Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Karl Randolph" <kwrandolph AT email.com>]

Peter, Yitzhak, Kevin et al:

We *don't* know how well the script fit Hebrew and 
Aramaic during Biblical times. The problem is that all the 
ANE languages were either not phonetic (e.g. cuneiform, 
hieroglyphics), has too small a surviving corpus for us to 
be sure (Phoenician) or spent centuries or more as an 
official language with a frozen spelling as the language 
changed under the radar (Latin, Greek, Aramaic, Hebrew).  
The proposition that the ancients did not know enough to 
write a phonetic alphabet is laughable, examples include 
apparently Tiffineg (originated in Scandinavia, there used 
apparently about 18th century BC) and Ugaritic from the 
14th century BC if the earlier dates are correct. If I look 
hard, I probably could find more examples. Further, 
because the languages have a long history of frozen 
spelling while the languages changed, the poor phonetic 
fit today cannot be taken as a reference as to whether or 
not the languages were originally written phonetically. All 
we can refer to is today's fit.

The idea of a phonetic script is not a modern invention 
from professional linguists. In fact, I view it as more logical 
and more likely than the present practice where a single 
grapheme can stand for more than one phoneme. The 
latter is far more a modern invention.

Karl W. Randolph.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Peter Kirk" <peter AT qaya.org>
> 
> On 03/11/2005 01:42, Kevin Riley wrote:
> 
> > ... The fact that the Phoenician letters
> > seem to fit so well the consonantal structure of the Phoenician language
> > makes it one of the wonders of the history of languages. ...
> > ... I see no
> > reason to doubt that, especially when it does not fit the Hebrew or 
> > Aramaic
> > languages as well.
> >
> >
> 
> We know that the script does not fit Hebrew and Aramaic well because we
> know more about subsequent forms of these languages. We know little
> about later forms of Phoenician, and so we don't know that the script
> fitted Phoenician any better.
> 
> --
> Peter Kirk
> peter AT qaya.org (personal)
> peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
> http://www.qaya.org/

-- 
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