Alphabet Study Guide

Key Terms and Ideas

1. -Cuneiform & its progression from Sumerian to Akkadian
   

2. -Linear A
   

3. -Linear B (=Mycenaean)
   

4. -Logograph
   

5. -Syllabary: system of writing in which symbols/signs stand for syllables
   

6. -Egyptian hieroglyphics - in what sense “logosyllabic”?
   

7. -Western Semitic proto-alphabets (Phoenician, for example): in what essential ways these differ from the Greek alphabet
   

-Alphabet: graphic system whose signs come in a certain order and represent phonemes

-Phoneme: a sound that makes a difference in meaning; “pieces of sound” that make up all possible combinations of human speech

1. -Speech as a continuous wave: why is this important for understanding the nature of writing systems?
   

2. -Brahmi script - what is it and why is it (potentially) important?
   

3. -Illocutionary force: definition and some examples
   

Brief Essay

1. -Be prepared to discuss the differences between Powell and Olson on how the alphabet came to be
   

2. -Be prepared to describe and discuss in some detail Olson’s notion that writing systems serve as “models for speech”
   

3. -Be prepared to describe with examples the “evolution” of writing systems from emblem to logographic (addition of syntax) to syllabic (or logosyllabic) to proto-alphabet to alphabet