CLCIV 328 - Midterm

Writing

A conventional system of marks used to represent the symbols and structures of language, allowing for the recording and communication of thoughts.

Pictogram

A pictorial representation that visually symbolizes a specific object or concept, facilitating understanding through imagery.

Ideogram (Logogram)

A representation of a word or concept, where symbols often convey meaning directly rather than through phonetics, with pictograms included in this category.

Phonogram

A written symbol that represents a specific speech sound, constituting a fundamental component of phonetic alphabets.

Syllabogram

A written symbol that denotes a syllable, which may consist of one or more vowel sounds with or without accompanying consonants.

Ideographic/Logographic

The written system predominantly based on ideograms or logograms, where each symbol represents a word or a meaningful unit rather than a sound.

Syllabary

A writing system that relies on syllables as its foundational units, allowing for the representation of spoken language through syllabic characters.

Individual speech sounds

The basis of an alphabet, where each letter corresponds to a distinct phoneme, enabling precise phonetic communication.

Proto-writing

Any set of ancient written symbols that records information without having a systematic relationship to modern language structures.

Mesopotamia

The historical region often referred to as the 'fertile crescent' or 'cradle of civilization,' known for early advancements in writing and urban development.

Uruk

The location renowned for the discovery of the first clay tablets, which date back to 3300 BC, representing one of the earliest forms of writing.

550 BC, 486 BC

The timeframe during which Darius I ruled as king of Persia in the Achaemenid dynasty, notable for his administrative reforms and construction projects.

Cuneiform

A set of writing systems characterized by 'wedge-shaped' impressions made in clay, used in various ancient Near Eastern cultures.

Stylus

An ancient writing utensil typically crafted from materials such as reed, stone, or bone, used for inscribing on clay or other surfaces.

Georg Grotefend

A German high school teacher recognized for his pivotal contributions to the deciphering of Old Persian, impacting our understanding of ancient writings.

Behistun site

A significant archaeological location notable for its trilingual inscriptions of Darius I in Old Persian, Elamite, and Babylonian, aiding in the decoding of cuneiform.

Sir Henry Rawlinson

The scholar who copied the Behistun inscriptions for decipherment and is credited with the significant achievement of deciphering Babylonian cuneiform.

Language isolate

A term used to classify Sumerian, indicating that it has no known relatives or connections to other language families.

Root-based word structure

The structural foundation of the Akkadian language, wherein words are built upon a set of roots that convey a specific meaning.

Rebus

A system of writing in which symbols or images representing smaller parts of words combine to form larger words or phrases, often used for conceptual representation.

Hammurabi

The historical figure who commissioned the famous Law Code, which remains a significant reference for understanding early legal principles.

Hieroglyph

The formal pictorial script utilized in ancient Egypt, consisting of symbols that represent objects, sounds, or ideas, integral to their writing system.

Hieratic

A cursive script that evolved from hieroglyphs, primarily used on papyrus for writing, allowing for quicker and more efficient documentation.

Demotic

The script that developed from hieratic and was commonly used for non-religious texts in ancient Egypt, simplifying the complexity of hieroglyphs.

Papyrus

A writing material produced from the papyrus plant, which was historically significant in ancient cultures for creating scrolls and documents.

Coptic

The script and language that served as a key to deciphering the Rosetta Stone, representing the final stage of ancient Egyptian languages.

Athanasius Kircher

The scholar who pioneered the study of hieroglyphs in the 17th century, laying groundwork for future research and understanding.

Rosetta Stone

A bilingual stone inscription crucial for deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphs, enabling researchers to unlock the meanings of ancient scripts.

Stela (Stele)

An upright monument that bears text and/or images in ancient cultures, often commemorating events, individuals, or religious practices.

Jean-François Champollion

The linguist who successfully completed the deciphering of Egyptian hieroglyphs in 1822, piecing together the phonetic and symbolic elements.

Greek Dark Ages

The period of turmoil in Greece characterized by the loss of writing and significant cultural regression following the collapse of the Mycenaean civilization.

Acrophonic Principle

A principle in writing that involves using an image or symbol to represent the initial sound of the desired word, bridging visual representation with phonetics.

Abjad

An alphabetic system where only consonant symbols are used, omitting vowels, leaving pronunciation partially open to interpretation.

Abugida

A writing system where consonant letters inherently include a default vowel sound, thus representing consonants along with inherent vowel phonetics.

True Alphabet

A writing system that features distinct letters for both vowels and consonants, allowing for precise representation of spoken language.

Wadi el-Hol

The archaeological site famed for early Proto-Sinaitic graffiti, which dates back to the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, showcasing early writing forms.

Abjad

The Phoenician writing system, which is classified as an abjad, characterized primarily by its use of consonants without explicit vowel representation.

Futhark (Runic)

The term used to describe the runic alphabet employed by Germanic languages, known for its unique characters and historical significance.

Brahmi

An abugida writing system used for writing Prakrit, recognized as one of the earliest scripts that would influence many South Asian scripts.