The Meroitic script and the understanding of alpha-syllabic writing

Bibliographic Data

ID2786646
AuthorsA De Voogt (0000-0002-1763-2288, American Museum of Natural History, corresponding author), Alexander J De Voogt
Year2010
Volume73
Issue1
Pages101-105
Publication date2010-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0041977x0999036x
OpenAlexW2096728221
LanguageEN
References cited3

At the time of its decipherment by Griffith (1911), the Meroitic writing system was considered an alphabet. This alphabet was found to have a rather limited vowel notation. It was not until 1970 that the system was understood to have a more complex vowel notation. This system of vowel notation is comparable to what is found in an alpha-syllabary, a term used to describe the scripts of the Indian sub-continent, such as Brahmi and Devanagari. Since alpha-syllabaries were rare when the Meroitic writing system was in use (c. 200 bce-c. 500 ad), it is tempting to suggest a possible historical connection between the Meroitic kingdom in Sudan and the then existent scripts in India. A systematic analysis, as opposed to a description of alpha-syllabic writing, indicates that the structure of this type of script is less regionally confined. Rather, it places Meroitic writing among scripts that were created in the presence of alphabetic writing both in modern and in ancient times

Alphabet · Art · Decipherment · Devanagari · Linguistics · Literature · Notation · Programming language · Scripting language · Syllabic verse · Vowel · Writing system · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Language, Linguistics, Cultural Analysis · Philosophy

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