CONJUGATION OF VERBS IN HITTITE: Present and Preterite (past tense) Conjugation: Present active: MI: HI: uncommon sing. Sing. 1 mi 1 hi (/hhi/ahhi) 2 si 2 ti 3 zi 3 i pl. pl. MI = HI 1 weni//wani/ueni 1 weni 2 teni 2 teni 3 anzi 3 anzi PRESENT: es = to be MI 1 esmi 2 essi 3 eszi 1 esuwani ... 3 asanzi ses = to sleep MI 1 sesmi 2 ... 3 seszi 1 sesueni 2 ... 3 sesanzi ed = to eat MI 1 edmi 2 ezzassi 3 ezzazzi/ezzai 1 eduwani 2 ezzatteni 3 adanzi kuen = to strike, kill MI Cf. kill (English) + tuer (French) 1 kuemi 2 kuesi 3 kuenzi 1 kuennummeni 2 kuenatteni 3 kunanzi hark = to hold, to have MI 1 harmi (k dropped before consonant) 2 harsi/harti (k dropped before consonant) 3 harzi (k dropped before consonant) 1 harweni/harwani (k dropped before consonant) 2 harteni (k dropped before consonant) 3 harkzani istamas = to hear MI 1 istamasmi 2 istamassi (istamasti/istamaszi) 3 istamaszi 1 istamasteni 2 ... 3 istamassanzi punus = to ask MI 1 punusmi 2 ... 3 punuszi 1 punussueni 2 ... 3 punussanzi uwate = to bring MI 1 uwatemi 2 uwatesi 3 uwatezzi 1 uwateweni (uwatewani 2 uwatetteni (uwatettani) 3 uwadanzi lami = to detach HI? 1 lami 2 lasi 3 lai 1 ... 2 ... 3 lanzi te = to speak MI 1 temi 2 tesi 3 tezzi 1 tarweni (te -> ta in the plural) 2 tarteni 3 taranzi pai = to go MI 1 paimi 2 paisi (pasi/paitti) 3 paizzi 1 paiweni (paiwani) 2 paitteni (paittani) 3 panzi hatrai = to write MI 1 hatrami 2 hatrasi 3 hatraizzi 1 hatraweni 2 ... 3 ... kupawi = to count MI Cf. français “couper” 1 ... 2 kupuesi 3 kuppuwaizi (kupuezzi) 1 ... 2 kuppuwateni 3 kuppwanzi handai = to add MI 1 handami 2 handasi 3 handaizzi (hantesa/handai) 1 ... 2 ... 3 handanzi iya = to do MI 1 iyami (iyammi) 2 iyasi 3 iyazi (iyazzi/iezi) 1 iyaweni (iyawani) 2 iyatteni 3 iyanzi wemiya = to find MI 1 wemiyami 2 wemiyasi 3 wemiyaz(z)i (wemiezi) 1 wemiyaweni 2 ... 3 wemiyanzi harnink = to destroy HI 1 harrikmi (drops n before consonant) 2 harrikti (drops n before consonant) 3 harrnikti (drops n before consonant) 1 ... 2 harnikteni (drops n before consonant) 3 harninkanzi sarnink = to replace MI 1 sarnikmi (drops n before consonant) 2 ... 3 sarnikzi (drops n before consonant) 1 sarninkueni 2 sarnikteni (drops n before consonant) 3 sarninkanzi ninik = to mobilize MI 1 ... 2 ... 3 ninikzi 1 ... 2 ninikteni 3 nininkanzi akkusk = to drink a lot MI 1 ... 2 uskusi (uskatti) ask -> usk 3 uskizzi 1 ... 2 uskatteni 3 uskanzi azzikk = to adore (all the time) MI 1 ... 2 ... 3 azzikizzi 1 ... 2 azzikkittani 3 azzikktanzi arnu = to bring MI 1 arnum(m)i 2 arnusi 3 arnuz(z)i 1 arnummeni 2 arnutenni 3 arnuwa(n)zi assanu/asnu = to prepare/obtain MI 1 assanumi 2 assanusi/asnusi 3 assanuz(z)i/asnuzi 1 ... 2 ... 3 assanuanzi PRETERITE: Preterite active: MI: HI: 1 (n)un 1 h(hun) 2 sta 2 (s)ta 3 sta/t 3 s pl. 1 wen/uen 1 wen MI = HI 2 ten 2 ten 3 er/ir 3 er/ir es = to be MI 1 esun 2 esta 3 esta 1 esuen 2 esten 3 esir ses= to sleep MI 1 sesun 2 sesta 3 ... 1 sesuen 2 ... 3 seser ed = to eat MI 1 edun 2 ... 3 ezta 1 ... 2 ... 3 eter kuen = to strike, kill MI 1 kuenun (kuenunun) 2 kuinnesta kue -> kui 3 kuenta 1 kueun (kuinnummen) 2 kuenten 3 kuennir hark = to hold, to have MI (Alexandre, please double check this!) 1 harkun 2 ... 3 harta 1 harwen 2 harten 3 harkir istamas = to hear MI 1 istamassun 2 ... 3 istamasta 1 ... 2 istamasten 3 istamassir punus = to ask MI 1 punussun 2 punusta 3 punusta 1 punussuen 2 ... 3 punussir uwate = to bring MI? 1 uwatenun 2 uwatet 3 uwatet 1 uwatewen 2 ... 3 uwater lami = to detach MI? 1 laun 2 lais 3 lait 1 lawen 2 ... 3 ... te = to speak MI 1 tenun 2 3 tet 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... pai = to go MI 1 paun 2 ... 3 pait/paitta 1 paiwen 2 .... 3 pair hatrai = to write MI/HI? 1 hatranun 2 hatraes 3 hatrait/hatraes 1 ... 2 ... 3 hatrair kupawi = to count MI Cf. to count (English), compter (French), contare (Italian) 1 kappuwanun – kup -> kapp 2 kappuit 3 kappuwait/kappuet 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... handai = to add MI 1 hatrunun d -> t (drops n before consonant t) 2 hatraes (drops n before consonant t) 3 hatrai/hatraes 1 ... 2 ... 3 hatrair (drops n before consonant t) iya = to do MI 1 iyanun 2 iyas/iyat 3 iyas/iet 1 iyawen 2 iyatten 3 ier wemiya = to find MI 1 wemiyanun 2 ... 3 wemiyat/wemit 1 wemiyawen 2 ... 3 wemiyer harnink = to destroy HI? 1 harinkun 2 harikta (drops n before consonant k) 3 harnikta (drops n before consonant k) 1 ... 2 3 harninkir sarnink = to replace 1 sarninkun 2 ... 3 sarnikta 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... akkusk = to drink a lot MI 1 uskinun 2 ... 3 uskit 1 usgawen 2 ... 3 ... arnu = to bring MI 1 arnunun 2 ... 3 arnut 1 ... 2 ... 3 arnuir/arnuer assanu/asnu = to prepare/obtain 1 assanunun 2 ... 3 assanut 1 ... 2 ... 3 assanuir April 25 2020
Tag: grammar
DECLENSIONS OF NOUNS IN HITTITE
DECLENSIONS OF NOUNS IN HITTITE NOUNS in Hittite: Noun declensions are fragmentary Declensions: ABL = from, of etc. ALL (directive) = to (direction) Common (masculine/feminine): sing. NOM as/is/us GEN as/iyas ACC an DAT/LOC i INST it/ta ABL ...z/za/aza/yaz ALL a (almost never attested) pl. NOM es/is ACC us GEN an/as DAT/LOC as INST it/ta ABL za/aza man = antuhsas sing. NOM antuhsas GEN antuhsas ACC antuhsan DAT/LOC antuhsi ABL antuhsaz pl. NOM antuhses ACC antuhsus GEN antuhsas DAT/LOC antuhsas anna = mother sing. NOM annas GEN annas ACC annan DAT/LOC anni ABL annaz pl. NOM annis ACC annus aruna = sea sing. NOM arunas GEN arunas ACC arunan DAT/LOC aruni ABL arunaz(za) pl. ACC arunus kessara = hand kess -> kiss sing. NOM kessaras GEN kissaras ACC kisseran DAT/LOC kissiri INST kisserit ABL kissaraz(a) pl. ACC kisserus isha = lord sing. NOM ishas DAT/LOC ishi/eshe ALL isha pl. NOM ishes DAT/LOC ishas halki = cereal sing. NOM halkis GEN halkiyas ACC halkin INST halkit ABL halkiyaza pl. NOM halkis ACC halkius/halkes tuzzi = army sing. NOM tuzzis/tuzziyas GEN tuzzias ACC tuzzin DAT/LOC tuzziya ABL ... tuzziyaz pl. ACC tuzzius halukanni = chariot sing. NOM halukannis GEN halugannas ACC halukanin DAT/LOC haluganni(ya) INST halukannit ABL ...haluganniyaz(a) halhaltumari = cornerstone sing. DAT/LOC halhaltumari(ya) pl. NOM halhaltumares GEN halhaltumariyas DAT/LOC halhaltumariyas ABL