Editing Iberian language (section)

==Writing==
{{Main|Iberian scripts}}
[[Image:Mapa escriptures paleohispàniques-ang.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Iberian scripts in the context of [[paleohispanic scripts]]]]

The oldest Iberian inscriptions date to the 6th century BC or maybe the 5th century BC and the latest ones date from the end of the 1st century BC or maybe the beginning of the 1st century AD. More than two thousand Iberian inscriptions are currently known. Most are short texts on [[ceramic]] with personal names, which are usually interpreted as ownership marks. Many [[Ancient Iberian coinage|coins]] minted by Iberian communities during the Roman Republic have legends in Iberian. The longest Iberian texts were made on [[lead]] plaques; the most extensive is from [[Yátova]] ([[Valencia (province)|Valencia]]) with more than six hundred signs.

Three different scripts have remained for the Iberian language:
* [[Northeastern Iberian script]]
** Dual variant (4th century BC and 3rd century BC)
** Non-dual variant (2nd century BC and 1st century BC)
* [[Southeastern Iberian script]]
* [[Greco-Iberian alphabet]] (most of the aforementioned ''Leads of La Serreta'' are written in this version).

===Northeastern (or Levantine) Iberian script===
[[Image:Plom I de La Bastida (Cara A).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Lead plaque from La Bastida de les Alcuses ([[Mogente]]) using the [[southeastern Iberian script]]]]
[[Image:PLOMO.jpg|300px|thumb|right|Lead plaque from Castellet de Bernabè, Valencia]]

The [[northeastern Iberian script]] is also known as the Iberian script, because it is the [[Iberian script]] most frequently used (95% of the extant texts (Untermann 1990)). The northeastern Iberian inscriptions have been found mainly in the northeastern quadrant of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]: chiefly on the coast from [[Languedoc-Roussillon]] to [[Alicante]], but with a deep penetration into the [[Ebro valley]]. This script is almost completely deciphered.

All the [[paleohispanic scripts]], with the exception of the [[Greco-Iberian alphabet]], share a common distinctive typological characteristic: they use signs with syllabic value for the [[occlusive]]s and signs with monophonematic value for the remaining [[consonants]] and for [[vowels]]. From a [[writing systems]] point of view, they are neither [[alphabets]] nor [[syllabaries]]; rather, they are "mixed" scripts that are normally identified as [[semi-syllabary|semi-syllabaries]]. Regarding their origin, there is no agreement among researchers; for some linguists, they are linked only to the [[Phoenician alphabet]], while others see the [[Greek alphabet]] as playing a part.

===Southeastern (or Meridional) Iberian script===
The [[southeastern Iberian script]] is a [[semi-syllabary]] too, but it is more similar to the [[Southwest script|Tartessian]] script than to the [[northeastern Iberian script]]. The southeastern Iberian inscriptions have been found mainly in the southeastern quadrant of the [[Iberian Peninsula]]: eastern [[Andalusia]], [[Murcia]], [[Albacete]], [[Alicante]] and [[Valencia, Spain|Valencia]]. This script is not completely deciphered.

[[Image:Plom I de La Serreta (Cara B).jpg|300px|right|thumb|Lead plaque from la Serreta ([[Alcoy, Spain|Alcoy]]) using the [[Greco-Iberian alphabet]]]]

===Greco-Iberian alphabet===
The Greco-Iberian [[alphabet]] is a direct adaptation of an [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]] variant of a [[Greek alphabet]] to the specificities of the Iberian language. The inscriptions that use the Greco-Iberian alphabet have been found mainly in [[Alicante]] and [[Murcia]].