Akkadian

This is a letter to a king

In case you are asking yourself "What the heck's Akkadian?  I thought she was supposed to blog about Assyria," I will explain.  Akkadian is the written language of Assyria.  It also the written language of Babylon, but they are slightly different dialects.

Zapotec, Mayan, and Aztec writing systems: calendrics!

ca·len·dric (-drk) adj. Of, relating to, or used in a calendar.

Mayan calendar

Class in the Library

Don't forget that we have class in room 1131 of the library at our usual class time (9am).
We will be checking out the special collections. I'm excited :)

From Neumes to Clefs and Staves

The Problem

How can anyone analyze, codify, or transcribe something as ephemeral and as fleeting as the supple sounds of smooth jazz,  the scintillating intricacies of the finest symphonies, the crashing fanfare of the halftime show, the raucous chorus of a rock concert? The task of compartmentalizing, of breaking down, of  decomposing music into such basic elements as pitch, duration, silence, tone, and tempo seems to me a Herculean feat. Throughout the centuries, the system we have today underwent quite the evolutionary process. Which brings me to the subject of neumes.

The Solution

Calligraphy: The Highest Art of Islam

'Āli `Imrān 3:48 states, "And He will teach him writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel." As Islam's "highest form of art," calligraphy's main role in society has been one of religious duty. Developed and molded to record the words of Mahammed in the Qu'ran, it has undergone several transformations over the course of several centuries. Calligraphy has "capacity to be both decorative and a conveyor of knowledge, spiritual and secular", thus complimenting nearly every other form of Muslim art from jewelry, to architecture, even to weapons.In a region where religion means everything to its people, calligraphy serves as Muslims' primary artistic reminder of their faith, devotion, and love for Mahammed.

Linear B and The Beginnings of writing in Greece

Sample of Linear B (From Wiki Commons)

I remembered that I had the topic of the Greeks to study and report for a written history. The thought kind of shook me since there is so much to the early Greek alphabet and its meaning for us today, however then I remembered that I am writing specifically about the Mycanaeans, a warrior-like people, a much more manageable and yet intriguing topic. Their writing pre-dates the first greek alphabet and was in wide use all the way until the Dorian invasion around 1100 BC ( which on a side note, although referenced as an invasion where pre-classical dialects and language was replaced by the classical, there is still no evidence that it was actually an invasion which caused the culture shift. They just had cool sayings apparently!). I find most interesting the content which was recorded during this volatile and seemingly transitive period.

Linear B Symbols

Discovered writings of an interesting markings were discovered in the early 19th century with forms that looked like this (to the right). Imagine that you are trying to uncover which culture or language this belongs to as you stare at the symbols. These appear to have origins in everyday objects one might see, giving credence to its being a hieroglyphic language, however they are used repeatedly in their writing. This must be at a transitive period when the object oriented writing was being replaced with the more easy to learn and more phonetically appealing syllabic languages. May we call it a Logophonetic language ? (i.e. icons and objects represent consonants and consonant-vowel structures).

Well, if this is as far as you got, pat yourself on the back! It took until 1953 when Michael Ventris, an architect and hobbyist linguistic, deciphered the language and found that it was an early form of Greek. It goes to show that you don't need to be the expert to do something great! (PS This is a great poem to remember the deciphering of the language, ignore the hippo in the corner though).