Editing Linear A (section)

=== Phonetic values ===

For most of Linear A's syllabic signs, approximate sound values can be inferred based on the values of homomorphic signs in Linear B. These sound values are widely accepted by current researchers, though they are not considered incontrovertible and many details remain up for debate. This does not amount to a complete decipherment since it results in words that are uninterpretable.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview"/><ref name="TomasHandbook"/><ref>[https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/7e3a97dd-5ae9-46e3-bab5-fdd644e45bec/content] Meissner, T., & Steele, P., "Linear A and Linear B: Structural and contextual concerns", Edizioni Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 2017</ref><ref name="SalgAeonQuote" />

These values are based on the ''homomorphy-homophony principle'' which states that in related writing systems, signs with similar forms will generally have similar phonetic values. Although this principle is not reliable across the board, there are a number of strong reasons why scholars have concluded that it does generally hold in Linear A.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=6–7|isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}}</ref> One reason is that is already known to hold in many cases between Linear B and the [[Cypriot syllabary]], another script which descends from Linear A. This fact suggests that these signs were inherited by both scripts along with their Linear A phonetic values.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salgarella |first=Ester |year=2020 |title=Aegean Linear Script(s): Rethinking the Relationship between Linear A and Linear B |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=33–34 |isbn=978-1-108-47938-7}}</ref> A second reason is that the resulting Linear A sound values provide readings of words which match what contextual analysis would lead us to expect. For instance, words which contextual analysis suggests to be placenames are read as such when assuming Linear B values. Notably, the Linear A word {{lang|omn|𐘂𐘚𐘄}} would be read as {{lang|omn-Latn|Pa-i-to}}, corresponding to the placename [[Phaistos]] attested in the Linear B corpus as {{lang|gmy|𐀞𐀂𐀵}} {{transliteration|gmy|Pa-i-to}}.<ref name = "SalgarellaOverview"/><ref name="TomasHandbook" /><ref>Hooker, J. T. "Problems and Methods in the Decipherment of Linear A.", Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, no. 2, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1975, pp. 164–72</ref><ref name="Younger-10C">{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear&nbsp;A texts in phonetic transcription |title=10c.&nbsp;Place names |year=2000 |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |publisher=University of Kansas |access-date=29 April 2013 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#10c |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite book |last=Finkelberg |first=Margalit |date=2001 |chapter=The Language of Linear A: Greek, Semitic, or Anatolian? |chapter-url=https://www.academia.edu/24273902 |editor-last=Drews |editor-first=Robert |title=Greater Anatolia and the Indo-Hittite Language Family |series=Journal of Indo-European Studies Monograph Series |volume=38 |pages=81–105 |isbn=978-0941694773 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

However, in particular cases scholars have identified reasons to expect divergence in pronunciation. Some scholars have argued that Minoan did not really have a vowel phoneme /o/, that it may not have had the labialised velars that the ''q''-signs express in Mycenaean, and that the only apparent voiced stop, ''d'', was really a dental fricative in Minoan.<ref name=":2" />

The following table shows signs that are known to be syllabograms and for which ''provisional'' and ''approximate'' sound values are assumed primarily based on the known pronunciations of identical or similar signs in Linear B.<ref name=":2">[http://projectos.fcsh.unl.pt/kubaba/Davis_2010__Introduction_to_Aegean_pre-Alphabetic_Scripts.pdf Davis, Brent. 2010. Introduction to Aegean pre-Alphabetic Scripts. Kubaba 1, pp. 38–61.].  P. 51–54.</ref><ref>[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/357080939_Some_Remarks_on_Grammatological_and_Morphological_Aspects_of_Linear_A_Documents_An_Internal_Analysis_Approach Fang, X.M., Perono Cacciafoco, F., and Cavallaro, F.P. (2021). Some Remarks on Grammatological and Morphological Aspects of Linear A Documents: An Internal Analysis Approach. Annals of the University of Craiova: Series Philology, Linguistics, 43(1), pp. 316-338.] P.319.</ref><ref>[https://www.bruna.nl/images/active/InkijkPDF/cb/9789402157574.pdf van Soesbergen, Peter George. 2016. Minoan Linear A – volume I. Hurrians and Hurrian in Minoan Crete. Part 1: text.] P.3-10.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
! colspan="11" |'''Syllabic signs of shape V, CV'''
|-
!
! colspan="2" |'''''-a'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-e'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-i'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-o'''''
! colspan="2" |'''''-u'''''
|-
!
|𐘇 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A008.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''a''

''*08''
|𐘡[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A038.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''e''

''*38''
|𐘚[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028.svg|class=skin-invert]] 
|''i''

''*28''
|𐘵[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A061.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''o''

''*61''
|𐘉[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A010.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''u''

''*10''
|-
!'''''d-'''''
|𐘀[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A001.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''da''

''*01''
|𐘦 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A045.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''de''

''*45''
|𐘆[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A007.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''di''

''*07''
|''Disputed.''𐙀?

