Editing Linear A (section)

==Decipherment==
[[File:Minoan inscriptions, Linear A script, Phaistos, 1850-1450 BC, AMH, 144886.jpg|thumb|Minoan inscriptions, Linear&nbsp;A script]]

Linear A has not been fully deciphered. However, researchers are reasonably confident in the approximate sound values of most syllabic signs and are able to make inferences about the meanings of some texts.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref name="SalgAeonQuote">{{cite magazine |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |date=17 June 2022 |title=Cracking the Cretan code |url=https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |magazine=Aeon|access-date=30 March 2024|quote=Linear A is, after all, ‘partially deciphered’, inasmuch as we can read the texts in phonetic transcription with some approximation, understand some of the words... and get a general idea of the documents’ contents.}}</ref>

=== Challenges to decipherment ===

One major barrier to its decipherment is the limited surviving [[text corpus|corpus]]. Only around 1400 Linear A inscriptions survive, in contrast to the 6000 available for Linear B. As a result, researchers are stuck with limited [[sample size]]s, making it difficult to reliably detect patterns.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref name="SalgAeon">{{cite magazine |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |date=17 June 2022 |title=Cracking the Cretan code |url=https://aeon.co/essays/without-a-rosetta-stone-can-linguists-decipher-minoan-script |magazine=Aeon|access-date=7 March 2024}}</ref> Similarly, Linear A inscriptions are often fragmentary, damaged, or otherwise hard to read. It can be difficult to individuate particular signs and to distinguish separate signs from handwriting variants.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref name="SalgAeon" /> Finally, Linear A inscriptions tend to be brief and repetitive. Rather than complete sentences, many are lists where each entry consists of a toponym or personal name followed by a logogram and then a numeral. Thus, the surviving corpus contains few spelled-out words and limited evidence of the grammatical structure.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref name="Winterstein2015" />

A second barrier is the scarcity of external evidence. No [[Multilingual inscription|bilingual inscription]]s have been found, preventing the script from being deciphered in the manner that [[Egyptian hieroglyphs]] were deciphered using the [[Rosetta Stone]].<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref name="TomasHandbook"/> The underlying language of Linear A has not been determined, and it is not clear that the same language was used for its entire period of use. The grammatical evidence that can be gleaned from the surviving corpus suggests that it was not a close relative of any known language.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview"/><ref name="TomasHandbook"/>

=== Phonetic values ===

For most of Linear A's syllabic signs, approximate sound values can be inferred based on the values of homomorphic signs in Linear B. These sound values are widely accepted by current researchers, though they are not considered incontrovertible and many details remain up for debate. This does not amount to a complete decipherment since it results in words that are uninterpretable.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview"/><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref>[https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/7e3a97dd-5ae9-46e3-bab5-fdd644e45bec/content] Meissner, T., & Steele, P., "Linear A and Linear B: Structural and contextual concerns", Edizioni Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 2017</ref><ref name="SalgAeonQuote" />

These values are based on the ''homomorphy-homophony principle'' which states that in related writing systems, signs with similar forms will generally have similar phonetic values. Although this principle is not reliable across the board, there are a number of strong reasons why scholars have concluded that it does generally hold in Linear A.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=6–7|isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}}</ref> One reason is that is already known to hold in many cases between Linear B and the [[Cypriot syllabary]], another script which descends from Linear A. This fact suggests that these signs were inherited by both scripts along with their Linear A phonetic values.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}}</ref> A second reason is that the resulting Linear A sound values provide readings of words which match what contextual analysis would lead us to expect. For instance, words which contextual analysis suggests to be placenames are read as such when assuming Linear B values. Notably, the Linear A word {{lang|omn|𐘂𐘚𐘄}} would be read as {{lang|omn-Latn|Pa-i-to}}, corresponding to the placename [[Phaistos]] attested in the Linear B corpus as {{lang|gmy|𐀞𐀂𐀵}} {{transliteration|gmy|Pa-i-to}}.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview"/><ref name="TomasHandbook" /><ref>Hooker, J. T. "Problems and Methods in the Decipherment of Linear A.", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 2, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1975, pp. 164–72</ref><ref name="Younger-10C">{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear&nbsp;A texts in phonetic transcription |title=10c.&nbsp;Place names |year=2000 |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |publisher=University of Kansas |access-date=29 April 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Finkelberg |first=Margalit |date=2001 |chapter=The Language of Linear A: Greek, Semitic, or Anatolian? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/24273902 |editor-last=Drews |editor-first=Robert |title=Greater Anatolia and the Indo-Hittite Language Family |series=Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series |volume=38 |pages=81–105 |isbn=978-0941694773 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