halhaltumaraza huwasi = grindstone sing. NOM huwasi GEN huwasiyas DAT/LOC huwasi(ya) ABL huwasiyaz pl. NOM huwasi ispantuzzi = wine barrel sing. NOM ispantuzzi GEN ispantuzziyas DAT/LOC ispantuzzi INST ispantuzzit ABL ispantuzziaz zahhai = battle sing. NOM zahhais GEN zahhias ACC zahhain/zahhin DAT/LOC zahhiya ABL ... zahhiyaz(a) lengai = oath sing. GEN likiyas/lingayas ACC lingain DAT/LOC linkiya/lingai ABL linkiaza pl. NOM lingais ACC lingaus zashai = dream sing. ACC zashain DAT/LOC zashiya INST zashit ABL ...zashiyaz pl. ACC zahsimus harnau = chair sing. NOM harnaus GEN harnawas ACC harnaun DAT/LOC harnawi wellu = meadow sing. NOM wellus ACC wellun DAT/LOC welli ABL welluwaz pl. DAT/LOC welluwas heu = rain sing. NOM heus GEN hewas ACC heun INST heawit pl. NOM hewes/heyawes ACC heus siu = god NOM siunis/DINGURus as/iyas ACC siunin DAT/LOC siuni INST siunit ABL ...z/za/aza/yaz pl. NOM siwannies ACC simus GEN siunan/siunas uttar = word Cf. “utter” (English) NOM uttar GEN uddanas DAT/LOC udani INST uddanit ABL .. udanaza/undananza pl. NOM uddar GEN uddanas DAT/LOC uddanas memiya = word Cf. “memory” (English) + “mémoire” (French) etc. sing. NOM memiyas GEN memiyanas ACC memiyan DAT/LOC memiyani INST meminit pl. ACC memiyanus eshar = blood NOM eshar GEN eshanas DAT/LOC eshani INST eshanta ABL eshanaza/esnaza watar = water Cf. all sorts of Indo-European languages, especially “water” (English) NOM watar GEN witenas DAT/LOC witeni INST wetenit ABL ...wetenaza pahhuar = fire NOM pahhuwar GEN pahhuwenas DAT/LOC pahhueni INST pahhuenit ABL pahhuenaz mehur = time NOM mehur DAT/LOC mehueni hilammar = gate Common (masculine/feminine): sing. NOM hillamar GEN hillamnas ACC hillamar DAT/LOC hillamni INST it/ta ABL hillamnaz ALL hillamna nepis = sky sing. NOM nepis GEN nepisas DAT/LOC nepisi ABL nepisaz(a) ALL nepisa ais = mouth sing. NOM ais GEN issas DAT/LOC issi INST issit ABL issaz isgaruh = container, vessel sing. NOM isqaruh/iskarih DAT/LOC hi INST isqaruit arkamma = tribute sing. NOM arkammas GEN arkammanaas ACC arkamman pl. ACC arkammus muri(yan) = grapefruit sing. NOM mures INST murinit ABL ...z/za/aza/yaz ALL a (almost never attested) pl. ACC muriyanus kard= heart Cf. “heart” (English) + “coeur” (French) etc. etc. sing. NOM SA(ideogram)+ir GEN kardiyas DAT/LOC kardi INST kardit ABL kartaz ALL karta parn = house sing. NOM pir GEN parnas DAT/LOC parni ABL parnaza ALL parna (almost never attested) Adjectives: salli = big sing. NOM sallis GEN sallas/sallaiyas ACC sallin DAT/LOC sallai ABL ...sallayaz ALL a pl. NOM sallaes ACC sallaus/sallius DAT/LOC sallayas suppi = pure NOM suppis GEN suppayas DAT/LOC suppai/suppi/suppa/suppaya INST suppit ABL suppayaza pl. NOM suppaes/suppis ACC suppaus DAT/LOC suppayas/suppiyas ABL suppayaza karuili = old sing. NOM karuilis GEN karuilias ACC karuilun ABL karuililes/karuiliyas pl. NOM karuiles/ karuiliyas GEN karuila DAT/LOC karuiliyas assu = good sing. NOM assus GEN assawas ACC assun DAT/LOC assawi INST assawet ABL ... assawaza pl. NOM assawes ACC assamus DAT/LOC INST assawet parku = high sing. NOM parkus GEN parkuwas ACC parkun DAT/LOC pargawe ABL pargawaz pl. NOM pargawes/pargaus ACC pargamus/pargaus DAT/LOC pargawas April 26 2020
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NEW on academia.edu. High Correlation Linear A-Linear B vocabulary, grammar and orthography in Linear A, by Richard Vallance Janke and Alexandre Solcà
NEW on academia.edu. High Correlation Linear A-Linear B vocabulary, grammar and orthography in Linear A, by Richard Vallance Janke and Alexandre Solcà: CLICK HERE:ABSTRACT: Over the past 118 years since the discovery of the first Linear A tablets at Knossos, innumerable attempts have been made to decipher Linear A, all of them falling short of expectations in academia, or being outright abject failures. We propose a multi-pronged approach to the decipherment of the Mycenaean-derived superstrate in Linear A, otherwise known as New Minoan (NM), with the implicit understanding that we, like all other researchers past and present, are not in a position to decipher the Minoan substrate language, a.k.a. Old Minoan (OM), onto which Mycenaean-derived New Minoan (NM) vocabulary is grafted. The primary thrust of this monograph is to demonstrate the high correlation which obtains only between Mycenaean-derived Linear A and Linear B vocabulary, a.k.a. New Minoan (NM) in Linear A, between the grammar and orthography in Linear A and Linear B and between their syllabaries. To this end we have adopted a multi-pronged approach, which consists of the following methodologies: (a) the establishment of high correlation between Mycenaean-derived Linear A and Linear B vocabulary, wherever applicable (b) the confirmation of high correlation between the Linear A and Linear B syllabaries (c) demonstration of high correlation between the orthography of Mycenaean-derived Linear A terms and their Linear B counterparts and (d) corroborating evidence of the possible derivation of much of Mycenaean, archaic and Homeric Greek grammar from foundational archaic Minoan declensions. Keywords: syllabary, Linear A, substrate, Linear B, superstrate, correlation, high correlation, derivation, derivative analysis, vocabulary, orthography, syllabaries, grammar, archaic Greek, Homeric Greek This monograph, High Correlation Linear A-Linear B vocabulary, grammar and orthography in Linear A, by Richard Vallance Janke and Alexandre Solcà, is the largest study into the genesis of a Mycenaean-derived superstrate in Linear A ever undertaken by these authors. This is merely the draft paper, and as such it has yet to be approved for final publication by the editorial board of Les Éditions KONOSO Press. Since this is a draft paper only, we urgently request that any and all visitors to View Comments apprise us of any and all errors, whether orthographic, grammatical or syntactical. We have already proof-read this monograph at least 150 times, but before it can be approved or is approved for final publication by Les Éditions KONOSO Press, it must be absolutely free of errors of any kind. So if you spot any errors whatsoever, please let us know at once. We of course welcome any and all comments, observations and criticisms on this major new and entirely revolutionary study into the possible/probable existence of a Mycenaean-derived superstrate in Linear A. We realize that a great many critics will object to our hypothesis, some of them vociferously. But all we ask is that you keep an open mind, whoever you may be, with our thanks in advance. Also, please be sure to go straight to this astonishing new study on academia.edu, by clicking on the graphical link at the outset of this post. Please do bookmark it, and if you are a member of academia.edu, please recommend it to other researchers. And if you already know Linear B, read all of it, because you will be astounded to discover how great is the overlap between Mycenaean-derived Greek in Linear A and Mycenaean Greek in Linear B. Trust me. Thank you Richard Vallance Janke and Alexandre Solcà
