Phonology

The script of Linear B shows some orthographic incompatibilities that can not be explained from the phonology of the Greek language. These incompatibilities regard the representation of the occlusives and the liquids, as well as the unsatisfactory way in which the phoneme [h] is represented.

In Linear B we find no separate signs for the voiceless, voiced and aspirate stops, except for the dentals for which two series are distinguished, one voiced and one voiceless. These incompatibilities can not be explained from Greek phonology, since distinction of voiceless π, τ, κ from voiced β, δ, γ and aspirate φ, θ, χ is phonemically significant in the Greek language.  Since an alleged ‘economy’ of the writing system employed by the scribes to use no more signs than strictly necessary, does not provide a satisfactory explanation either, we may assume that this peculiar phenomenon had most likely been adopted - without alterations to accommodate the requirements of Greek phonology  -  from the system of Linear A which may have been designed for the notation of a language with a phonological system where opposition between voiceless, voiced and aspirate stops was non-phonemic. Theoretically Linear A, in its turn, might ultimately have adopted this phenomenon from the Cretan ‘hieroglyphic’ or ‘pictographic’ script, but it seems wise first to examine whether Linear A itself provides a coherent and satisfactory explanation without contaminating the discussion with speculation about a much smaller corpus of texts.

In the Hurrian language opposition between voiced and voiceless stops was non-phonemic. This is clearly shown by comparing Hurrian texts written by native speakers of Akkadian or West Semitic (Amorite and Ugaritic) with those written by native Hurrians themselves. Since voicing of occlusives was phonemic in Akkadian and West Semitic, native speakers of these languages were able to recognize the phenomenon of allophony in the Hurrian vernacular (cf. for this phenomenon, for instance, the allophonic differences between British English and American English pronunciation of /t/ in ‘a little’). Thus, Hurrian texts from Ugarit (modern Ras Shamra) written in an alphabetic cuneiform have revealed a very consistent distribution of voiced and voiceless consonants. In them consonants become voiced when occurring singly after vowels and when adjacent to sonants. P.M. Purves, ‘Hurrian consonantal pattern’, AJSL 58 (1941), 378-404, has discovered that this pattern also appears in Hurrian names in Akkadian documents written by Semitic scribes not only at Nuzi but at many other sites. He found this pattern also in the Hurrian texts from Mâri and in the Sumerian-Hurrian vocabulary from Ugarit and concluded that all the texts just mentioned, including those in alphabetic cuneiform, were written by Semitic scribes.

The matter is further elaborated in THE DECIPHERMENT OF MINOAN LINEAR A. Volume I, Part I,  Chapter 7: The Hurrian language as a likely candidate: Phonology.

A similar case as for the stops in Linear B can be made for the orthographic incompatibility indicated by the representation of the liquids by only one series in that script. Since λ and ρ are both phonemically significant in the Greek language, this phenomenon can not be explained from Greek phonology, but has probably been adopted from Linear A as well. The cuneiform syllabaries and the alphabetic cuneiform of Ugarit were adequately equipped to represent r and l. Hurrian phonology may again offer the explanation desired. M. Astour, ‘Les Hourrites en Syrie du Nord’, RHA 36 (1978), 5, note 39, remarks: “L’interchangeabilité des liquides r et l est fréquente en hourrite.” According to I. Wegner (Einführung in die hurritische Sprache, Wiesbaden 2007, 47) r/l alternation is dialectal at Boǧazköy (e.g. avari ‘field’ beside avalli ‘field’) and initial l- and r- only occur in loan-words.

It is significant that sequences with -r/la-, -r/la2-, -r/le-, -r/li-, -r/lo-, -r/lu- in medial position and with -r/la, -r/la2, -r/le, -r/li, -r/lo, -r/lu in final position belong to the most frequent in Linear A, whereas those with r/la-, r/la2-, r/le-, r/li-, r/lo-, r/lu- in initial position are extremely rare. This phenomenon may well be explained from Hurrian phonology. E. Laroche (Glossaire de la langue hourrite, Paris 1980, 209) writes: “La consonne r n’apparaît jamais à l’initiale d’un mot hourrite. Les mots sémitiques à r- initial empruntés par la langue ont été affectués d’une voyelle prothétique; cela est certain dans le cas de Iršappa = Rešep et de irbute = rebûtu ‘quarte’, probable dans le cas de argamani (sém. rgm) et de Argapa (sém. rkb).” Hurrian initial l- is very rare (cf. Laroche, GLH, 159-161). On the other hand, -r- and -l- in medial position and -r and -l in final position are frequent in Hurrian.

