senryu – who writes poems? - qui écrit des poèmes ?who writes poems? who me? never! the sea’s the poet qui écrit des poèmes ? qui moi ? jamais ! la mer c’est le poète chi scrive poesie? chi io? mai! il mare è il poeta Richard Vallance Thanks to a comment on Our Haiku Shack by Jean-Philippe Goetz translated into English: A poet is anyone who writes and anyone who reads. Georges Sand once said: “Anyone who derives genuine pleasure from the sentiments aroused by poetry is a true poet even if he has never written a single verse in his life..." Le poète est celui qui écrit et aussi celui qui lit Georges Sand a dit : "... celui qui puise de nobles jouissance(s) dans le sentiment de la poésie est un vrai poète n'eut-t'il pas écrit un seul vers de sa vie ... "
Tag: writing
Why do I write so many haiku?
Why do I write so many haiku?To put it in the simplest terms I can, because I am so deeply inspired by the astounding beauty of our country, Canada. Being Canadian, I am naturally always moved by the vastness of the natural world in Canada. But that is not all. That is why the vast majority of my haiku are, in a word, uniquely Canadian. Of course, I also write haiku about other places in the world, as well as senryu. I am prolific in haiku, simply because I love them, no matter who writes them, so long as they are beautifully composed. I also published a quarterly haiku journal, Canadian Zen Haiku canadiens, ISSN 1705-4508, from 2004-2010.
As it so happens, I have been a natural-born poet most of my adult life. I used to write hundreds of sonnets, and I even published a multi-lingual international sonnet anthology, The Phoenix Rising from the Ashes, which features some 200 sonneteers and poets from around the world. So you see, poetry, and above all haiku, comes so naturally that it is second-nature to me.
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Tablet, Malia Palace MA/P Hi 02 in so-called Cretan hieroglyphs, dealing with crops and vessels (pottery)
Tablet, Malia Palace MA/P Hi 02 in so-called Cretan hieroglyphs, dealing with crops and vessels (pottery):
Tablet, Malia Palace MA/P Hi 02 in so-called Cretan hieroglyphs, which are not hieroglyphs at all, but rather ideograms and logograms, is highly intriguing. Actually, this tablet is partially decipherable. The front side definitely deals with the produce of olive trees, i.e. olive oil and also with wheat crops. If anyone is in any doubt over the meaning of the logogram 5. TE, which looks exactly like the Linear A and Linear B syllabogram TE, this doubt can easily be swept away by mere comparison with the logogram/ideogram for “wheat” in several ancient scripts, some of which are hieroglyphic, such as Egyptian, others which are cuneiform and yet others which bear no relation to either hieroglyphs or cuneiform, or for that matter, with one another, as for instance, the Harrapan and Easter Island exograms.
In fact, the recurrence of an almost identical ideogram/logogram across so many ancient scripts is astonishing. It is for this reason that I am in no doubt over the interpretation of 5. TE as signifying what in the Cretan script.
Next up, we have 3a. & 3b., which I interpret, and probably correctly, as signifying “ewe” and “ram” respectively. In fact, the resemblance of 3b. to a ram’s head is uncanny. What is passingly strange is this: the ram’s head figures so prominently on the second side of the tablet, being much larger than any other ideogram/logogram on the tablet. Why is this so? There simply has to be a reason. But for the time being, I am stumped. Since 3a. & 3b. Relate to sheep, it stands to reason that 6. is another type of livestock. My money is on “pig”. 7. and 9. are both vessels, 7. probably being either a wine or water flask and 9. being a spice container, as it is strikingly similar to the Linear B ideogram for the same. 8. looks like some kind of grain crop, and so I take it to be so.
As for the rest of the ideograms/logograms, they are still indecipherable.
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So-called Cretan hieroglyphs are not hieroglyphs at all. Example 1
So-called Cretan hieroglyphs are not hieroglyphs at all. Example 1
These 2 palm-leaf tablets incised with Cretan symbols are the first example of why so-called Cretan hieroglyphs are not hieroglyphs at all. We note right off the top that there are only 6 symbols, all of which are in fact ideograms or logograms. The numeric symbols, 40 and 100 on the fist tablet and 50, 10 & 80 on the second, do not conform to Linear A and B standards. In Linear A & B, decimals to the tens (10…90) are represented by horizontal bars, 1 for 10, 2 for 20, 8 for 80 etc. It appears instead that the dots on these tablets represent decimals to the tens. This is partly because the figure for 100 on the first tablet accords with Linear A & B practice, making it more likely that the dots are indeed in the tens.
Some other symbols are clearly identifiable. No. 1. is definitely the ideogram for an adze or labrys, which in Linear A and B is metamorphosed into the syllabogram for the vowel A. 2. is more likely to represent olive tree(s) rather than olive(s), for reasons which will become apparent in upcoming examples. 5. is very likely the ideogram for helmet, because it is very similar to same ideogram in Linear B.
So what are these palm-leaf tablets about? The first appears to be primarily military, te second primarily agricultural, with the sole exception of the ideogram for helmet, which appears out of place. But perhaps it is not. Perhaps the olive tree crops are being defended by the military. We shall never know.