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Did the archaic nominative and/or genitive singular feminine ending in ja/ya in Mycenaean Greek derive from the Minoan language?
Did the archaic nominative and/or genitive singular feminine ending in ja/ya in Mycenaean Greek derive from the Minoan language?In the glossary below of: A: masculine Mycenaean Linear B words ending in jo B: feminine Mycenaean Linear B words ending in ja C: Minoan Linear A words ending in ja These are the keys: nom. = nominative gen. = genitive All Linear B entries are drawn Latinized as is from Chris Tselentis’ Linear A Lexicon. A: Most Linear B nouns in jo are nominative: A-da-ra-ti-jo Adrastios nom. ai-ki-a2-ri-jo aigihalios = coastal, of the coast gen. a-ka-ta-jo Aktaios nom. a-ke-re-wi-jo Agrevios nom. akorajo= used for communal purposes + for the marketplace gen. a-mi-ni-si-jo Amnisos nom. a-pi-no-e-wi-jo ethnic name of Amphinoevioi gen. arejo = areios (divine epithet)nom. a-te-mi-ti-jo = Artemitios nom. da-ja-ro = Daiaros nom. da-mi-ni-jo = Damnios nom. da-ta-ja-ro = Dataiaros nom. da-wi-jo = ethnic name of Davios gen. de-u-ka-ri-jo = Deukalion nom. di-ka-ta-jo = Diktaios Cf. Linear A nom. di-u-jo + diwijo = belonging to Zeus gen. du-ni-jo = Dynios nom. dwo-jo = of two gen. e-to-ni-jo = etonion = free-hold nom. e-wi-ta-jo = ethnic name of Evitaios nom. kakijo = made of copper gen ku-te-se-jo = kyteseios = made from ebony gen. B: Most Linear words in ja are nominative: a-ko-ra-ja= used for communal purposes + for the marketplace gen. a-mo-te-wi-ja armothevia = description of a pot (gen. sing.?)gen. a-ne-moi-ere-ja = priestess of the winds nom. a-ni-ja = ania = reins (neut. pl.) nom. a-pa-ta-wa-ja = ethnic name of Aptarfaia nom. a-ra-ka-te-ja = alakateiai = weavers nom. a-ra-ru-ja = ararya = bound, equipped nom. a-re-ja = areia (divine epithet) nom. a-si-ja-ti-ja = Asiatiai nom. a-si-wi-ja = Asivia nom. a-te-re-wi-ja = Atreivia nom. da-wi-ja = ethnic name of Davia gen. de-di-ku-ja = dedikyia = being apprenticed adjectival di-pi-si-ja = ethnic name of Dipsia gen. di-u-ja = diyia = priestess of the god Zeus nom. e-qe-si-ja = related to a follower gen. e-ru-mi-ni-ja = elymniai = roof beams nom. e-sa-re-wi-ja = Esalevia nom. e-to-ki-ja = entoihia = fittings for insertion in walls nom. e-wi-ri-pi-ja = ethnic name of Evripia gen. i-je-re-ja = priestess nom. i-ni-ja = personal name = Inia nomm. i-pe-me-de-ja = personal name =Iphemedeia nom. ka-da-mi-ja = somee product related to garden cress nom. ka-ki-ja/ka-ke-ja = made of copper = khalkia gen. ka-pi-ni-ja = kapnia = chimney nom. ke-ra-me-ja = personal name = Kerameia nom. ke-ro-si-ja = geronsia = council of elders nom. + gen. ke-se-ne-wi-ja = xenwia adjectival ko-ki-re-ja = kolhireia = shell=shaped, spiral adjectival ko-no-si-ja = Knosia = ethnic name of Knossos gen. nu-wa-i-ja = numfaia = kind of textile of water-lily colour nom. + gen. pa-ta-ja = paltaia = arrow nom. po-si-da-e-ja = Posidaeia nom. pu-ka-ta-ri-ja = type of cloth nom. pu2-te-ri-ja = phuteria = planted, cultivated adjectival qe-ra-si-ja = Kerasia (name of goddess) nom. ra-e-ja = laheia = made of stone gen. ra-ja = Raia nom. ri-ne-ja = lineiai = flax workers nom. ro-u-si-je-wi-ja = Lousieveia = originating in/from Lousos gen. se-to-i-ja = Setoia nom. si-to-po-ti-ni-ja= sitopotnia = goddess of grain nom. + gen. te-o-po-ri-ja = Theophoria = religious feast nom. ti-ri-ja= tria = three nom. we-a-re-ja = vealeia = made of glass adjectival + gen. C: what are all the Minoan Linear A words below ending in ja supposed to represent? Are all or even some of them either nouns or adjectives? Just because they are in Mycenaean Linear B does not constitute proof that they are in Linear A. Nevertheless, they could be. NOTE that it is highly unusual, if not inexplicable, for there to be 57 words with the ultimate ja in Linear A, but none whatsoever ending in jo. This leads me to believe that it is extremely risky to assume that all of these Minoan words with ultimate ja are either nominative or genitive feminine singular. Just because they are in Mycenaean Linear B does not at all necessarily imply that they are so in Linear A. That would be jumping to conclusions. Nevertheless, there may be a case for assuming that Minoan Linear A words with ultimate ja may possibly be either nominative or genitive feminine singular, in which case it would appear that the Mycenaean nominative or genitive feminine singular words with the ultimate ja may possibly be derived from their Minoan precedents. But there is no way of proving this. C: 57/988 Minoan Linear A words with the ultimate ja: amaja aseja asuja dija Cf. LB di-u-ja = diyia = priestess of the god Zeus duja esija ija iruja itaja jadireja 10 jasaja jatoja kija kiraja koja kuja kupa3rija * kupaja masaja (of larger? L&S 426) masuja 20 mireja (belonging to a sheep? L&S 443) musajanemaruja namarasasaja nenaarasaja nemaruja nenaarasaja nukisikija * oteja pa3kija paja 30 pasarija * pija piwaja qapaja qeja radasija * raja rasasaja redamija * reduja 40 reja saja/sajea sejarapaja sidija * sija sudaja suja Sukirteija tija tikuja 50 tiraduja tuimaja Tukidija Tunija waja (land) wija zanwaija 57 These 57 Minoan Linear A words may be either: 1 the primordial nominative singular feminine OR 2 the primordial genitive singular feminine OR 3 neither The last scenario is just as probable as the first two.