Hurrian is not the only language lacking initial r-, since Proto-Indo-European seems to have shared this phenomenon. Greek ῥ- originated from sr- or wr-. In other I-E languages r- originated from laryngeal + r-: cf. Latin ruber : Greek ἐρυθρός < *H1ruthró-; Latin regō : Greek ὀρέγω < *H3rég-.

The conclusion is that the phonological position of Hurrian r and l is in accordance with what we can deduce for the idiom written with Linear A. If one accepts that this correspondence may have cogent implications and if one accepts that Hurrian may well have been the source par excellence for the idiom written with Linear A, the consequence would be that Linear A signs for initial r/l-, rare as they are, represent either initial l- or, if they represent initial r-, they may reflect either adstrate words or names or foreign names.  

The Linear B sign for a could also be employed for ha, although it is not certain that this sign was ever used for ἁ in initial position (cf. C.J. Ruijgh, EGM, § 30). Linear B has created a new special sign for ἁ, which is included in the Linear B syllabary as a2.

Since a2 is the only specialized sign indicating /(-)h-/ in Linear B, because specialized signs indicating  (-)h- + another vowel fail, we may conclude that Linear B was not very well equipped to realize /(-)h-/.

This is even more remarkable, because /h/ was not only phonemically significant in Mycenaean Greek as was initial /h-/ in later Greek, but because it was still a true consonant: no elision in Linear B o-pi-a2-ra (PY An 657,1), ὀπίἁλα (with intervocalic h) ‘coastal region’, corresponding with ἔφαλoς (ἁλ- < *sal-) in Homer (weakened h developed into aspiration), cf. C.J. Ruijgh, EGM, § 29. Since a2 was a new sign in Linear B, /h/ was probably phonemically insignificant or non-existent in Linear A. The latter phenomenon can be explained neither from the phonology of Indo-European nor from that of Semitic languages, but it probably can from the phonology of Hurrian where /h/ seems to have been non-existent. Linear B sign a3 = αι is also a new sign in Linear B.

Morphology

The Hurrian language is only suffixing, which means that a Hurrian root is followed by suffixes in a fixed order. The Hurrian noun has no gender (genera). So there is no distinction between masculine, feminine and neuter forms.

The Hurrian verb has distinct paradigms for transitive and intransitive forms. Hurrian also has so-called antipassive forms that are in fact transitive forms without an object.

Important distinction:

An important distinction between ergative languages, such as Hurrian, and inflexional ancient Indo-European languages, such as Greek and Latin, is that Hurrian has no “nominative – accusative” constructions. 

The subject of a Hurrian transitive verb is in the ergative case and the object in the endingless case, the absolutive. However, the subject of an intransitive verb is also in the absolutive case.

Significance of Hurrian and Minoan onomastics

Research of Hurrian and Minoan onomastics is important for at least two reasons:

1. Onomastics (in particular personal names) may well comprise approximately 80 % of the Linear A material, especially because the texts on the Linear A tablets largely consist of lists of personal names, next to some toponyms, ethnics, theonyms and some Hurrian verbal and adverbial transaction terms.

2. The nature of the Hurrian and Minoan onomastics is significant as well.

The main categories are ‘sentence-names’ , ‘hypocoristic names’, ‘one-word names’.

 These categories appeared to be of great significance for the decipherment of Linear A, since both ‘sentence-names’ and ‘one-word names’ are grammatical constructions.

‘Sentence-names’ often contain a theophorous element, either a theonym such as Tešub-/-tešub or a divine epithet such as Šarri-/-šarri, ‘King of Gods’. ‘Sentence-names’ are in fact complete sentences, consisting of a verbal and a nominal element or consisting of two nominal elements.

