Christopher John Fynn wrote at 5:46 PM on Friday, December 26, 2003: >So in the case of the ancient Semitic scripts - even if they are closely >related, is each associated with a particular written language - or were the >different but related scripts being used to write a common language?
The same script was used to write several languages and dialects (much like Latin), and the differences between them are merely glyphic variation - they all share the same 22 core characters and are written right to left. You can check out the glyphic variation in some charts I have uploaded to: <http://www.jhu.edu/ice/ancientnorthwestsemitic/gesenius.gif> <http://www.jhu.edu/ice/ancientnorthwestsemitic/gibson1.gif> <http://www.jhu.edu/ice/ancientnorthwestsemitic/gibson2.gif> Respectfully, Dean A. Snyder Scholarly Technology Specialist Library Digital Programs, Sheridan Libraries Garrett Room, MSE Library, 3400 N. Charles St. Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland, USA 21218 office: 410 516-6850 fax: 410-516-6229 Manager, Digital Hammurabi Project: www.jhu.edu/digitalhammurabi