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PINTEREST Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B, Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, PIN site for Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae
PINTEREST Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B, Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, PIN site for Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae:
PINTEREST Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B, Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, Progressive Grammar and Vocabulary:
with over 2,240 PINS on every aspect of Minoan Linear A, Mycenaean Linear B and Arcado-Cypriot Linear C, including hundreds of tablets and their decipherment, the syllabaries, images of Knossos, Mycenae and other Bronze Age locales related to these syllabaries, maps, archaeological sites and plans, silver and gold jewellery, timelines etc. etc., is the PIN site for Minoan Linear A, Linear B, Knossos & Mycenae:
If you are not already following our PINTEREST site, now is the time to do just that.
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Linear A Nouns: ultimate o: Masculine/neuter nouns and adjectives
Linear A Nouns: ultimate o: Masculine/neuter nouns and adjectives:KEY: OM = Old Minoan, Minoan substratum NM = New Minoan, Mycenaean-derived superstratum PGS = pre-Greek substratum Since this list is intended merely to be indicative of what appears to be the Minoan ultimate o for masculine and neuter nouns and adjectives, with a few exceptions intended to be illustrative, I have not defined any of the words here. They will be defined in our Complete Glossary of Minoan Vocabulary, consisting of over 950 words. adaro NM = a type of grain, barley amidao apero aruqaro asidatoi (pl.?) 5 dinaro ero NM jako jateo kairo 10 NM = due measure kero kidaro kiro NM kiso kito 15 kuro NM = reaching, attaining, i.e. total meto mio muko NM = corner, recess murito 20 niro Paito PGS = Phaistos (= Linear B) pa3dipo potokuro NM = a full drink, a brimming drink puko 25 OM = tripd qajo qareto qato qero 30 reqasuo roiko NM = broken (= Linear B) ruiko Cf. roiko Rukito PGS = Lykinthos (= Linear B, Rukito) ruko 35 sapo sato sezanitao simito PGS = mouse, attribute of Apollo, the Mouse God siro NM? 40 tero tio uro uso utaro 45 witero 46
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Linear B seal BE Zg 1 as erroneously interpreted by Gretchen Leonhardt, corrected here
Linear B seal BE Zg 1 as erroneously interpreted by Gretchen Leonhardt, corrected here:Gretchen Leonhardt, a self-styled Linear B expert, has erroneously deciphered Linear B seal BE Zg 1. As she so often does, she misinterprets syllabograms, all to often blatantly violating their phonetic values. It is clear from this seal that the last syllabogram must be either ru or ne, and certainly not me, by any stretch of the imagination. Leonhardt is also in the habit of recasting the orthography of Linear B words she interprets to suit her own purposes. In this instance, she translates what she mistakenly takes to be the word on the VERSO to be dokame as dokema in Latinized Greek, flipping the vowels. But the second syllabogram is clearly ka, and cannot be interpreted as anything else. The problem with Ms. Leonhardt’s so-called methodology in her decipherment of any and all Linear B tablets is that she runs off on wild tangents whenever she is confronted with any word that does not meet her preconceptions. In this instance, she is desperate to cook up a meaning which appeals to her, no matter how much she has to twist the Linear B orthography. She indulges in this very practice on practically every last Linear B tablet she “deciphers”, interpreting Linear B words to suit her fancy, except in those instances where she is faced with no alternative but to accept what is staring her in the face. For instance, allow me to cite some of her translations of certain words on Linear B tablet Pylos TA 641-1952. She has no choice but to accept tiripode as signifying “tripod”, eme as “together/with” and qetorowe as “four year”, even though it properly means “four”, in line with the Latin orthography, quattuor. Linear B regularly substitutes q for t. As for her so-called decipherment of apu, she should know better than to translate it as “to become bleached/white”. After all, how could a burnt tripod be bleached white, when scorching turns pottery black? It is astonishing that she would overlook the obvious here. What is even more damning is the indisputable fact that apu is the default aprivative preposition for “from/with” in Mycenaean, Arcadian, Arcado-Cypriot, Lesbian and Thessalian, as attested by George Papanastassiou in The preverb apo in Ancient Greek:
Then we have mewijo, which she interprets as “a kind of cumin”. Why on earth the Mycenaeans would have bothered with naming a specific kind of cumin when the standard word suffices, is completely beyond me. In fact, the alternative word she has latched onto is extremely uncommon in any ancient Greek dialect. Finally, she bizarrely interprets dipa, which is clearly the Mycenaean equivalent to the Homeric depa, as “to inspect”, another wild stretch of the imagination. Sadly, Ms. Leonhardt is much too prone to these shenanigans, which mar all too many of her decipherments. She ought to know better. This of course applies to her decipherment of Linear B seal BE Zg 1. Finally, we can also interpret the figure on this seal as representing the Horns of Consecration ubiquitous at Knossos.
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Minoan Grammar: Nouns & adjectives: Masculine: ultimate u, nominative masculine singular: Part 2: D-Z depu-tanirizu 86-150
Minoan Grammar: Nouns & adjectives: Masculine: ultimate u, nominative masculine singular: Part 2: D-Z depu-tanirizu 86-150depu kopu kumapu matapu nisupu 90 qepu ra2pu rapu sasupu sokanipu 95 supu adaru akaru atiru dideru = emmer wheat 100 dimaru diru ditajaru jaru kaporu 105 karu kasaru kekiru kiru koiru NM 110 koru NM maru miru muru naru 115 nazuru niru padaru qaqaru ra2ru 120 saru setamaru saru siru tamaru terusi(declension) 125 dusu kunisu = emmer wheat usu zusu siitau 130 aratu kisusetu majutu mesenerutu nutu 135 rera2tusi (declined) ripatu sarutu semetu senu 140 sezatimitu sitetu sutu juu duzu 140 kupazu manarizu mazu nazuku nasuru 145 pikuzu pu2juzu radizu suzu tanirizu 150
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Linear A seals: Part 2 + Minoan grammar, nominative singular masculine in u
Linear A seals: Part 2 + Minoan grammar, nominative singular masculine in u:Linear A seal HM 570.1g confirms beyond doubt that the word situ is New Minoan, i.e. Mycenaean-derived for “wheat”, a tight match with Mycenaean sito. But it establishes a lot more than just that. Since there are well over 200 Minoan words, whether Old Minoan or Mycenaean-derived New Minoan, all of which terminate in u, the circumstantial evidence is very strong that u is the nominative masculine singular of Minoan nouns and adjectives regardless. I have no idea what jetana means, as it is clearly Old Minoan.
