Alphabets of Asia Minor

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Various alphabetic writing systems were in use in Iron Age Anatolia to record Anatolian dialects and the Phrygian language. Previously several of these languages had been written with logographic and syllabic systems.

The alphabets of Asia Minor may be classified into two groups. The first of them (Phrygian and Lemnian) were early adaptations of regional variants of the Greek alphabet; the earliest Phrygian inscriptions are contemporary with early Greek inscriptions, but contain Greek innovations such as the letters Φ and Ψ which did not exist in the earliest forms of the Greek alphabet.

• The Phrygian alphabet, recording the Phrygian language, was in use in Phrygia from ca. the 8th to the 3rd century BC, 20 letters. Phrygian was based on the western Greek alphabet which used Ψ (instead of Χ) for [kʰ]. The Mysian alphabet is a variant, with one additional letter.
• The Lemnian alphabet of Pelasgians, see Lemnos stele

The second group (Carian, Para-Carian, Lydian, Para-Lydian, Lycian and Sidetic) are probably even older. They share many common characteristics that distinguish them from the earliest forms of the Greek alphabet. Many letters in these alphabets, although they resemble Greek letters, have unrelated readings, most extensively in the case of Carian.

• The Lydian script, an alphabet used to record the Lydian language from ca. the 5th to 4th centuries BC, related is the "Para-Lydian" alphabet known from a single inscription in Sardis. Lydian used the letter 8 for /f/, a remarkable convergence with the Etruscan alphabet, where 8 (𐌚) was added in the 6th century BC.
• The Carian script, recording the Carian language, extant in about 10 varieties known from inscriptions in Caria, Egypt and Athens. Only partially understood, there may have been 35-45 letters. Deciphered in 1960s by Russian (later American) linguist Vitaly Shevoroshkin.
• The Lycian script, an alphabet recording the Lycian language from the 5th to 4th centuries BC.
• The Sidetic script, an alphabet of 25 letters, known from coin legends in what might be a Sidetic language, is only partially deciphered.

The Anatolian alphabets fell out of use around the 4th century BC with the beginning Hellenistic period.

See also

• History of the alphabet
• Greek alphabet
• Old Italic alphabets

External links

• Alphabets of Asia Minor (indoeuro.bizland.com)
• Carian inscription
• Lydian-Aramaean bilingue (titus.uni-frankfurt.de)
• Lycian inscribed pillar (holylandphotos.org)

Literature

• Diringer D. Alphabet. Cambridge, 1948.
• Friedrich J. Geschichte der Schrift. 1966.

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Last updated on Tuesday October 09, 2007 at 17:59:10 PDT (GMT -0700)
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