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The Meroitic script and the understanding of alpha-syllabic writing

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 January 2010

Alexander J. de Voogt
Alexander J. de Voogt*
Affiliation:
American Museum of Natural History, New York
*
adevoogt@amnh.org
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Abstract

At the time of its decipherment by Griffith (1911), the Meroitic writing system was considered an alphabet. This alphabet was found to have a rather limited vowel notation. It was not until 1970 that the system was understood to have a more complex vowel notation. This system of vowel notation is comparable to what is found in an alpha-syllabary, a term used to describe the scripts of the Indian sub-continent, such as Brahmi and Devanagari. Since alpha-syllabaries were rare when the Meroitic writing system was in use (c. 200 bce–c. 500 ad), it is tempting to suggest a possible historical connection between the Meroitic kingdom in Sudan and the then existent scripts in India. A systematic analysis, as opposed to a description of alpha-syllabic writing, indicates that the structure of this type of script is less regionally confined. Rather, it places Meroitic writing among scripts that were created in the presence of alphabetic writing both in modern and in ancient times.

Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 73 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 101 - 105
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 2010

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