However, in particular cases scholars have identified reasons to expect divergence in pronunciation. Some scholars have argued that Minoan did not really have a vowel phoneme /o/, that it may not have had the labialised velars that the ''q''-signs express in Mycenaean, and that the only apparent voiced stop, ''d'', was really a dental fricative in Minoan.<ref name=":2" />

The following table shows signs that are known to be syllabograms and for which ''provisional'' and ''approximate'' sound values are assumed primarily based on the known pronunciations of identical or similar signs in Linear B.<ref name=":2">[http://projectos.fcsh.unl.pt/kubaba/Davis_2010__Introduction_to_Aegean_pre-Alphabetic_Scripts.pdf Davis, Brent. 2010. Introduction to Aegean pre-Alphabetic Scripts. Kubaba 1, pp. 38–61.].  P. 51–54.</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357080939_Some_Remarks_on_Grammatological_and_Morphological_Aspects_of_Linear_A_Documents_An_Internal_Analysis_Approach Fang, X.M., Perono Cacciafoco, F., and Cavallaro, F.P. (2021). Some Remarks on Grammatological and Morphological Aspects of Linear A Documents: An Internal Analysis Approach. Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics, 43(1), pp. 316-338.] P.319.</ref><ref>[https://www.bruna.nl/images/active/InkijkPDF/cb/9789402157574.pdf van Soesbergen, Peter George. 2016. Minoan Linear A – volume I. Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Part 1: text.] P.3-10.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="11" |'''Syllabic signs of shape V, CV'''
|-
!
! colspan="2" |'''''-a'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-e'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-i'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-o'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-u'''''
|-
!
|𐘇 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A008.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''a''

''*08''
|𐘡[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A038.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''e''

''*38''
|𐘚[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028.svg|class=skin-invert]] 
|''i''

''*28''
|𐘵[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A061.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''o''

''*61''
|𐘉[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A010.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''u''

''*10''
|-
!'''''d-'''''
|𐘀[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A001.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''da''

''*01''
|𐘦 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A045.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''de''

''*45''
|𐘆[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A007.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''di''

''*07''
|''Disputed.''𐙀?

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A079.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''do''

''-*79?''
|𐘬 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A051.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''du''

''*51''
|-
!'''''j-'''''
|𐘱[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A057.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ja''

''*57''
|𐘧[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A046.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''je''

''*46''
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|''Disputed.''

|''jo''
|''Disputed.''
|''ju''
|-
!'''''k-'''''
|𐘾 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A077.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ka''

''*77''
|𐘥[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A044.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ke''

''*44''
|𐘸 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A067.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ki''

''*67''
|𐘺[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A070.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ko''

''*70''
|𐙂[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A081.svg|class=skin-invert]] 
|''ku''

''*81''
|-
!'''''m-'''''
|𐙁 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A080.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ma''

''*80''
|𐘋 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A013.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''me''

''*13''
|𐘻[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A073.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''mi''

''*73''
|''Disputed.''

𐙗?[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A303.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''mo''

''*303?''
|𐘕[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A023m.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''mu''

''*23''
|-
!'''''n-'''''
|𐘅 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A006.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''na''

''*06''
|𐘗[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A024.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ne''

''*24''
|𐘝 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A030.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ni''

''*30''
|''Disputed.''

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028.svg|class=skin-invert]],[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028b.svg|class=skin-invert]]?  
|''no''

''*28,28B?''
|𐘯 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A055.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''nu''

''*55''
|-
!'''''p-'''''
|𐘂 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A003.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pa''

''*03''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|𐘢 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A039.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pi''

''*39''
|𐘊 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A011.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''po''

''*11''
|𐘫 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A050.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pu''

''*50''
|-
!'''''q-'''''
|𐘌 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A016.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qa''

''*16''
|𐘿 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A078.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qe''

''*78''
|𐘏 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A021.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qi''

''*21''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|-
!'''''r-'''''
|𐘴 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A060.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ra''

''*60''
|𐘙 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A027.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''re''

''*27''
|𐘭[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A053.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ri''

''*53''
|𐘁[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A002.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ro''

''*02''
|𐘘 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A026.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ru''

''*26''
|-
!'''''s-'''''
|𐘞 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A031.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''sa''

''*31''
|𐘈[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A009.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''se''

''*09''
|𐘤[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A041.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''si''

''*41''
|''Disputed.''
|''so''
|𐘲 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A058.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''su''

''*58''
|-
!'''''t-'''''
|𐘳 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A059.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ta''

''*59''
|𐘃 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A004.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''te''

''*04''
|𐘠 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A037.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ti''

''*37''
|𐘄[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A005.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''to''

''*05''
|𐘹 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A069.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''tu''

''*69''
|-
!'''''w-'''''
|𐘮 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A054.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''wa''

''*54''
|''Disputed.''
|''–''
|𐘣 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A040.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''wi''

''*40''
|''Disputed.''
|''wo''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
!'''''z-'''''
|𐘍[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A017.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''za''

''*17''
|𐘼 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A074.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ze''

''*74''
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|𐘎[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A020.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''zo''

''*20''
|''Disputed.''