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RE Cretan “hieroglyphs”: Brewminate: a Bold Blend of News & Ideas: We’re Never Far from Where we Were: Form Follows Function: Writing and its Supports in the Aegean Bronze Age
RE Cretan “hieroglyphs”: Brewminate: a Bold Blend of News & Ideas: We're Never Far from Where we Were: Form Follows Function: Writing and its Supports in the Aegean Bronze Age by Dr. Sarah Finlayson, Archaeologist/Historian Posted March 29 2017
Excerpta from the source with COMMENTS by Richard Vallance Janke inserted where necessary: ...a starting point from which to unpick the complex and changing relationships between writing and its material supports during the Aegean Bronze Age, [is] the basic hypothesis that the shape of objects which bear writing, the Bronze Age ‘office stationery’ so to speak, derives from the use to which they, object + writing, are put and the shape changes as this purpose changes. COMMENT: The shapes of incised objects (exograms) derive from the uses to which they are put. In other words, if the exograms, which, contrary to popular belief, are not hieroglyphs, change not only their form (i.e. shape) but have specific shapes tailored to the functions they perform. For this reason, among others, I cannot accept the hypothesis that they are hieroglyphs. They appear rather to be ideograms and logograms specifically designed to represent the contents of “packages” or “official documents”, sometimes apparently written on papyrus, and therefore subsequently lost due to the climate of Crete which as not conducive to the preservation of papyrus. What the exograms were which were inscribed on the lost documents for which the clay forms served as content indicators we shall never know, but chances are that the papyrus contents were written in Linear A. The incised objects, and I quote, “noduli, flat-based sealings, cones, medallions, labels, three- and four-sided bars, and tablets” specifically served as incised “subject headings” for the contents on papyrus which they represented. Since most people in the palace administration in the Minoan era in which Linear A was the standard syllabary were illiterate, the so-called Cretan “hieroglyphs”, of which there only 45 by my count, exclusive of numerics, served as ideogrammatic guideline markers for the contents of the documents which were once attached to them. Illiterate people could “read” ideograms; they could not read Linear A. (all italics mine throughout this post) Finlayson continues: The clay documents comprise crescents (all terms are defined below), noduli, flat-based sealings, cones, medallions, labels, three- and four-sided bars, and tablets (Olivier and Godart 1996: 10–11; Younger 1996–1997: 396). There are also substantial numbers of direct object sealings, which show seal impressions but no incised writing (Krzyszkowska 2005: 99). COMMENT: The “substantial numbers of direct object sealings” are seal impressions without incised writing because the contents, probably written and not incised on papyrus, which they seal have been lost forever. Thus, the script in which the actual sealed documents has been lost. But what was that script? Was it more of the same? ... Cretan “hieroglyphs”? I very much doubt that, because not a single Cretan seal can be read as syllabic text in a syllabary. What script was the writing on papyrus of the sealed documents? That is the whole point, and the whole mystery. Could it have been an early version of Linear A, a.ka. as Festive Linear A? Quite possibly. Finlayson continues: Easier to understand are the gable-shaped hanging nodules (Figure 3d). These sealings are carefully shaped around a knotted string, and carry a seal impression on one face (Krzyszkowska 2005: 280). The majority are uninscribed (only 22 out of the 164 sealings from Pylos carry an inscription), but on those examples with incised text, an ideogram is usually written over the seal impression, and additional sign-groups can appear on the other faces (Palaima 2003: 174; Krzyszkowska 2005: 280). Analysis of the cache of 60 nodules from Thebes, 56 of which have inscriptions, has enabled a convincing reconstruction of their use. The gable shape of the nodules results from the way the clay is held between the fingers while impressing the seal and writing the inscription (Piteros et al. 1990: 113). This shape, together with its suspension cord, give (sic) a small, solid, virtually indestructible and very portable document (Piteros et al. 1990: 183). In this instance, form does not strictly follow function, but rather the two aspects are intertwined in a more complex way. A key part of these documents’ function is their portability, and this governs their very small size, which in turn means only the most important information is recorded, namely the seal impression, the ideogram which identifies the goods, and, rarely, a small amount of additional data, such as anthroponyms, toponyms, transactional terms (Piteros et al. 1990: 177). The formula ‘personal name (here represented by the seal impression) + object + toponym / second personal name’ is equivalent to that recorded on the ‘palm-leaf ’ tablets. Numerals are rare, because that information is supplied by the object itself. It is suggested that each nodule accompanies a single item, mostly livestock in the Theban examples, from the hinterland into the palatial centre, with the nodule acting as a primary document, recording the most crucial information about its object, the sex of the animal, for example, and also certifying or authenticating, by the seal impression, who is responsible for it (probably in the sense of ‘owing’ the item to the palace; Piteros et al. 1990: 183–184). It is important to note, however, that, except at Thebes, there are considerably fewer inscribed than uninscribed nodules. Sealings of this type would therefore seem to be primarily recording instruments within transactions that do not require the use of writing (Palaima 2003: 174), although this is not incompatible with their being primary documents as described above. So few noduli survive that it is difficult to understand how they functioned (Krzyszkowska 2005: 284). I discuss this form below as they are significantly more common in LA administration. (Italics by Richard Vallance Janke) Roundels (Figure 2c) are clay disks with one or more seal impressions around their rim, and usually with a LA inscription on one or both faces, but with no trace of having been hung from or pressed