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Linear A seals: Part 1 + Minoan grammar, enclitic ne = in/on
Linear A seals: Part 1 + Minoan grammar, enclitic ne = in/on:
On these Linear A seals we find the word patane, apparently a variant of patos (Greek) = “path”. But how can we account for the divergence from standard Greek spelling? In the Mycenaean dialect, the preposition “in” was proclitic and expressed as eni, hence eni pati (locative singular). But as I have already pointed out several times in previous posts, when any word is imported from a source superstratum language (in this case, Mycenaean) into a target language (in this case, the Minoan language substratum), its orthography must be changed to comply with the spelling conventions of the target language. This phenomenon also occurs in English, where 10s of thousands of Norman French and French words are imported, but where in a great many cases, the French spelling must be adjusted to conform with English orthography. To cute just a few examples of French orthography adjust to meet the exigencies of English spelling, we have:
French to English: albâtre = alabaster bénin = benign cloître = cloister dédain = disdain épître = epistle forêt = forest fanatique = fanatic gigantesque = gigantic gobelet = goblet loutre = otter maître = master plâtre = plaster similitude = similarity traître = treacherous and on and on. This phenomenon applies to every last substratum language upon which a superstratum from another language is imposed. Likewise, in the case of Old Minoan, it is inevitable that the orthography of any single superstratum Mycenaean derived word has to be adjusted to meet the exigencies of Minoan orthography. The most striking example of this metamorphosis is the masculine singular. Mycenaean derived words in Minoan must have their singular ultimate adjusted to u from the Mycenaean o. There are plenty of examples: Akano to Akanu (Archanes) akaro to akaru (field) kako to kaku (copper) kuruko to kuruku (crocus/saffron) mare (mari) to maru (wool) Rado to Radu (Latos) simito to simitu (mouse) suniko to suniku (community) Winado to Winadu (toponym) woino to winu (wine) iyero to wireu (priest) But these same words terminate in u in Minoan. And there are well over 150 in the extant Linear A lexicon of slightly more than 950 words. As we can clearly see on Linear A seal HM 570.1a, the word patane is typical of several Minoan words, all of which also terminate in ne. These are: aparane asamune dakusene dadumine jasararaanane kadumane namine parane patane qetune sikine wisasane It distinctly appears that all of these words are in the Minoan dative/locative case, and that the enclitic ultimate therefore means “in” or “on”. This will have to be substantiated by further research, but for the time being, let us assum that this conclusion is at least tentatively correct.
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Rational partial decipherment of Minoan Linear A tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada) & the first real glimpse of Minoan grammar actualized
Rational partial decipherment of Minoan Linear A tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada) & the first real glimpse of Minoan grammar actualized:This albeit partial decipherment of Minoan Linear A tablet HT 117 (Haghia Triada) incorporates an approximately equal admixture of Old Minoan, i.e. the original Minoan language, also known as the Minoan substratum (of which I am unable to decipher most of the words) and of New Minoan, i.e. the superstratum of words of probable Mycenaean provenance, most of which I have been able to decipher with relative ease. While some of the New Minoan translations obviously appear to break the grammatical rules of Mycenaean Greek, such as mitu for “mint”, which is after all mita (and feminine) in Mycenaean Greek or daminu for “in 1 village”, which is damo in the nominative in Linear B, these adjustments can be readily accounted for by the fact that Old Minoan grammar is not at all the same beast as Mycenaean grammar. Although we are not yet familiar with much of Old Minoan grammar, which is after all the grammar of Minoan, just the same as modernized Anglo-Saxon grammar is the grammar of English, in spite of the enormous superstratum of French, Latin and Greek words in the latter language, this tablet alone perhaps affords us a first glimpse into the mechanics of Minoan grammar. Thus, it would appear that mitu may be the Minoan accusative of mita, and daminu may be the locative of damo in Minoan. Although there is no scientific way for me to substantiate this claim, I believe I am onto something, and that I may be making the first cracks in the obdurate wall of the grammar of the Minoan language substratum. If this is so, then I may be actually pointing the way to unravelling at least a subset of Old Minoan grammar. To illustrate my point, let us take a look at these phrases in English, as adapted from their Norman French superstrata. In French, the phrases would read as follows: “ avec la menthe”& “ dans le village”, whereas in English they read as “with mint” & “in the village”. Take special note of the fact that, while the Norman French superstrata words in English, “mint” and “village” are (almost) identical to their Norman French counterparts, the grammar of the phrases is entirely at odds, because after the grammar of French, which is a Romance language, and of English, which is a Germanic, cannot possibly coincide. But here again, I must emphatically stress that English grammar is an entirely different matter than English vocabulary, of which the latter is only 26 % Germanic, but 29 % French, 29 % Latin and 4 % Greek, the latter 3 languages, namely, the superstrata, accounting for fully 64 % of all English vocabulary! We must always make this clear distinction between English grammar, which is essentially Anglo-Saxon modernized, and English vocabulary, which is only minimally Germanic. If we carry this hypothesis to its logical outcome, we can readily surmise that the same phenomenon applies to the Linear A syllabary. Where grammar is concerned, the Linear A syllabary is Old Minoan, i.e. the original Minoan language or substrate. Where vocabulary is concerned, Linear A represents an admixture of Old Minoan vocabulary, such as uminase, kuramu, kupa3nu (kupainu), tejare and nadare (all of which I cannot decipher) and of New Minoan Mycenaean derived vocabulary, such as makarite, mitu, sata, kosaiti and daminu on this tablet alone. The orthography of the latter words is not actually consistent with Mycenaean grammar, because constitutionally it cannot be. Once again, the grammar is always Minoan, whereas the vocabulary often falls into the New Minoan (Mycenaean derived) superstratum. In the case of makarite, it would appear that, if the word is dative in Minoan, the Minoan dative is similar to the Mycenaean, ending as it seems to in i. The ultimate te in makarite appears to be the Mycenaean or ancient Greek enclitic te (and). In the case of mitu, which is mita and feminine in Mycenaean Greek, it would appear that the Minoan word is either masculine or that in this case at least, it is instrumental, meaning “with mint”, in which case the Minoan feminine instrumental appears to terminate with u. The word kosaiti appears to follow the same lines. The first two syllables, kosai, apparently are Mycenaean, but the ultimate ti is Minoan, and once again, instrumental (plural). Again, daminu appears to repeat the same pattern. The word damo is masculine (or neuter) in Mycenaean. But the ultimate is inu here, which appears to be the Minoan locative, inu. To summarize, we must make a clear-cut distinction between any New Minoan vocabulary on any Linear A tablet, and its orthography, which must of necessity follow the orthographic conventions of the Minoan language, and not of the Mycenaean, from which any such words are derived. I intend to make this abundantly clear in subsequent posts.