The Linear A ‘hypocoristic sentence-name’ su-ki-ri-te-i-ja (HT Zb 158b) from Hagia Triada is a hypocoristic of Šugri-tešub, “Bless the child, oh Tešub !”.  It can be analysed as Hurrian Šugr=i-teḭa, consisting of the verbal root šugr- ‘to bless’ + the marker of transitivity -i + the abbreviated or hypocoristic theophorous element -teḭa. Another frequent hypocoristic of -tešub is -te.

Hypocoristic names can be the result of abbreviation of a (quasi-)theophorous element.

The name of the Hurrian ‘Moon-God’ Kušuḫ / Kuzuḫ can be abbreviated to -ku.

Hurrian (quasi-)theophorous element -kiaše / -kiaze ‘Sea’ can be abbreviated to -ki.

Hurrian (quasi-)theophorous element -šena ‘brother’/-šenni ‘the brother’ < -šen(a)=ni can be abbreviated to -še.

Hypocoristic names can also be the result of replacement of an onomastic element by the Hurrian hypocoristic suffix -ja. A good example is:

The example of Hurrian Ipšaḭa (wr. Ip-ša-a-a, Ip-šá-a-a), name of 18 persons at Nuzi, that is attested as i-pa-sa-ja (KH 10.3) in Linear A at Khania, also shows that the orthographic conventions of Linear A did not differ from those of Linear B.

It can be proved on the basis of prosopographic evidence that Ipšaḭa at Nuzi is a hypocoristic of Ipša-ḫalu (wr. Ip-ša-ḫa-lu, Ip-šá-ḫa-lu, Ip-ša-ḫa-a-lu, Ip-sa-ḫa-lu, Ip-šá-ḫa-a-lu), name of 77 persons at Nuzi, since there are an Ipšaḭa and Ipša-ḫalu son of Ar-te-ia and there are an Ipšaḭa and Ipša-ḫalu son of It-ḫi-iš-ta (I.J. Gelb, NPN, 71-72).

Hurrian ‘one-word names’ represent a grammatical entity as well.

Linear A ] su-ki-ri-ta (PH Wa 32α) on a pyramid-shaped nodule from the Palace of Phaistos, West Wing, under neopalatial pavement of vano 10, stratum IV, fill-layer of ca. 1 m. between pavement and underlying concrete, transition MM IIb/MM III, end of protopalatial period (Doro Levi’s local phase 3). PH Wa 32β shows a seal impression: possibly a quadruped.

Linear A ] su-ki-ri-ta can be interpreted as the Hurrian personal name Šugritta, analysed as {šugr=i=tta}, ‘Bless me (oh God) !’, consisting of the verbal root šugr- ‘to bless’ + the transitive theme-vowel -i- + the absolutive enclitic personal pronoun 1st person singular -tta ‘me’. In this transitive formation the enclitic personal pronoun -tta has the function of object and may well indicate the bearer of the name, cf. I. Wegner, Einführung, 95-97; cf. also Th. Richter, VHN, 586.  However, this is not the whole story:

Linear A ] su-ki-ri-ta (PH Wa 32: side α) is an exact equivalent to Linear B su-ki-ri-ta (KN Db 1324, B; KN Db 1327+1345+7681+7992; KN Dn 1092+5379+fr., 2; Dw 1325; et alibi), identified as a Pre-Greek toponym Συγρίτᾱ, since Linear B ethnic su-ki-ri-ta-jo (KN C 911, 3: nom. sg. m.), probably Συγριταῖος, is derived from it. So there is a good chance that Linear A ] su-ki-ri-ta from Phaistos is also a toponym, but since it is the only syllabic entry on nodule PH Wa 32α, it is difficult to decide whether we are dealing with an expression in context, a personal name or a toponym. Anyway the translation ‘Bless me (oh God) !’ remains the same.

Publication of The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A

The Decipherment of Minoan Linear A, reads like a detective novel, revealing the evidence page by page. Dr. van Soesbergen has successfully identified a vast array of Hurrian vocabulary terms (often in a grammatical form), Hurrian personal names, ethnics, toponyms, theonyms, divine epithets, names of heroes within the Linear A corpus.

While the 8 volumes provide the rigorous linguistic data required by specialists, the narrative remains accessible to anyone fascinated by the ancient world. The wealth of information contained within these works remains rewarding and enlightening for anyone interested in the origins of Western civilization.