against another object (Hallager 1996: 82). The number of seal impressions on the rim probably specifies the quantity of the commodity recorded in the inscription (livestock, agricultural produce, cloth, vessels and so on), with each impression representing one unit (Hallager 1996: 100–101, 113). Analysis of impressions and inscriptions suggests that at least two people made a roundel, one wielding the seal and another, the stylus (Hallager 1996: 112). These two factors have led to the interpretation of these documents as receipts, created and held by the central administration to record goods disbursed; the seal user would be the recipient, certifying with his or her impression the quantity of goods received (Hallager 1996: 116). Significantly, the physical limitations of these documents necessarily restrict the size of transactions, with 15 units being the largest amount attested (Palaima 1990: 92). COMMENT on the sentence “a roundel, one wielding the seal and another, the stylus (Hallager 1996: 112). These two factors have led to the interpretation of these documents as receipts, created and held by the central administration to record goods disbursed; the seal user would be the recipient, certifying with his or her impression the quantity of goods received...” In other words, the actual contents of the documents (apparently written with a stylus on papyrus) to which these seals were affixed may have been administrative receipts or possibly even inventories, in which case the contents of the documents were probably not written in so-called Cretan hieroglyphs, limited as these are to 45. And by 45 I mean 45 ideograms and logograms + additional numerics and nothing more than that. Given that these 45 signs never form any legible sentence or phrase, it is highly unlikely they would have been used for the writing of the contents on papyrus for which they serve as seals. Finlayson continues: Noduli (Figure 2e), disk- or dome-shaped lumps of clay with a seal impression but no perforation, imprints of objects, or other visible means of fastening (“sealings that do not seal” [Weingarten 1986: 4]) are a very long-lasting document form, found from the early First Palace through to the Late Bronze Age, but they are particularly common in Second Palace Period LA administration, with around 130 examples known (Krzyszkowska 2005: 161; Weingarten 1990a: 17). Only eight have LA inscriptions or countermarks over the seal impression (Hallager 1996: 127). As they are clearly not attached to anything, noduli are independent documents, and their primary purpose seems to be to carry a seal impression, that is to authenticate or certify something. By analogy with Old Babylonian practice, Weingarten (1986: 18) suggests they are originally dockets, receipts for work done, with the seal impression being made by the overseer to authorise ‘payment’; as the form becomes more widespread in the Second Palace Period, they become more like tokens, to be exchanged for goods or services, or as laissez-passer, with the seal impression identifying the carrier as legitimate (Weingarten 1990a: 19–20). COMMENT: The previous sentence, beginning with “By analogy...” and ending with “as legitimate” gives us a clearer impression the function(s) of the seals as these relate to the contents they seal. Old Babylonian tablets were incised or written in Cuneiform, which is a readable script meant for the eyes of literate scribes only. Note that the inventorial contents of the Babylonian tablets were clearly written out in Cuneiform. Although this practice is at variance with that of the Cretan seals, it still all boils down to the same thing. The actual contents of the documents to which the Cretan seals were affixed were written out in a language, possibly unknown, possibly Linear A. So in either case, the Babylonian or the Cretan, contents appear to be intended for literate scribes. Finlayson continues: Moving on to the ‘passive’ sealed documents, single-hole hanging nodules (Figure 2g) are roughly triangular clay sealings, formed around a knot at the end of a piece of string or cord (Hallager 1996: 160–161). They have a seal impression on one face, and a single incised LA sign, or very rarely another seal impression, on one of the other faces (Hallager 1996: 161). There are five sub- categories of single-hole nodule, differentiated by shape and position of seal impression or inscription (pendant, pyramid, cone, dome / gable and pear, see Figure 2g) with pendant being by far the most common (Hallager 1996: 162–163). About 13 signs or ligatures are found on these nodules, but it is very difficult to discern their meaning; the restricted range might suggest they are acting as arbitrary symbols, along the lines of ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, rather than as syllabograms (Krzyszkowska 2005: 160). These nodules hang from something, although there is no evidence for what (Krzyszkowska 2005: 160). Hallager has proposed a use similar to that observed in contemporary Egypt, where nodules were hung from rolls of papyrus as identification labels, with their cord threaded through holes in the lower part of the scroll to enable it to be unrolled and read without breaking the cord or sealed nodule (Hallager 1996: 198–199). COMMENTS: Once again, the practice of Cretan using seals seems to be very similar if not identical to that of contemporary Egyptian hieroglyphic writing on papyrus, with the critical difference being that Egyptian hieroglyphs are writing, while Cretan seal ideograms are not. But the contents of the Cretan documents on papyrus were probably also written in a script, probably a syllabary, and possibly even (Festive) Linear A. But since the Cretan papyri are lost to history, we shall never know. Was there a “Cretan” script for the written documents on papyrus. It is notable that the Egyptian papyrus, once unsealed, was meant to read, again by literate scribes. Was this the Cretan practice too? Quite likely. Finlayson continues: The bars (Figure 1a) are usually rectangular, inscribed on all four sides, and sometimes pierced with a hole at one end (Hallager 1996: 33). That the bars could be suspended suggests they might be used as labels attached to objects for transport or storage, but the information on them seems to be much like that on the tablets, and, in fact, the unpierced examples are perhaps best understood as variants of the standard tablet format (Hallager 1996: 33). Olivier (1994–1995: 268–269) offers