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CRITICAL Links to KEY PERSEUS/Tufts ancient Greek pages for persons knowledgeable in ancient Greek
CRITICAL Links to KEY PERSEUS/Tufts ancient Greek pages for persons knowledgeable in ancient Greek: 1. Homer, Iliad, Book II, The Catalogue of Ships:If you are wondering why I have deliberately zeroed in on Book II, the Catalogue of Ships of Homer’s Iliad, as I am sure you are, wonder no more. Only Book II alone, the Catalogue of Ships of Homer’s Iliad, can provide us with sufficient examples of Homeric grammar with distinctly Mycenaean characteristics, from which we can thereby retrogressively extrapolate numerous examples of grammatical forms in many of the major categories of Homeric Greek to their putative, and in fact, actual, Mycenaean ancestral roots. 2. Jeffrey A. Rydberg-Cox, Overview of Greek Syntax:
is a superb source for the study of ancient Greek grammar. The link is parsed into the major sub-categories of ancient Greek grammar, i.e. nouns, verbs, participles etc. etc., and is thus an extremely valuable and highly practical source for ancient Greek grammar, all but eliminating the necessity of having to buy a hard-copy or e-book publication on ancient Greek grammar. In short, it is a perfectly sound source for ancient Greek grammar aficionados.
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For the first time in history, the conjugation of athematic MI verbs in 5 active tenses in Mycenaean Linear B
For the first time in history, the conjugation of athematic MI verbs in 5 active tenses in Mycenaean Linear B: We now continue with the conjugations of 5 active tenses for athematic MI verbs in Mycenaean Linear B, represented here by the athematic verb, didomi (Latinized), which was extremely commonplace right on down from Mycenaean Greek through to Attic and Hellenistic Greek and beyond, to New Testament Greek. We can safely confirm that the conjugation of athematic MI verbs underwent almost no perceptible changes (if any at all) from the Mycenaean era to the New Testament. The reason for this is apparent. Since the conjugation of athematic MI verbs was already cemented, in other words, fossilized, by as early as the Mycenaean era, there would have been no need whatsoever to change, modify or supposedly improve on its conjugations. For this reason alone, regressive extrapolation of the conjugations of 5 active tenses of athematic MI verbs is a simple matter. So in the case of athematic MI verbs, the method of retrogressive extrapolation we normally apply to grammatical elements in Mycenaean Linear B derived (D) from later ancient Greek dialects does not apply. Since the conjugations of MI verbs were already fully consolidated in Mycenaean Greek, it is quite beside the point. It The 5 tenses of the indicative active we have accounted for in our table of conjugations of athematic MI verbs are: the present active the future active the imperfect active the aorist active (both first and second) the perfect active as illustrated in this table of paradigms:As I have already pointed out in the previous post on thematic active verbs in 5 tenses, I have deliberately omitted the pluperfect tense active, as it was extremely rare in all ancient Greek dialects. Note that it is assumed that scholars, researchers and linguists reviewing our tables of conjugations of verbs in Mycenaean Greek are well versed in ancient Greek, and hence familiar with the subtle distinction between the first and second aorist (simple past tense). For this reason, we shall not attempt to differentiate between the two. Should anyone wish to do so, that person can refer him or herself to the Wikipedia articles on this topic. As for those of you who are not yet versed in ancient Greek, most notably, the Attic dialect, you will have to learn ancient Greek in the first place before you can even hope to grasp the distinction between the first and second aorist, let alone understand so many other elements of ancient Greek grammar.
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CRITICAL POST: What is Mycenaean Linear B progressive grammar & how do we derive it from attested (A) grammatical forms?
CRITICAL POST: What is Mycenaean Linear B progressive grammar & how do we derive it from attested (A) grammatical forms? We must first extrapolate as many elements of attested (A) grammar from extant Linear B tablets as we possibly can before even thinking of addressing Mycenaean Linear B derived (D) progressive grammar. I shall significantly expand this post in a new article soon to appear on my academia.edu account. Pardon the pun, but keep posted. This article, which is to serve as the formal introduction to derived (D) Mycenaean Linear B grammar, is bound to have a decisive impact on the Linear B research community. If this is not enough, just wait until researchers are confronted with the entire corpus of derived (D) Mycenaean Linear B grammar, which is much larger and more comprehensive than anyone can currently imagine, apart from myself. Since no one to date has ever assayed a relatively complete reconstruct of Mycenaean grammar, THAT will really hit home! The essays on derived (D) Mycenaean Linear B grammar will need to be subdivided by grammatical categories, verbs first, then nouns, etc., to prevent us from overwhelming our readers with the substantial mass of data we shall be covering. Before we can even pose the question, “What is Mycenaean Linear B derived (D) progressive grammar?”, we must account for any and all traces of Mycenaean grammar on the extant tablets. If we are to rely on the Mycenaean Linear B tablets, regardless of provenance, for signs of Mycenaean grammar, we are bound to be somewhat disappointed. Nevertheless, there remains on the Linear B tablets a corpus of Mycenaean grammar, considerably more substantial than we might have suspected, which is sufficiently viable for the reconstruction from the ground up of significant corpus of Mycenaean derived (D) grammar. In fact, the attributed (A) elements of Mycenaean grammar on extant Linear B tablets provide us with more than enough ammunition to reconstruct a wide spectrum of derived (D) Mycenaean grammar, as we shall soon see. From scanning through Chris Tselentis’ splendid Linear B Lexicon and other extant sources of Mycenaean Greek, I have been able to isolate the following snippets of extant, i.e. attributed (A), Mycenaean grammar. These I have categorized by the discrete grammatical categories with which we are all familiar. Synopsis: NOTE that I am resorting to Prof. L.R. Palmer’s convention of LATINIZING all Linear B syllabograms, hence, words and phrases, since listing as many Mycenaean Linear B as I have even for attested (A) grammatical forms is a very tedious process not worth my trouble, let alone anyone else’s. However, I am providing in this post a few examples of actual attested (A) Linear B words, along with the complete derived (D) conjugation of didomi (I give), derived from the attested (A) didosi (they give) below. Here is the conjugation in the present active tense of the athematic verb didomi, fully restored:Here you see examples of some of the grammatical forms listed in the attested (A) glossary below:
For Prof. L.R. Palmer’s extremely comprehensive glossary of Mycenaean Linear B words, see The Interpretation of Mycenaean Texts (1963), pp 403-466. Apart from Chris Tselentis’ Linear B Lexicon, this is far and away the most useful source of Mycenaean Linear B. KEY to abbreviations: ps = person singular; pp = person plural; f = future; o = optative; dat = dative; pi (siffix)= instrumental or primeval ablative case e.g teukepi = with instruments or paraphernalia Verbs: Infinitives: Present: akee = to send akere = to gather, collect apieke – to be covered all over apudoke = to deliver ekee = to have, hold eree = to row ereuterose = to set free, deliver from pere = to bring piriye = to saw woze = to work Future passive: dekasato = to be accepted Future: eureuterose = to set free (in the future) Present indicative active: ake 3 ps = he or she guides (sends?) apeeke 3ps = he or she lets go apieke 3ps = it contains??? apudoke 3ps = he or she delivers didosi 3pp = they give, devote, grant dose(i) 3ps = he or she gives dososi 3pp = they give ekamate 3ps = he or she stays eke 3ps = he or she has eko 2ps = I have ekome 1pp = we have ekote 2pp = you have ekosi 3pp they have eesi 3ps 3pp = he or she is, there is/they are? ereutero 1ps = I set free kitiyesi 3pp = they cultivate operosi 3pp = they owe oudidosi 3pp = they do not give, are not giving pasi 3pp = they say pere = he or she brings piriyo = I saw (i.e. a log) ponike 3ps = he or she decorates with a griffin teke = he or she puts