To the Land of Dreams: Overview of the Linear B Lexicon

To the Land of Dreams: Overview of the Linear B Lexicon



This site provides us with a superb overview and summary of the contents of the Linear B Lexicon by Chris Tselentis.... a must read!  

It includes examples of noun declensions and verb conjugations. The entire Linear B Lexicon is found on this site!

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The ancient Greek alphabet with Linear B equivalents where they exist

The ancient Greek alphabet with Linear B equivalents where they exist:



Here we find the table of the ancient Greek alphabet including the archaic letter # (digamma), pronounced “wau” as in “wow!” It is clear from this table that many ancient Greek letters have no exact Linear B equivalents. However, even these Greek letters can be replaced by Linear B syllabograms, which we shall introduce later.

PYRAMID in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mycenaean Linear B, ancient and modern Greek

PYRAMID in Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mycenaean Linear B, ancient and modern Greek:

 

Knossos tablet KN 746 M 1 11 according to Sir Arthur Evans (stirrup jars) as translated by Rita Roberts

Knossos tablet KN 746 M 1 11 according to Sir Arthur Evans (stirrup jars) as translated by Rita Roberts:

 

 

Translation of Knossos tablet KN 711a M h 01 according to Sir Arthur Evans by Rita Roberts

Translation of Knossos tablet KN 711a M h 01 according to Sir Arthur Evans by Rita Roberts:



This translation pretty much speaks for itself. Rita amazed me by mastering the archaic ancient letter digamma #.

Translation of Linear B tablet Knossos KN 710 Ma 05 by Rita Roberts

Translation of Linear B tablet Knossos KN 710 Ma 05 by Rita Roberts:



This translation is self-explanatory. The translation of the supersyllabogram O on top of the water jug is entirely appropriate. Notice that Rita Roberts is beginning to master the (archaic) ancient Greek alphabet.

Converting Linear B to ancient Greek, Rule 6a, TA TE TI TO TU

Converting Linear B to ancient Greek, Rule 6a, TA TE TI TO TU:



Rule 6a is very simple. In the majority of Linear B words containing TA TE TI TO TU, these syllabograms must be converted to ta te ti to tu in (archaic) ancient Greek. However, by now it is becoming obvious that almost all or all of the previous rules we have already learned (1-5) also apply to almost all Greek words, and so we must always keep this in mind. In other words, multiple rules almost always apply to almost all Linear B words converted into Greek. The best way to confirm this is simply to check the Greek spelling in Tselentis of every single word you convert from Linear B into Greek. This requires perseverance and above all, practice, practice, practice, until it sinks in. From here on in, as we learn each additional rule, from 6b upwards, the number of multiple rules applying to almost every Linear B word converted into Greek will increase by 1 with each new rule. So far the number of multiple rules applying to each Linear B word converted into Greek = 1 2 3a 3b 4 5 6a for a maximum of 7 possible variations. With rule 6b, the maximum number of multiples will increase to 8.  Rule 6b follows in the next post.

John Chadwick recognized the Linear B supersyllabograms ZE & MO

John Chadwick recognized the Linear B supersyllabograms ZE & MO:





It is quite obvious from the excerpts above from Chadwick’s masterful, Reading the Past: Linear B and Related Scripts, © 1987 that he clearly recognized the supersyllabograms ZE, corresponding to (archaic) Greek zeu/gesi = yoked and MO mo/noj = single. This being the case, it is also more than likely that he was aware of the existence of at least some of the 39 supersyllabograms in Linear B, and this is significant, because it was he who first latched onto Michael Ventris’ amazing discovery in 1952 that the Linear B syllabary was in fact the script of a very ancient and archaic Greek dialect, which we now know as Mycenaean. This raises the question, did Michael Ventris himself know about supersyllabograms? Brilliant as he was, I am greatly inclined to believe he did, but his untimely death at the young age of 34 in a terrible car accident in 1956 never gave him the chance to further develop and refine his initial decipherment of Linear B in 1952. So we shall never know. But very the idea that he may have known is truly tantalizing.