an intriguing alternative explanation, that the bars are not attached by cords to any object, but instead hang together on some sort of horizontal rod to enable them to be sorted and stored, or taken down when additional data are inscribed on them; he envisions the bars operating like the LB ‘palm-leaf ’ tablets, for compiling basic data. Returning now to LA administration, it seems that a link exists between the architectural context of deposits and their composition and function (Schoep 2002b: 25). Although few documents have been found in primary contexts, it is nevertheless possible to identify three commonly occurring groupings (Schoep 1995: 57). “Full combination deposits” always contain single-hole hanging nodules, alongside tablets and other sealings; as the single-hole nodules are postulated to hang from the highest-level records, on perishable materials, these deposits may be ‘archives’ (Schoep 1995: 61). COMMENT: These (sealed) documents may have been ‘archives’, and if they are, they were probably written out (on papyrus) but not in so-called Cretan hieroglyphs. Finlayson continues: This seems to be supported by their location, in central buildings (including Malia Palace, Zakros House A, and the ‘villa’ at Ayia Triada), usually on an upper floor in residential quarters, clearly separated from storage or work areas, and by their association with valuable objects (Schoep 1995: 61, table 3, 62). ‘Single type deposits’ consist of direct object sealings, tablets or noduli, and most seem to be in the location in which they functioned; the direct object sealings are found in magazines suitable for bulk storage, as at Monastiraki, while tablet or noduli deposits can also occur in smaller-scale storage rooms, for example, Houses I, Chania or FG, Gournia (Schoep 1995: 62–63). “Limited combination deposits” fall somewhere in between; deposits from the ‘villa’ at Ayia Triada and Zakros Palace contain tablets and sealed documents, in workshop or storage areas, while other deposits contain only sealings, ... In reviewing the evidence for LA use in the Second Palace Period, one gets an impression of a widespread use of writing on several media, and for several purposes, with either the writing support being manipulated to add meaning to the text (as with the clay administrative documents) or the other way around (as might be the case with some of the non-administrative objects). COMMENT: Finlayson notes that the the writing may have been manipulated to add meaning to the texts, in this case written on clay documents. She is making a clear distinction between the ideograms and logograms used on the seals themselves and the writing of the texts which they seal. Finlayson continues: Although examples of writing are relatively widespread in the landscape, this need not necessarily equate to widespread literacy, not least because it seems likely that writing is principally an elite activity, and furthermore, that restricted contexts of use possibly mean that ordinary, non-writing, people might well interact with only a single kind, or a small range, of documents, creating a sort of sub-category of literacy, where understanding part of a text’s meaning derives largely from the form of its support and context of use. (all italics by the Commentator, Richard Vallance Janke). COMMENT: The passage above rams home that fact that literacy was not widespread. Quite the contrary. Only the scribes were literate. On the other hand, the form of the so-called Cretan hieroglyphs were accessible to non-literates, which was everyone except the scribes. That way, non-literate administrators, merchants, distributors of commodities and end users of these could identify what the purpose of what each and every seal represented, without having to be able to read the contents of documents per se. Finlayson continues: Clearly, for some of the sealed document forms, the loss of whatever they were associated with means our understanding of their use cannot, without speculation, extend much beyond inferring that they hung from or were affixed to something. Generally, the taphonomy of writing in the Aegean is problematic, as we depend on it being applied to materials that are preserved archaeologically; in the case of clay documents that were not deliberately fired, this means accidental preservation in a wider burnt context (Bennet 2008: 6). There is then an inevitable risk that, in an effort to make up for the gaps in the evidence, particularly with CH and LA where we cannot read the texts, we rely too heavily on aspects like differences in form, which might be a reflection of our own ‘etic’ analyses rather than of different ancient practices (Bennet 2005: 269). “Classer, c’est interpréter” (Godart and Olivier 1979: xxiv) is a crucial principle for understanding a large and complex database at the macro scale, but runs the risk of misrepresenting, at the micro scale, differences in form that result from regional peculiarities of use, or are a function of the way different individuals form and seal or inscribe each shape, as seems likely, for example, for some of the variation amongst LA single-hole hanging nodules (Krzyszkowska 2005: 159–160). While these points must be borne in mind, it is nevertheless reasonable to suggest that the observable changes in document forms point to alterations in the methods of data gathering, processing and storing (Palaima 1984: 305). I would pick out two as particularly significant. The first is the bundle of changes in sealing practices between the First and Second Palace periods (i.e. between CH / limited LA use, and widespread LA use): direct object sealing is abandoned, suggesting, on the one hand, that the security of storerooms and their contents is managed differently, in a less physical way (Weingarten 1990b: 107–108), and, on the other, that direct control of commodities, by means of attaching sealings to them, is replaced by more indirect methods of controlling commodity information with hanging nodules and tablets (Knappett 2001: 86, n. 26). Furthermore, writing, with one exception, no longer appears on seals themselves, but from this point on is incised or painted rather than formed by stamping (Bennet 2008: 9–10). What drives these changes is difficult to evaluate, not least because we assume that changes in sealing systems are necessarily tied to changes in writing systems (and possibly language; Bennet 2005: 270). COMMENT: Key phrase “we assume”. Changes in sealing systems, from simple