A Linguistic History of Ancient Cyprus
A Linguistic History of Ancient Cyprus
This pioneering volume approaches the languages and scripts of ancient Cyprus from an interdisciplinary point of view, with a primarily linguistic and epigraphic approach supplemented by a consideration of their historical and cultural context. The focus is on furthering our knowledge of the non-Greek languages/scripts, as well as appreciating their place in relation to the much better understood Greek language on the island. Following on from recent advances in Cypro-Minoan studies, these difficult, mostly Late Bronze Age inscriptions are reassessed from first principles. The same approach is taken for non-Greek languages written in the Cypriot Syllabic script during the first millennium BC, chiefly the one usually referred to as Eteocypriot. The final section is then dedicated to the Phoenician language, which was in use on Cyprus for some hundreds of years. The result is a careful reappraisal of these languages/scripts after more than a century of sometimes controversial scholarship.
- The first complete study, accessible to non-specialists, of all the non-Greek ancient Cypriot languages
- Adopts an interdisciplinary approach to the material, also considering the archaeological and social/historical context
- Includes groundbreaking new assessments of linguistic and epigraphic features, thereby advancing our understanding of scripts and languages that were previously poorly documented and/or understood
Reviews & endorsements
'This important and pioneering publication should be consulted by anyone with a scholarly interest in ancient Cyprus and the complex linguistic landscape that it helps clarify.' Vassilis Petrakis, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Product details
November 2013Hardback
9781107042865
296 pages
224 × 147 × 16 mm
0.54kg
1 b/w illus. 3 maps 9 tables
Available
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Cypro-Minoan
- 2. Eteocypriot
- 3. Phoenician
- Conclusion.