Explore the series of 8 books (over 4000 pages)

THE DECIPHERMENT OF MINOAN LINEAR A

• Volume I: Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete, Part I (Text, Bibliography, Maps) & Part II (Text & Summary): The core linguistic argument and main text of the series.

• Volume I: Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete, Parts III–VI: Comprehensive Indices & Glossaries for scholarly reference, divided over over several categories.

• Part III: Indices & Glossary: Linear A (A – M).

• Part IV: Indices & Glossaries: Linear A (N – Z), Linear B, Classical Cypriot,

              Akkadian,  Anatolian, Greek.

• Part V:  Indices & Glossaries:  Hittite, Hurrian (abi – pa=ašt=o=m). 

• Part VI: Indices & Glossaries: Hurrian (paba – zuppi), Indo-Iranian, Kassite,

              Luwian, Lycian, Pre-Greek, Sanskrit, Semitic, Sumerian, Thracian,

             Ugaritic, Urartian, Vedic and Script and Language.

• Volume II, Corpus of transliterated Linear A texts, Part I: Arkhanes – Kea.

• Volume II, Corpus of transliterated Linear A texts, Part II: Khania – Zakros.

The Future of Academic Context & Research

The decipherment is based on a rigorous comparison of Aegean, Anatolian and Near Eastern Linguistics and Onomastics.

By identifying the shared naming conventions between the Hurrian lands and Minoan Crete, the poetic Minoan-Hurrian religious epithets of the main Hurrian Gods, the decipherment provides not only a completely new source for Hurrian Studies, but also a new and firm interdisciplinary foundation for Ancient Aegean, Anatolian and Near Eastern Linguistics, Archaeology and History (the History of Religions included). For it is clear that the first great literate civilization in Europe, the Minoan civilization, had its roots in the Hurrian lands in the Near East.

The Minoans were eclectic in their choices: They brought exquisit craftmanship with them from the Near East, especially in metallurgy for weaponry and refined jewelry, the concept of huge palaces, with a central court and series of magazines mainly along the westside of the central court, the skilled expertise to create beautiful frescoes and decorated pottery resembling the so-called ‘Açana ware’ of Alalaḫ / Alalḫa in Syria. They realized that there was no need for a highly developed and complicated script such as cuneiform that the scribes of the Great Kings of Empires in the Near East used for their administration and correspondence with foreign kings and vassal states.

They realized that, as long as the scribes in the Minoan palaces could understand, what they had written, they could do with a much simpler script using ideograms to designate men and women, agricultural commodities, livestock and objects such as pottery, metal tools and arms, (parts of) chariots and the like, and using syllabograms for the 5 vowels a, e, i, o, u and for open syllables consisting of consonants + vowel.

The choice for using only signs for open syllables reduced the number of signs considerably as compared to cuneiform that used not only signs for vowels and  for consonant + vowel, but also for vowel + consonant and even for consonant + vowel + consonant.

Consequently, the Linear A scribes (and later their Linear B colleagues likewise) were forced to use specific orthographic conventions to express consonant clusters.  They also decided not to express final consonants in their scripts.

The decipherment of Linear A has proved that the orthographic conventions as described by Michael Ventris for Mycenaean Linear B, were in fact inherited from Minoan Linear A.

The fact that, for instance, the Linear A personal name su-ki-ri-te-i-ja (HT Zb 158b) from Hagia Triada can be analysed as the Hurrian theophorous ‘sentence name’ Šugri-teḭa, hypocoristic of Šugri-tešub, “Bless (the child), oh Tešub !”, even offers external evidence that the orthographic conventions, as described by Michael Ventris for Mycenaean Linear B, were correctly defined.

Since occlusives always have to be expressed in consonant clusters, the voiced palatal occlusive [g] in consonant cluster [gr-] adopts vowel [i] belonging to syllable -gri- as a mute vowel in the sequence. In other word: The Minoan scribe has to write su-ki-ri- to express Hurrian šugri-.

The example of Hurrian Ipšaḭa (wr. Ip-ša-a-a, Ip-šá-a-a), name of 18 persons at Nuzi, that is attested as i-pa-sa-ja (KH 10.3) in Linear A at Khania, also shows that the orthographic conventions of Linear A did not differ from those of Linear B. The only way to express the syllable -pša- in Linear A was usage of two signs -pa-sa-.