pictographic seals to seals incised in Cretan “hieroglyphs” and eventually to Linear A & B incised directly on the seals do not at all necessarily reflect any changes in the writing systems in which the actual documents (usually on papyrus) were written. That is a false assumption. Note here that Bennet specifically states that the writing systems sealed by the seals were probably independent of the figures or exograms found on the seals, these often being so-called Cretan hieroglyphs. The written language(s) of the document contents have have changed over time, but not necessarily in tune with the seals themselves. Point well taken. Palaima’s suggestion that LA replaces CH because the latter script is inadequate to record increasingly complex economic activities (1990: 94) is a case in point, and this sort of utilitarian motivation underestimates the potential for writing to be used for ideological reasons. The transition from CH to LA, and from LA to LB, can arguably be seen as part of a deliberate construction of new identities, through the manipulation of knowledge resources or material culture, by elite groups (ALL italics by the Commentator), seeking to differentiate themselves from their predecessors, or exclude others from participating in political or economic life (Bennet 2008: 20; Schoep 2007: 59). Knappett’s observation that, in seeking to look through artefacts to see “the people behind them”, and their motivations or choices, there is a tendency for the objects themselves to be reduced to mere ciphers or emblems of human activity (Knappett 2008b: 122), is also pertinent here. He suggests that more attention be paid to the agency of artefacts, to the possibility that things can “take on a life of their own, entangling humans and pushing them along new, previously unrecognised paths” (Knappett 2008b: 122); while ascribing agency to objects is problematic (Morphy 2009: 6), Knappett is nevertheless right to stress the complexity of the relationship between artefacts and their users. COMMENT: Much more to follow in the upcoming posts on the uses of pictographs and so-called Cretan “hieroglyphic” seals.
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Linear B syllabograms, homophones and special characters missing from the Linear A syllabary
Linear B syllabograms, homophones and special characters missing from the Linear A syllabary:
A considerable number of Mycenaean Linear B syllabograms, homophones and special characters missing from the Linear A syllabary. But the same can be said for a fairly large number of Linear A syllabograms, homophones and special characters missing from Linear B. Thus, students of both syllabaries must master, first the overlap, which accounts for most of the characters in both syllabaries, and secondly, the discrepancies, of which there are scores. There is simply no way around it. If you are a student of both Linear A and Linear B you have to learn the syllabograms, homophones and special characters found in one of the syllabaries but missing in the other.
Notably, the O series of syllabograms in Linear B suffers from several lacunae in Linear A. This is simply because Linear A has an aversion the ultimate O, and nothing more. Words which terminate in O in Linear B, which is to say, masculine and neuters, much more commonly end in U in Linear A. And this includes a great many exograms which are common to both syllabaries.
Above all else, the masculine and neuter genitive singular always terminates in O in Linear B, and always in U in Linear A. The feminine genitive singular ultimate in Linear A, just as we find in Linear B, appears to be ija, and there are plenty of examples (for instance, jadireja, kiraja, kupa3rija, musajanemaruja, namarasasaja, nenaarasaja, nemaruja, nenaarasaja, nukisikija, sejarapaja, sidija, sudaja and Sukirteija, to cite just a few) . The problem is that no examples of masculine or neuter genitive singular with the ultimate ijo exist. Only a few words terminate in iju, (aju, araju, kumaju, kureju, pirueju and sareju), but these are almost certainly masculine and/or neuter genitive singular, hence likely validating the notion that the feminine genitive singular is ija.
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Minoan Linear A scribal hands: W & Z series syllabograms: WA WI ZA ZE ZE ZU (the last)
Minoan Linear A scribal hands: W & Z series syllabograms: WA WI ZA ZE ZE ZU (the last)
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Minoan Linear A scribal hands: T series syllabograms: TA TA2 (TAI) TE TI TO TU
Minoan Linear A scribal hands: S series syllabograms: SA SE SI SU
Minoan Linear A scribal hands: R series syllabograms: RA RA2 (RAI) RE RI RO RU
Linear A scribal hands: P & Q series syllabograms
Linear A scribal hands: N series syllabograms
Linear A scribal hands: M series syllabograms
Linear A scribal hands: JU + K series syllabograms
Linear A scribal hands: D series syllabograms:
Decipherment of the RECTO of Linear A tablet HT 86 (Haghia Triada)
Decipherment of the RECTO of Linear A tablet HT 86 (Haghia Triada):
It is possible to decipher this tablet and several others dealing with grain crops with a reasonable degree of accuracy and, in the case of some words, with complete accuracy. The Linear A word akaru is almost certainly the equivalent of akaro, and not of akareu, in Linear B, the latter interpretation of John G. Younger being utterly out of the question in context. The standard Old Minoan words for “emmer wheat” and “roasted einkorn” are kunisu and dideru. The second of these words, dideru, is equivalent to Linear B, didero, but neither word appears in any later ancient Greek dialect, leading me to draw the inference that dideru/didero is either archaic proto-Mycenaean Greek or that it falls within the pre-Greek substratum or alternatively that it is Old Minoan (OM). As for dame, it appears to be dative singular for damu (Linear A) or damo (Linear B), hence grains “for the village wheat”. Finally, minute would appear to signify “and for one month”, te being enclitic, meaning “and”, with the entire phrase derived from mini = “month”. The actual case structure for the ultimate u has yet to be determined for Old Minoan. Unfortunately, it will be some time before I can tackle Old Minoan grammar (declensions and conjugations), as I must first decipher as many Old Minoan, pre-Greek substratum and Mycenaean-derived words as I can in Linear A. And these run to at least 300 out of 988 Minoan words I have isolated.