or sets toqide 3ps = it has spirals weke = he or she works wide = he or she sees zeukesi 3pp = they yoke or span Present passive: ekeyoto = they are included Present optative: epikowo 3ps = that he or she may pay attention to euketo 3ps = that he or she may wish (for) qiriyato = that he or she may buy uruto = he or she may guard Aorist: didosi = they gave = 3rd. person plural present tense odoke = he or she gave oporo = they owed teke = he or she assigned owide (wide) = he or she saw Participles: Present Active: apeaso/a 3ps = absent diuyo/a or diwiyo/a 3ps = belonging eko/ekontes 3ps/3pp = having eo 3ps = being iyote 3pp = coming kesenewiyo/a = hospitable (a divine epithet) opero 3ps & operoso/a + operote 3pp = owing oromeno/a = watching over ouwoze = not working temidweta/te = having rims, i.e. with rims tetukuwoa/tetukuwea2 = well prepared, ready (for distribution on the market) toqideyo/a + toqideweso/a = with spirals zesomeno/a = boiling Present passive: anono = not rented audeweso/a = decorated with rosettes? dedemeno/a = bound dedomeno/a = (things) being offered dedukuyo/a = being apprenticed to epididato/a = distributed erapameno/a = sown (as of cloth) ereutero/a = set free kuparisiyo/ya = made of cypress pitiro2weso/a = adorned with feathers zeukesi 3ppdat = yoked, spanned wozomeno/a = being fashioned/well made Passive: tetukuwo/a = well prepared, ready Cf. etoimo/a (D) Perfect passive: aetito/a = not used? akitito/a = untitled? amoiyeto/a = just delivered anamoto/a = not assembled apato/a = not sown? emito/a = hired, paid epididato/a = distributed epizoto/a = bound, tied on top of iyeto/a = delivered, offered up (religious connotation) kakodeto/a = bound with copper? kekaumeno/a = burned, razed to the ground metakekumeno/a = dismantled? qeqinomeno/a = made by twisting Future perfect passive: ewepesesomena = things to be returned * pi (siffix)= instrumental or primeval * ablative case: We refer to the ablative case as primeval, since it had completely disappeared from ancient Greek as early as Homer. teukepi = with instruments or paraphernalia seremokarapi = decorated with sirens In the next post, we shall be addressing the present, future, imperfect, aorist and perfect tenses of thematic verbs in Mycenaean Linear B.
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CRITICAL POST! Progressive Linear B grammar: active thematic aorist infinitives in Mycenaean Linear B: Phase 3
CRITICAL POST! Progressive Linear B grammar: active thematic aorist infinitives in Mycenaean Linear B: Phase 3 With the addition of this table of active thematic aorist infinitives:we have completed the first 3 stages in the reconstruction of the grammar of natural Mycenaean Greek as it was spoken between ca. 1600 (or earlier) and 1200 BCE. These stages are: 1. the present infinitive 2. the future infinitive & 3. the aorist infinitive. Although there were other infinitives in ancient Greek, they were rarely used, and so we are omitting them from our progressive grammar. While it is a piece of cake to physically form the aorist infinitive either in ancient alphabetic Greek or in Mycenaean Linear B, the same cannot be said for the innate meaning of the aorist infinitive. What does it signify? Why would anyone even bother with a past infinitive when a present one does just fine? What are the distinctions between the present, future and aorist infinitives in ancient Greek and in Mycenaean Linear B? ANALYSIS & SYNOPSIS: What is the meaning of the aorist infinitive or, put another way, what does it signify? While the use of the present infinitive corresponds exactly with infinitives in almost all other Occidental languages, ancient and modern, the same cannot be said of the future and aorist infinitives in ancient Greek and Mycenaean, for which there are, in so far as I know, no equivalents in modern Centum languages. The impact of understanding the future infinitive on grasping the aorist in ancient Greek. First, the future infinitive. We feel obliged to review its function in order to prepare you for the even more esoteric aorist infinitive. The future infinitive is used when the sentence is in either the present or the future. How can it be used with a verb in the present tense? The reason is relatively straightforward to grasp. If the speaker or writer wishes to convey that he or she expects or intends the infinitive modifying the principle verb to take effect immediately, then the infinitive too must be in the present tense. But if the same author expects or intends the action the infinitive conveys to take place in the (near) future, then the infinitive must be future, even though the main verb is in the present tense. The distinction is subtle but critical to the proper meaning or intent of any Greek sentence employing a future infinitive with a verb in the present tense. The best way to illustrate this striking feature of ancient Greek is with English language parallels, as we did in the post on future infinitives. But to make matters as clear as possible, we repeat, here in the present tense, the 2 sentences I previously posted in Latinized Linear B along with the English translation. First we have, Konoso wanaka eqetai qe katakause etoimi eesi. The King and his military guard are prepared to set about burning Knossos to the ground. Compare this with: Konoso wanaka eqetai qe katakaue etoimi eesi. The King and his military guard are prepared to burn Knossos to the ground. In the first instance, the subjects (King and military guard) are prepared to raze Knossos in the near future, but not right away. This why I have translated the infinitive katakause as – to set about burning Knossos to the ground. But in the second case, the King and his military guard are prepared to burn Knossos to the ground immediately. The future does not even enter into the equation. In the second example, we have: Wanaka tekotono wanakatero peraise poroesetai. The King is allowing the carpenters to soon set about finishing the palace. (future infinitive)... versus Wanaka tekotono wanakatero peraie poroesetai. (present infinitive)... The King allows the carpenters to finish the palace. (i.e. right away). The distinction is subtle. But if you are to understand ancient Greek infinitives, including Mycenaean, you must be able to make this distinction. The question is, why have I resorted to repeating the synopsis of the future infinitive, when clearly the subject of our present discussion is the aorist or past infinitive? The answer is... because if you cannot understand how the future infinitive works in ancient Greek and Mycenaean, then you will never grasp how the aorist infinitive functions. What is the aorist infinitive and how does it function? The aorist infinitive describes or delineates actions or states dependent on the main verb which have already occurred in the (recent) past. It can be used with principal verbs in the present or past (aorist or imperfect), but never with those in the future. Once again, the distinction between the present and aorist active thematic infinitives is, if anything, even subtler than is that between the future and present infinitives. Allow me to illustrate with two examples in Latinized Linear B. First: Wanaka poremio taneusai edunato. The King was in a position to have put an end to the war (clearly implying he did not put an end to it). Note that the main verb, edunato = was able to, is itself in the past imperfect tense. But this sentence can also be cast in the present tense, thus: Wanaka poremio taneusai dunetai. The King is in a position to have put an end to the war. In this case, the use of the aorist infinitive is not mandatory. But if it is used, it still signifies that the aorist infinitive operates in the past, and it is quite clear from the context that he could have ended the war, but never did. Compare this with the use of the present infinitive in the same sentence. Wanaka poremio taneue dunetai. The King is able to put an end to the war (immediately!) To complicate matters even further, even if the main verb is in the simple past (aorist) or the imperfect (also a past tense), you can still use the present infinitive, as in: Wanaka poremio taneue edunato. The King was able to put an end to the war (right away). This clearly calls for the present infinitive, which always takes effect at the very same time as the primary verb. Although the analysis and synopsis above makes perfect sense to students and researchers familiar with ancient Greek, it is difficult for newcomers to ancient Greek to grasp the first time they are confronted with it. But patience is the key here. By dint of a large number of examples, it will eventually sink in. So as the old saying goes, do not panic!
