Re: Ugaritic Affiliations

On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 08:31:55 -0700, "Peter T. Daniels"
<grammatim@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
<news:1189265515.622073.60440@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
in sci.lang:

On Sep 8, 9:17 am, "Richard Wordingham" <jrw0...@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

[...]

The best source I have found for the claim of 31
characters is a posting to ANE by Brian Colless
(https://listhost.uchicago.edu/pipermail/ane/2004-November/015436.html):

<quote>
This table shows that the West Semitic cuneiform alphabet was based on the
pictographs of the West Semitic proto-alphabet.

$ (T) $ O_o $im$: sun (with serpent)

s_ o $ O_o $im$: sun (without serpent)
</quote>

He gave references to his published drawings of the 'pictographic signs'.

There are (under the most generous analysis, that of Gordon Hamilton
2006) 27 proto-alphabetic signs. Ugaritic added three (two alephs and
the third s). I don't know what you could be counting as no. 31 -- the
word divider??

No. Colless has four sibilants. From his ANE post:

'a 'alp: ox
b bayt: house
g gaml: boomerang
h_ h_ayt.: thread
d dalt: door
h hll: jubilation
w waw: hook
z ziqq: manacle
h. h.asir: court
t. t.ab: good
y yad: hand
k kapp: palm
$ $im$: sun (with serpent)
s_ $im$: sun (without serpent)
l lamd: crook
m mu: water
d_ d_ayp: eyebrow
n nah.a$: snake
z.
s samk: fish
@ @ayn: eye
p pu: mouth
s. s.irar: tied bag
q qaw: line (cord on stick)
r ra'i$: head
t_ t_ad: breast
g.
t taw: signature
s^ samk: support (spine)
'i
'u

[...]

Brian
.