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Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 988 words, with 214 more entries than in John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon
Comprehensive Linear A lexicon of 988 words, with 214 more entries than in John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon:This lexicon comprises all of the intact words in John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon (which is far from comprehensive) plus every last intact word on every single tablet at his site, wherever any of the latter are not found in the former, along with additional Linear vocabulary which I have found on my own. By my count, there are 988 words, 214 more than in Prof. John G. Younger’s Reverse Linear A Lexicon, which has 774 entries, not counting numeric syllabograms, of which no one knows the phonetic values at any rate + long strings + broken series of syllabograms, though I may have made the occasional error in addition, since I had to subtract some repetitive words and add others from the tablets, which are not in the Reverse Linear A Lexicon. Words which are apparent variants of one another are listed under one entry, e.g. daka/daki/daku/dakuna dakusene(ti) japa/japadi/japaku kira/kiro/kirisi/kiru maru/maruku/maruri merasasaa/merasasaja nesa/nesaki/nesakimi piku/pikui/pikuzu reda/redamija/redana/redasi saro/saru/sarutu tami/tamia/tamisi zare/zaredu/zareki/zaresea The following entries have been deliberately omitted: 1 Words containing any syllabograms which are either partially or wholly numeric, since we do not know what the phonetic values of these syllabograms are, 2 Broken series of syllabograms & 3 Strings of syllabograms > than 15 characters. This is the raw Lexicon, without definitions. Definitions of Old Minoan (OM), pre-Greek substratum (PGS) and Mycenaean-derived New Minoan (NM) terms will soon be published in sub-Lexicons pursuant to this Lexicon on my academia.edu account. adai adakisika adara/adaro/adaru ade/adu Adunitana adureza aduza ajesa aju Akanu/Akanuzati = Archanes (Crete) = 10 aka akaru aki/akii = garlic akipiete(ne?) akumina ama amaja amawasi amidao/amidau amita = 20 ana ananusijase anatu anau anepiti aparane apaki apero api ara = 30 araju arako aranare/aranarai (sing.) arati aratiatu aratu arauda aredai Arenesidi aresana = 40 ari/arinita arisu arokaku arote aru/arudara aruma aruqaro arura asadaka asamune = 50 asara2 asasumaise ase/asi aseja asidatoi asijaka asikira asisupoa asona asuja = 60 Asupuwa atade atanate atare ati atika atiru atu aurete awapi = 70 azura daa dadai/dadana dadipatu dadumata dadumina/dadumine dai/daina daipita dajute daka/daki/daku/dakuna = 80 dakusene(ti) damate Cf. Linear B damate dame/dami/daminu danasi danekuti daqaqa daqera dare darida daropa = 90 darunete daserate dasi datapa datara/datare data2 datu dawa (Haghia Triada) CF LB dawo daweda dea = 100 deauwase dedi dejuku demirirema depa/depu deripa detaa dide/didi dideru didikase/didikaze = 110 dii dija/dije dika Dikate = Mount Dikte dikime dikise dima dimaru dimedu dinaro = 120 dinau dipa3a dipaja diqise dirasa diredina dirina diru disa disipita = 130 ditajaru ditamana = dittany du/dua/duja dumaina dumedi dumitatira2 (dumitatirai) dunawi dupa3na dupu3re dura2 = 140 durare duratiqe dureza/durezase dusi/dusini dusima dusu duti duwi duzu edamisa = 150 edu eka epa3 ero esija etanasu etori ezusiqe ia Ida/Idaa/Idada/Idapa3 = Mount Ida = 160 Idamate/idamete Idarea idunesi iduti ija ijadi ijapame ijate ika Ikesedesute = 170 Ikurina ikuta ima imeti inaimadu inajapaqa ipinama ira2 iruja isari = 180 ise itaja itaki itijukui itinisa Ititikuna Izurinita jaa jadi/jadikitu = 190 jadireja jadisi jadu jadurati jai jainwaza jaiterikisu jaitose jaja jakisikinu = 200 jako/jaku/jakute jamaa jamauti jami/jamidare januti japa/japadi/japaku japametu japanidami japarajase jara2qe = 210 jara/jare/jaremi jarepu2 jarete jari/jarina/jarinu