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ancient semiotics

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1 - Babylonian Theories of Language
Jacobo Myerston, University of California, San Diego
Book:

Language and Cosmos in Greece and Mesopotamia

Published online:

16 May 2023

Print publication:

06 April 2023, pp 15-42
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Summary

This chapter surveys cuneiform texts that reflect various degrees of linguistic awareness, providing the reader with a general perspective on Babylonian semiotics and linguistics. The chapter begins with a discussion of the scholarly settings in which cuneiform developed and goes on to explore how this writing system, together with practices of divination and magic, influenced the linguistic consciousness of scribes. It examines a variety of texts, including the basic elementary school exercise SA A, which Assyro-Babylonian scholars often interpreted as an esoteric text describing the very first human words. It also investigates the conceptions of language in epic narratives such Adapa and the South Wind and Gilgamesh.