Linear B – KN Dd1171, article by Peter J. Keyse on academia.edu

Linear B - KN Dd1171, article by Peter J. Keyse on academia.edu 

Click on this graphic to view Keyse’s article:




Peter J. Keyse provides a thorough analysis of Linear B tablet  KN Dd 1171 in this fascinating article, which is well worth reading for anyone who is familiar with the Linear B syllabary, and certainly for anyone who is studying Linear B in depth. His article is not without errors. For instance, he deciphers PoRo as the name of someone in what he calls the PoMe “worker class” = a shepherd,



but his interpretation of of PORO is clearly incorrect, as this word  has 3 distinct meanings, one of which is the Linear B word for “a foal”, as demonstrated by Chris Tselentis in his Linear B Lexicon, here:



(The other 2 meanings of POME offered by Tselentis do not fit the context)

while POME is quite obviously Mycenaean Greek for “shepherd”:



Keyse also notes that Michael Ventris identified 3 major styles for incisions - those at Knossos, Pylos and Mycenae. In his own words: The vertical lines are quite faint scratches and not easily seen. The cuts in the clay are ‘under-cut’ i.e. pushed in at an angle . This preoccupation with Linear B scribal hands recurs in a great many articles on Linear B. Keyse also covers the what he ascertains to be the phonetic sounds of the numerics on this tablet. He also emphasizes the nature and particulars characteristics of the scribal hand on this tablet.

But it his conclusion which is most fascinating. He says,

In conclusion: 

What would Dd1171 sound like if read aloud? Po-Ro. 20 OVISm, 72 OVISf. Pa-I-To. Pa 8 OVISm. While it reasonable to say that Linear B was no more the spoken language of its day than ‘double-entry bookkeeping’ speak is for accounting clerks today it is also true to say that accountants do on occasions talk in journals and double-entry (and not only when at dinner parties and down the pub) and they certainly call over inventories to each other. It is clear that Linear B had a sound but perhaps it is unlikely that we can fairly reproduce it today. Considering the importance of numbers within the Linear B archive I find it surprising that no phonic system has been devised to represent them or if devised is not clearly documented in the literature. 

COMMENT by Richard Vallance Janke on the sound, i.e. the general pronunciation of Linear B. In actuality, we probably do have some idea of how Mycenaean Greek was pronounced. Its closest cousin was Arcado-Cypriot, represented both by its own syllabary, Linear C, and by its own archaic alphabet. The Mycenaean and Arcado-Cypriot dialects were much closer phonetically than even Ionic and Attic Greek. Phonological details of the archaic Arcado-Cypriot dialect appear in C.D. Buck, The Greek Dialects, © 1955, 1998. ISBN 1-85399-566-8, on pg. 144. He provides even more information on Arcado-Cypriot on pp. 7-8, and classifies it as an East Greek dialect, pg. 9. This is highly significant, because if Arcado-Cypriot is East Greek, ergo Mycenaean Greek also is. This places both of the archaic East-Greek dialects, Mycenaean and Arcado-Cypriot, firmly in the camp of all East Greek dialects, including Arcadian, Aeolic, Lesbian, Cyprian, Pamphylian, Thessalian, Boeotian, and the much later Ionic and Attic dialects. So it is probably fair to say that we may have at least an idea, even if somewhat inaccurate, of how Mycenaean Greek was pronounced. And this has huge implications for the further study of Mycenaean Greek phonology.

another Linear B tablet from Knossos illustrating the syllabogram JU, KN 21 J i 14

another Linear B tablet from Knossos illustrating the syllabogram JU, KN 21 J i 14:





This tablet from Knossos deals with barley stalks in conjunction with the syllabogram JU, which clearly is also a crop, but which kind we do not know. Wine is also mentioned on this tablet. So we may very well be dealing with barley wine, which of course is what the Mycenaeans and ancient Greeks called beer. So now we have a hint as to what JU might mean, i.e. hops or a draught, but my bet is on the former.

syllabogram JU on Linear B tablets: KN 8a J i 01 & KN 20 Ji 22 (recto verso)

syllabogram JU on Linear B tablets: KN 8a J i 01 & KN 20 Ji 22 (recto verso):

Here we have the first 2 examples of Linear B tablets with the syllabogram JU, first  KN 8a J i 01:



and secondly, KN 20 Ji 22 (recto verso):



It is apparent fro these 2 tablets that it is probably impossible to decipher the syllabogram JU, at leasst for the time being. But however daunting the task to decipher it, we shall persist to the bitter end.