jaripa3ku jarisapa jaru/jarui jasaja jasamu jasapai = 220 jasaraanane jasasarame jasidara jasea/jasepa jasie jasumatu jata/jatai/jatapi jate/jateo jatimane jatituku+ jatituku (repeated) = 230 jatoja jawi jedi jeka jemanata jetana jua judu juerupi juka = 240 juma/jumaku juraa jureku juresa jutiqa juu ka (extremely common) kada/kadasaa kadi kadumane = 250 kadusi kae kai/kaika kairo kaji/kaju kaki/kaku kakunete kami kana/kanatiti/kanau kanajami = 260 kanaka kanita kanuti kapa/kapaqe/kapi kaporu kapusi kaqa/kaqe kara karona karopa2 (karopai) = 270 karu karunau kasaru kasi kasidizuitanai Kasikidaa kasitero katanite kataro scarab (Egyptian) kati kaudeta = 280 keda keire kekiru kera/kero keta/kete ketesunata kezadidi kida/kidi kidapa kidaro = 290 kidata kidini kidiora kii/kiipa kija kika kikadi kikiraja kimu kina = 300 kinima kinite kipaa kipisi (fairly common) kiqa kira/kiro kireta2 kiretana kireza kiro/kirisi/kiru = 310 kiso kisusetu kitai/kitei kitanasija kitiqa kito koiru koja kopu koru = 320 Kosaiti kuda kuja kujude kuka kukudara kumaju kumapu kunisu kupa/kupi = 330 kupa3natu kupa3nu kupa3pa3 kupa3rija kupaja kupari Kupatikidadia kupazu kuqani kura/kuramu =340 kurasaqa kureda kureju kuro/kurotu kuto kuruku kuruma kutiti Kutaistos Cf. LB Kitaito kutukore kuzuni = 350 maa madadu madi mai/maimi majutu makaise makaita makarite makidete mana/manapi (common)= 360 maniki manirizu manuqa maru/maruku/maruri masa/masaja masi/masidu masuja masuri matapu mateti = 370 matiti matizaite matu maza/mazu meda medakidi mekidi mepajai mera merasasaa/merasasaja (very common) = 380 mesasa mesenurutu meto meturaa meza mia midai midani midamara2 (midamarai) midara = 390 midemidiu mie miima mijanika mijuke mikidua mikisena minaminapii minedu mini/miniduwa = 400 minumi minute (sing. minuta2 – minutai) mio/miowa mipa mireja miru mirutarare misimiri misuma mita = 410 miturea mizase mujatewi muko mupi murito muru musaja naa nadare = 420 nadi/nadiradi/nadiredi nadiwi nadu nadunapu2a naisizamikao naka nakiki nakininuta nakuda namarasasaja = 430 namatiti nami namikua/namikuda namine nanau nanipa3 napa3du narepirea naridi narinarikui = 440 narita naroka naru nasarea nasekimi nasi nasisea nataa/nataje natanidua natareki (common) = 450 nati nazuku/nazuru nea neakoa nedia nedira neka/nekisi nemaduka nemaruja nemiduda = 460 nemusaa Nenaarasaja neqa neramaa nerapa/nerapaa nere nesa/nesaki/nesakimi nesasawi nesekuda neta = 470 netapa netuqe nidapa nidiki/nidiwa niduti nijanu niku/nikutitii nimi nipa3 nira2 (nirai) -or- nita2 (nisai) = 480 niro/niru nisi nisudu nisupu niti nizuka nizuuka nua nude nuki/nukisikija = 490 numida/numideqe nupa3ku (extremely common) nupi nuqetu nuti/nutini Nutiuteranata nutu nuwi odami/odamia opi = 500 ora2dine (oraidine) osuqare otanize oteja pa (common)/paa padaru padasuti pade padupaa Paito = Phaistos = 510 pa3a/pa3ana pa3da pa3dipo pa3katari pa3kija pa3ku pa3ni/pa3nina/pa3niwi pa3pa3ku pa3qa pa3roka = 520 pa3sase pa3waja paja/pajai/pajare paka (very common)/paku (very common)/pakuka pamanuita panuqe para parane paria paroda = 530 parosu pasarija pase pasu pata/patada/pataqe/patu patane pia/pii pija/pijani/pijawa piku/pikui/pikuzu pimata pimento = 540 pimitatira2 (pimitatirai) pina/pini pirueju pisa pita/pitaja pitakase/pitakesi pitara piwaa piwaja piwi = 550 posa potokuro pu2juzu pu2su/pu2sutu pu3pi pu3tama puko punikaso puqe pura2 = 560 pusa/pusi pusuqe qara2wa qa2ra2wa qajo qaka qanuma qapa3 (qapai) qapaja/qapajanai qaqada = 570 qaqaru qareto Qaqisenuti qaro qasaraku qatidate qati/qatiki qatiju qedeminu qeja = 580 qeka qenamiku qenupa qepaka qepita qepu qequre qera2u/qera2wa qeri qero = 590 qerosa qesite qesizue qesupu qesusui qeta2e qeti/qetiradu qetune qisi qoroqa = 600 quqani raa rada/radaa/radakuku/radami radarua radasija radizu radu ra2i ra2ka ra2madami = 610 ra2miki ra2natipiwa ra2pu/ra2pu2 ra2ri (rairi) = lily ra2rore ra2ru ra2saa raja/raju rakaa raki/rakii/rakisi/raku = 