𐙀?

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A079.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''zu''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''79''
|}

While many of those assumed to be syllabic signs are similar to ones in Linear B, approximately 80% of Linear A's [[logogram]]s are unique;<ref name="Younger-7B">{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear&nbsp;A texts in phonetic transcription |title=7b.&nbsp;The Script |year=2000 |publisher=[[University of Kansas]] |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Packard-MLA-C1">{{harvnb|Packard|1974|loc=Chapter 1: Introduction}}.</ref> the difference in sound values between Linear A and Linear B signs ranges from 9% to 13%.{{sfn|Owens|1999|pp=23–24 (David Packard, in 1974, calculated a sound-value difference of 10.80 ± 1.80%; Yves Duhoux, in 1989, calculated a sound-value difference of 14.34% ± 1.80% and Gareth Owens, in 1996, calculated a sound-value difference of 9–13%)}}

===Underlying language===
[[Image:Linear A vase filt.jpg|thumb|right|Linear&nbsp;A incised on a jug, also found in Akrotiri]]

Linear A does not appear to encode any known language. The placeholder term ''[[Minoan language]]'' is often used, though it is not certain that the texts are all in the same language.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref>Chadwick J., "Introduction to the problems of ‘Minoan Linear A’", JRAS 2, pp. 143–147, 1975</ref> Minoan appears to be [[agglutinative language|agglutinative]], making copious use of [[prefix]]es and [[suffix]]es. It likely had a three vowel system, since it shares Linear B's /{{IPA|i}}/, /{{IPA|u}}/, and /{{IPA|a}}/ series, but not Linear B's /{{IPA|o}}/ series and not all of its /{{IPA|e}}/ series.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /> Based on regularities in the Linear A Libation Formulas, it has been argued that its [[word order]] was [[Verb–subject–object word order|Verb Subject Object]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Davis |first1=Brent |title=Syntax in Linear A: The Word-Order of the 'Libation Formula' |journal=Kadmos |date=1 December 2013 |volume=52 |issue=1 |pages=35–52 |doi=10.1515/kadmos-2013-0003 |s2cid=163948869 |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/kadmos-2013-0003/html |access-date= | issn=0022-7498 |url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>[https://pursuit.unimelb.edu.au/articles/how-do-you-crack-the-code-to-a-lost-ancient-script How do you crack the code to a lost ancient script? - Andrew Trounson, University of Melbourne – 5 November 2019]</ref><ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><!-- Salgarella also says that Minoan had complex onsets like /nwa/, but I'm confused by how she presents this. I suspect what she intends is that Minoan had phonemic labialized nasals since LB has signs for /nwa/ even though this would be a random complex onset in Greek. But that's too far from what she literally wrote for me to be comfortable including this without checking against other sources. --><!-- Answer to previous comment: Minoan also seems to have had other labialised and palatalised vowels as onsets, much like in NW Caucasian languages. (Peter Schrijver has suggested that Minoan was at least typologically similar to NW Caucasian and Hattic, and certain substratum languages in Europe and Asia Minor were similar too.) I think this is what Salgarella refers to. -->

[[File:Luwian Hieroglyphs from Karatepe.svg|thumb|[[Anatolian hieroglyphs]]]] 
Scholars have noted a number of potential parallels between Minoan and [[Anatolian language]]s such as [[Luwian language|Luwian]] and [[Lycian language|Lycian]], as well as with [[Semitic language]]s such as [[Phoenician language|Phoenician]] and [[Ugaritic]]. However, even if these connections are not coincidental, it is unclear whether Minoan is related to one of these languages or if the parallels arose through [[language contact]].<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview" /><ref>Jan Best, "The First Inscription in Punic. Vowel Differences between Linear A and B, Ugarit-Forschungen 32, pp. 27–35, 2000</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Dietrich|Loretz|2001}}.</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Palmer |first=Leonard Robert |title=Luvian and Linear A |journal=Transactions of the Philological Society |volume=57 |issue=1 |pages=75–100 |year=1958 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-968X.1958.tb01273.x | issn=0079-1636}}</ref><ref name="Finkelberg"/>