Linear B syllabary revised 2018 with the syllabogram JU

Linear B syllabary revised 2018 with the syllabogram JU:

We have had to revise the Linear B syllabary 2018, by adding the syllabogram JU or YU (we prefer the latter pronunciation), which is not accounted for in almost all versions of the Linear B syllabary, in spite of the fact that several Linear B tablets from Knossos bear this syllabogram. The Linear B syllabogram JU or YU is directly inherited from its Linear A forbear JU, which we see here in the table of Linear A syllabograms:



And here is the Linear B syllabogram JU or YU as it appears alone.



And here is the revised Linear B syllabary 2018, which includes the syllabogram JU or YU. If you have a copy of the Linear B syllabary on your computer, you should discard it and replace it with this new Linear B syllabary revised 2018.



Tablets illustrating the Linear B syllabogram JU or YU will follow in the next few posts.

NEW! Link to our POST on how to download Scripta Minoa on academia.edu here

NEW! Link to our POST on how to download Scripta Minoa on academia.edu here.

Just click on: How to download Sir Arthur Evan’s Scripta Minoa, Volumes 1 & 2, Linear B, in their entirety.pdf:

 

and you will immediately be taken to the page on which the article appears, here:

 

 

If you are interested in Scripta Minoa by Sir Arthur Evans at all, you will definitely want to download these 2 volumes, Scripta Minoa, Volume 1 and 2. The Linear B tablets all appear in Volume 2.

 

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 5, neuter gender

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 5, neuter gender: 




The table above makes it painfully obvious that archaic Greek neuter nouns MUST end in n, and there is no exception to this rule. It is impossible for Linear B to express this final n, because Linear B is a syllabary, and in a syllabary all words can end only in a vowel. But in archaic and ancient Greek, all neuter words MUST end with n. Rule 5 (neuter) is similar to Rule 4 (masculine), except for the final letter, which is j for masculine is n for neuter. This is the last rule for July 2018. 

   

Converting Linear B into ancient Grreek: Rule 4, masculine gender:

Converting Linear B into ancient Grreek: Rule 4, masculine gender:




The table above makes it painfully obvious that archaic Greek masculine nouns MUST end in j, and there is no exception to this rule. It is impossible for Linear B to express this final j, because Linear B is a syllabary, and in a syllabary all words can end only in a vowel. But in archaic and ancient Greek, all masculine words MUST end with j.

Linear B R to ancient Greek l, Rule 3b, not quite so intuitive but still easy!

Linear B R to ancient Greek l, Rule 3b, not quite so intuitive but still easy!



Rule 3b is as almost as easy as Rule 3a. In Rule 3b Linear B R always = ancient Greek l. This is because there is no L series of syllabograms in Linear B, i.e. no LA LE LI LO LU, so the only way to express L in Linear B is through the R series, RA RE RI RO RU.

Linear B R to ancient Greek r, Rule 3a, extremely easy!

Linear B R to ancient Greek r, Rule 3a, extremely easy!



Rule 3a is as easy as Rule 1. Nothing to it. Linear B R always = ancient Greek r.

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 2, single S in Linear B becomes double SS in ancient Greek

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 2, single S in Linear B becomes double SS in ancient Greek:



In a very few cases, Linear B words with a single S convert into a double SS ss in ancient Greek, as illustrated in the chart above. This is not very common. Most of the time, a single S in Linear B remains a single S s in ancient Greek.

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 1, the stressed acute accent /

Converting Linear B into ancient Greek: Rule 1, the stressed acute accent /



Rule 1 is by far the easiest Rule to remember in converting Linear B spelling into ancient Greek orthography. Simply put, you must always place the acute accent / where the stress falls on the ancient Greek word. This stressed acute accent / must never be omitted from the ancient Greek word.

Linear B to ancient Greek: Level 2a – part 1, a little more complex:

Linear B to ancient Greek: Level 2a – part 1, a little more complex:

As we enter the second phase of converting Linear B feminine words into ancient Greek, things get a little more complex. So it is absolutely essential to read the graphic table Level 2a – part 1 so thoroughly that you finally have it memorized. I shall not repeat the comments in the NOTES here, because they speak for themselves.