620 ranatusu rani raodiki rapa/rapu rapu3ra raqeda rarasa rarua rasa/rasi rasamii = 630 rasasaa/rasasaja rata/ratapi ratada ratise (ritise?) razua rea reda (common)/redana/redasi redamija redise reduja = 640 reja/rejapa rekau rekotuku reku/rekuqa/rekuqe rema/rematuwa remi renara/renaraa renute repa Repu2dudatapa = 650 repu3du reqasuo reradu rera2tusi reratarumi rerora2 rese/resi/resu See sere retaa/retada retaka retata2 = 660 retema reza rezakeiteta ria (common) ridu rikata rima rimisi ripaku ripatu = 670 riqesa rira/riruma rirumate risa Risaipa3dai Risumasuri ritaje rite/ritepi ritoe rodaa/rodaki = 680 roika roke/roki/roku romaku romasa ronadi rore/roreka rosa = rose rosirasiro rotau roti = 690 rotwei rua rudedi ruiko ruja rujamime ruka/rukaa/ruki/rukike Rukito ruko rukue = 700 ruma/rumu/rumata/rumatase rupoka ruqa/ruqaqa (common) rusa (common/rusaka rusi rutari rutia ruzuna sadi saja/sajama/sajamana = 710 sajea saka sama/samaro samidae samuku sanitii sapo/sapi saqa saqeri sara2 (sarai)/sarara =720 sareju saro/saru/sarutu sasaja sasame = sesame sasupu sato sea/sei sedina sedire seikama = 730 Seimasusaa seitau sejarapaja sejasinataki sekadidi sekatapi sekidi Sekiriteseja sekutu semake = 740 semetu senu sepa sere sesapa3 Sesasinunaa Setamaru Seterimuajaku setira Setoija = 750 Sewaude sezami sezanitao sezaredu sezatimitu sia sidare/sidate sidi/sidija sii/siida/siisi siitau = 760 sija Sijanakarunau sika siketapi sikine Sikira/sikirita sima simara simita simito/simitu = mouse = 770 sina sinada sinae sinakanau (common) sinakase sinamiu sinatakira sinedui sipiki sipu3ka = 780 sire/siro/siru/sirute siriki Sirumarita2 Sitetu situ siwamaa sokanipu sokemase sudaja suja = 790 Sukirita/Sukiriteija = Sybrita suniku (common) supa3 (supai) supi/supu sure Suria suropa sutu/sutunara suu suzu = 800 taa tadaki/tadati tadeuka taikama Tainaro tainumapa Ta2merakodisi ta2re/ta2reki ta2riki Ta2rimarusi = 810 ta2tare ta2tite ta2u tajusu takaa/takari taki/taku/takui tamaduda tanamaje tanate/tanati Tanunikina = 820 tamaru tami/tamia/tamisi tani/taniria/tanirizu taniti tapa tapiida tapiqe tara/tarina tarasa tarawita = 830 tarejanai tarikisu taritama tasa/tasaja tasise tata/tati tateikezare tedasi/tedatiqa tedekima teepikia = 840 Teizatima tejai tejare tekare teke/teki tekidia temada/temadai temeku temirerawi tenamipi = 850 tenata/tenataa tenatunapa3ku tenekuka teneruda teniku tenitaki tenu/tenumi (common) tepi tera/tere/teri tera teraseda = 860 tereau tereza teri/teridu terikama tero/teroa terusi (extremely common) tesi/tesiqe Tesudesekei tetita2 tetu = 870 Tewirumati Tidama tidata tidiate tiditeqati tiduitii/tiisako tija tika tikiqa tikuja = 880 Tikuneda timaruri/timaruwite timasa timi timunuta tina Tinakarunau tinata (common)/tinita tinesekuda tininaka = 890 tinu/tinuka tinusekiqa tio tiqatediti tiqe/tiqeri/tiqeu tiraduja tira2 tirakapa3 tire tisa = 900 tisiritua tisudapa Tita titema titiku titima tiu tiumaja tizanukaa toipa = 910 tome toraka = Linear B toraka toreqa tuda tujuma tukidija tukuse tuma/tumi/tumitizase tunada/tunapa tunapa3ku = 920 Tunija tupadida tuqe turaa Turunuseme turusa tusi/tusu/tusupu2 tute/tutesi udami/udamia udimi = 930 udiriki uju uki Uminase unaa unadi (common) unakanasi unana unarukanasi/unarukanati upa = 940 uqeti urewi uro uso/usu uta/uta2 utaise utaro uti waduko waduna = 950 Wadunimi waja wanai wanaka wapusua wara2qa watepidu watumare wazudu wetujupitu = 960 widina widui wija Wijasumatiti Winadu winipa winu winumatari wiraremite wireu = 970 wirudu Wisasane witero zadeu/zadeujuraa zadua zama/zame zanwaija zapa zare/zaredu/zareki/zaresea zasata = 980 zirinima zudu zukupi zuma zupaku zusiza zusu zute = 988 VERSUS Younger = 774 ( – numeric syllabograms + long strings + broken series of syllabograms). Hence Younger’s lexicon amounts to 78.3 % of this one, i.e. this lexicon contains 214 more entries and is 21.7 % longer.
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