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Progressive Mycenaean Linear B derived (D) grammar, Phase 2: the future infinitive
Progressive Mycenaean Linear B derived (D) grammar, Phase 2: the future infinitive
In the table below you will find the future infinitive form of thematic (so-called regular) verbs in ancient Greek along with their counterparts in derived (D) Mycenaean Greek. The Mycenaean Greek is said to be derived (D), since there are no attested (A) forms of future infinitives on any extant Linear B tablets. However, the future infinitive is so easily formed from the present that it is certain that the Mycenaean forms I have provided below are correct:
Here, the future infinitive is provided only for verbs of which the stem of the present infinitive terminates with a vowel. Thus, damauein => damausein, eisoraiein => eisoraisein etc., and the shift from the Mycenaean Linear B present infinitive to the future is identical, thus:
damaue => damause, eisoraie => eisoraise etc.
It is imperative that you read the three notes at the end of the table above; otherwise, you will not understand why ancient Greek resorted to future infinitives when it was strictly called for. Since ancient Greek is the mother of all modern Centum (Occidental) languages, it contains every possible variant in conjugations and declensions to be found in the latter, except that modern Occidental languages never contain all of the elements of ancient Greek grammar. The lack of a future infinitive in modern Centum languages (at least as far as I know) bears testimony to the fact that ancient Greek contains more grammatical elements than any modern language. Each modern language borrows some, but never all, grammatical elements from ancient Greek. The upshot is that ancient Greek grammar is significantly more complex than ancient Latin and all modern Occidental languages. This will become painfully obvious as we progress through each grammatical element, one after another in ancient Greek, including Mycenaean. For instance, the next grammatical form we shall be addressing is the aorist or simple past infinitive, another one which does not appear in any modern Western language.
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Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in S = 487
Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in S = 487 In this post we find derived (D) infinitives in S. Here is the table of derived (D) thematic and athematic infinitives starting with the Greek letter S:It is absolutely de rigueur to read the NOTES on Mycenaean versus ancient archaic Greek orthography in the chart above. Otherwise, the Linear B sentences will not make any sense. It was highly likely that official documents, poetry (if any) and religious texts were written in natural Mycenaean Greek on papyrus. However, the moist climate of Crete and the Greek mainland meant that papyrus, unlike in the arid climate of Egypt, was doomed to rot away. So we shall never really know whether or not there were documents in natural Mycenaean Greek. But my educated hunch is that there were. The total number of natural Mycenaean Greek derived (D) infinitives we have posted so far = 487.
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Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in Q = Greek B b = 413
Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in Q = Greek B b = 413: In this post we find derived (D) infinitives in Q, corresponding to initial B b in ancient Greek. Here is the table of derived (D) thematic and athematic infinitives starting with the Greek letter B b (Q in Mycenaean Greek):Since there is no B series of syllabograms in Linear B (BA, BE, BI, BO) but only the Q series (QA, QE, QI, QO), the latter must stand in for the former. Read the notes in the Q chart above. It was highly likely that official documents, poetry (if any) and religious texts were written in natural Mycenaean Greek on papyrus. However, the moist climate of Crete and the Greek mainland meant that papyrus, unlike in the arid climate of Egypt, was doomed to rot away. So we shall never really know whether or not there were documents in natural Mycenaean Greek. But my educated hunch is that there were. The total number of natural Mycenaean Greek derived (D) infinitives we have posted so far = 413.
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Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in P (Part A) = 290 + 52/Total = 342
Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in P (Part A) = 290 + 52/Total = 342 In this post we find derived (D) infinitives in P (Part A). Here is the table of derived (D) thematic and athematic infinitives starting with the Greek letter P (A) in Mycenaean Greek:Be absolutely sure to read the critical NOTES on Mycenaean Linear B orthography I have composed for P (A). The 4 sentences following Greek verbs in P (A) make it perfectly clear that we are dealing with natural Mycenaean Greek as it was actually spoken. Note that the natural plural in OI is to found in spoken Mycenaean, rather than the singular in P (A) we find almost (but not always) exclusively on the extant Linear B tablets. It was highly likely anyway that official documents, poetry (if any) and religious texts were written in natural Mycenaean Greek on papyrus. However, the moist climate of Crete and the Greek mainland meant that papyrus, unlike in the arid climate of Egypt, was doomed to rot away. So we shall never really know whether or not there were documents in natural Mycenaean Greek. But my educated hunch is that there were. The total number of natural Mycenaean Greek derived (D) infinitives we have posted so far = 342. Main Verbs: dunamai etoimos eesi pariemi = to allow, permit omeromai = to wish, want
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Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in N = 235 + 19/Total = 254 + Dative Singular
Mycenaean Linear B Progressive Grammar: Derived (D) Verbs/Infinitives in N = 235 + 19/Total = 254 + Dative Singular In this post we find derived (D) infinitives in N and the combinatory Greek consonant ks in natural Mycenaean Greek. Here is the table of attested thematic and athematic infinitives starting with the Greek letters n & ks in Mycenaean Greek:Be absolutely sure to read the extensive NOTE I have composed for the combinatory Greek vowel ks, as it embodies an entirely new principle in the Mycenaean orthographic convention for combinatory vowels. This convention must be firmly kept in mind at all times. Dative Singular Masculine introduced for the first time ever: Note also that we introduce here for the first time the masculine dative singular in Mycenaean Greek. The sentence Latinized with Knossos in the dative reads: Aikupitiai naumakee kusu Konosoi etoimi eesi. In this sentence, the word Konosoi must be dative, because it follows the Mycenaean Linear B preposition kusu. This is the first time ever that the masculine dative singular has ever appeared in Mycenaean Greek. Note that the ultimate i for the masc. dative sing is never subscripted in Mycenaean Greek, just as it was not in most other early ancient Greek alphabetic dialects. The 4 sentences following Greek verbs in M make it perfectly clear that we are dealing with natural Mycenaean Greek as it was actually spoken. Note that the natural plural in OI is to found in spoken Mycenaean, rather than the singular in O we find almost (but not always) exclusively on the extant Linear B tablets. We have managed to come up with some really intriguing sentences for the letters N and KS. One of them could have been lifted from the Mycenaean epic (if ever there was one) corresponding to the Iliad. It was highly likely anyway that official documents, poetry (if any) and religious texts were written in natural Mycenaean Greek on papyrus. However, the moist climate of Crete and the Greek mainland meant that papyrus, unlike in the arid climate of Egypt, was doomed to rot away. So we shall never really know whether or not there were documents in natural Mycenaean Greek. But my educated hunch is that there were. The total number of natural Mycenaean Greek derived (D) infinitives we have posted so far = 254. I shall indicate the running total as we proceed through the alphabet.
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