such as the Greek use of the Phoenician sibilant letters. The alphabet, rejected by the post-Bronze Age "Mycenaean" culture of Cyprus, was exported west to the Aegean, where it gained a foothold among a then illiterate Greek people emerging from the Dark Age. Woodard's study, a combination of philological and epigraphical investigation with linguistic theory, should be of interest to both scholars and students of classics, linguistics, and Near Eastern studies.


Book Synopsis Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer by : Roger D. Woodard

Download or read book Greek Writing from Knossos to Homer written by Roger D. Woodard and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1997 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Certain characteristic features of the Cypriot script - for example, its strategy for representing consonant sequences and elements of Cypriot Greek phonology - were transferred to the new alphabetic script. Proposing a Cypriot origin of the alphabet at the hands of previously literate adapters brings clarity to various problems of the alphabet, such as the Greek use of the Phoenician sibilant letters. The alphabet, rejected by the post-Bronze Age "Mycenaean" culture of Cyprus, was exported west to the Aegean, where it gained a foothold among a then illiterate Greek people emerging from the Dark Age. Woodard's study, a combination of philological and epigraphical investigation with linguistic theory, should be of interest to both scholars and students of classics, linguistics, and Near Eastern studies.

The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet

The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet

Author: Roger D. Woodard

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Published: 2014-03-24

Total Pages: 389

ISBN-13: 1107729300

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In this book, Roger D. Woodard argues that when the Greeks first began to use the alphabet, they viewed themselves as participants in a performance phenomenon conceptually modeled on the performances of the oral poets. Since a time older than Greek antiquity, the oral poets of Indo-European tradition had been called 'weavers of words' - their extemporaneous performance of poetry was 'word weaving'. With the arrival of the new technology of the alphabet and the onset of Greek literacy, the very act of producing written symbols was interpreted as a comparable performance activity, albeit one in which almost everyone could participate, not only the select few. It was this new conceptualization of and participation in performance activity by the masses that eventually, or perhaps quickly, resulted in the demise of oral composition in performance in Greece. In conjunction with this investigation, Woodard analyzes a set of copper plaques inscribed with repeated alphabetic series and a line of what he interprets to be text, which attests to this archaic Greek conceptualization of the performance of symbol crafting.


Book Synopsis The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet by : Roger D. Woodard

Download or read book The Textualization of the Greek Alphabet written by Roger D. Woodard and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this book, Roger D. Woodard argues that when the Greeks first began to use the alphabet, they viewed themselves as participants in a performance phenomenon conceptually modeled on the performances of the oral poets. Since a time older than Greek antiquity, the oral poets of Indo-European tradition had been called 'weavers of words' - their extemporaneous performance of poetry was 'word weaving'. With the arrival of the new technology of the alphabet and the onset of Greek literacy, the very act of producing written symbols was interpreted as a comparable performance activity, albeit one in which almost everyone could participate, not only the select few. It was this new conceptualization of and participation in performance activity by the masses that eventually, or perhaps quickly, resulted in the demise of oral composition in performance in Greece. In conjunction with this investigation, Woodard analyzes a set of copper plaques inscribed with repeated alphabetic series and a line of what he interprets to be text, which attests to this archaic Greek conceptualization of the performance of symbol crafting.

The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective

Author: YAN Pui-chi (甄沛之)

Publisher: 商務印書館（香港）有限公司,聯合電子出版有限公司（代理）

Published: 2022-03-11

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 9620774922

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This book offers a whole new perspective on the history of the birth of the Greek alphabet. It also aims to give a clear account of how ancient Greek alphabetic writing could naturally evolve into the world’s first segmental writing system, in which vowel and consonant letters are used to represent vowels and consonants respectively. This book should be of great interest to linguists and phoneticians, especially those taking an interest in the world’s writing systems. General readers who are curious about the genesis of the Greek alphabet are also likely to find the subject of the book interesting.


Book Synopsis The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective by : YAN Pui-chi (甄沛之)

Download or read book The Origin of the Greek Alphabet: A New Perspective written by YAN Pui-chi (甄沛之) and published by 商務印書館（香港）有限公司,聯合電子出版有限公司（代理）. This book was released on 2022-03-11 with total page 142 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a whole new perspective on the history of the birth of the Greek alphabet. It also aims to give a clear account of how ancient Greek alphabetic writing could naturally evolve into the world’s first segmental writing system, in which vowel and consonant letters are used to represent vowels and consonants respectively. This book should be of great interest to linguists and phoneticians, especially those taking an interest in the world’s writing systems. General readers who are curious about the genesis of the Greek alphabet are also likely to find the subject of the book interesting.

The Early Greek Alphabets

The Early Greek Alphabets

Author: Robert Parker

Publisher:

Published: 2021

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9780191892363

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'The Early Greek Alphabets' brings a range of perspectives to bear in revisiting the legacy of Anne Jeffrey's work on archaic Greek scripts. The research extends the scope of Jeffrey's research, by considering the fortunes of the Greek alphabet in Etruria, in southern Italy, and on coins.


Book Synopsis The Early Greek Alphabets by : Robert Parker

Download or read book The Early Greek Alphabets written by Robert Parker and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Early Greek Alphabets' brings a range of perspectives to bear in revisiting the legacy of Anne Jeffrey's work on archaic Greek scripts. The research extends the scope of Jeffrey's research, by considering the fortunes of the Greek alphabet in Etruria, in southern Italy, and on coins.

Cadmean Letters

Cadmean Letters

Author: Martin Bernal

Publisher: Eisenbrauns

Published: 1990

Total Pages: 182

ISBN-13: 9780931464478

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Western civilization has long sought its cultural roots in the classical civilizations of the Aegean. During the twentieth century, however, it has been made increasingly clear that it owes a great debt to the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. In the thick of the debate as to how much classical civilizations were influenced by the Levant has been the question of the date of the transmission of the alphabet. In this monograph, Bernal takes up the question anew and marshals persuasive arguments that the date of transmission of the alphabet should be moved considerably earlier than generally has been thought, to the middle of the second millennium B.C. Growing out of his work on Black Athena, the intricate matters of alphabetic history and transmission are dealt with, both in terms of the history of the investigation of the topic and also with regard to the specific working out of his own new proposal.


Book Synopsis Cadmean Letters by : Martin Bernal

Download or read book Cadmean Letters written by Martin Bernal and published by Eisenbrauns. This book was released on 1990 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western civilization has long sought its cultural roots in the classical civilizations of the Aegean. During the twentieth century, however, it has been made increasingly clear that it owes a great debt to the civilizations of the Fertile Crescent. In the thick of the debate as to how much classical civilizations were influenced by the Levant has been the question of the date of the transmission of the alphabet. In this monograph, Bernal takes up the question anew and marshals persuasive arguments that the date of transmission of the alphabet should be moved considerably earlier than generally has been thought, to the middle of the second millennium B.C. Growing out of his work on Black Athena, the intricate matters of alphabetic history and transmission are dealt with, both in terms of the history of the investigation of the topic and also with regard to the specific working out of his own new proposal.