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A079.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''do''

''-*79?''
|𐘬 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A051.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''du''

''*51''
|-
!'''''j-'''''
|𐘱[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A057.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ja''

''*57''
|𐘧[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A046.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''je''

''*46''
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|''Disputed.''

|''jo''
|''Disputed.''
|''ju''
|-
!'''''k-'''''
|𐘾 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A077.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ka''

''*77''
|𐘥[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A044.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ke''

''*44''
|𐘸 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A067.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ki''

''*67''
|𐘺[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A070.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ko''

''*70''
|𐙂[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A081.svg|class=skin-invert]] 
|''ku''

''*81''
|-
!'''''m-'''''
|𐙁 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A080.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ma''

''*80''
|𐘋 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A013.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''me''

''*13''
|𐘻[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A073.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''mi''

''*73''
|''Disputed.''

𐙗?[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A303.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''mo''

''*303?''
|𐘕[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A023m.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''mu''

''*23''
|-
!'''''n-'''''
|𐘅 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A006.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''na''

''*06''
|𐘗[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A024.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ne''

''*24''
|𐘝 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A030.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ni''

''*30''
|''Disputed.''

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028.svg|class=skin-invert]],[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A028b.svg|class=skin-invert]]?  
|''no''

''*28,28B?''
|𐘯 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A055.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''nu''

''*55''
|-
!'''''p-'''''
|𐘂 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A003.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pa''

''*03''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|𐘢 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A039.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pi''

''*39''
|𐘊 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A011.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''po''

''*11''
|𐘫 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A050.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''pu''

''*50''
|-
!'''''q-'''''
|𐘌 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A016.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qa''

''*16''
|𐘿 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A078.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qe''

''*78''
|𐘏 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A021.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''qi''

''*21''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|''–''
|-
!'''''r-'''''
|𐘴 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A060.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ra''

''*60''
|𐘙 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A027.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''re''

''*27''
|𐘭[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A053.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ri''

''*53''
|𐘁[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A002.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ro''

''*02''
|𐘘 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A026.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ru''

''*26''
|-
!'''''s-'''''
|𐘞 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A031.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''sa''

''*31''
|𐘈[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A009.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''se''

''*09''
|𐘤[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A041.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''si''

''*41''
|''Disputed.''
|''so''
|𐘲 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A058.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''su''

''*58''
|-
!'''''t-'''''
|𐘳 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A059.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ta''

''*59''
|𐘃 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A004.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''te''

''*04''
|𐘠 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A037.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ti''

''*37''
|𐘄[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A005.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''to''

''*05''
|𐘹 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A069.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''tu''

''*69''
|-
!'''''w-'''''
|𐘮 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A054.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''wa''

''*54''
|''Disputed.''
|''–''
|𐘣 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A040.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''wi''

''*40''
|''Disputed.''
|''wo''
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|-
!'''''z-'''''
|𐘍[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A017.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''za''

''*17''
|𐘼 [[File:Linear_A_Sign_A074.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''ze''

''*74''
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|<nowiki>–</nowiki>
|𐘎[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A020.svg|class=skin-invert]]
|''zo''

''*20''
|''Disputed.''

𐙀?

[[File:Linear_A_Sign_A079.svg|class=skin-invert]]?
|''zu''

<nowiki>*</nowiki>''79''
|}

While many of those assumed to be syllabic signs are similar to ones in Linear B, approximately 80% of Linear A's [[logogram]]s are unique;<ref name="Younger-7B">{{cite web |last=Younger |first=John |work=Linear&nbsp;A texts in phonetic transcription |title=7b.&nbsp;The Script |year=2000 |publisher=[[University of Kansas]] |url=http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |access-date=18 October 2012 |archive-date=15 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210415092941/http://www.people.ku.edu/~jyounger/LinearA/#7b |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Packard-MLA-C1">{{harvnb|Packard|1974|loc=Chapter 1: Introduction}}.</ref> the difference in sound values between Linear A and Linear B signs ranges from 9% to 13%.{{sfn|Owens|1999|pp=23–24 (David Packard, in 1974, calculated a sound-value difference of 10.80 ± 1.80%; Yves Duhoux, in 1989, calculated a sound-value difference of 14.34% ± 1.80% and Gareth Owens, in 1996, calculated a sound-value difference of 9–13%)}}