Linear B
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈlɪniər bi/
- Specialized
:
Lineal B
- I think when we reach the Mycenaean levels here, it will be a revelation to us all when we compare what we find to the historical sources and Linear B tablets.
- Linear B tablets
Examples
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Someday we will find the Linear B tablets from Mycenae to break the loud silence of the archaeological record.
Academic text (2008) -
The Mycenaean kings we know thanks to the Linear B tablets were referred to.
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The tablets were identified as containing Linear B, an early form of ancient Greek.
Academic text (2008) -
Why the clumsy Linear B if the West Semitic alphabet was already known?
Academic text (1991) -
The Linear B tablets from Pylos do seem to indicate that there were urban centers of some sort; see "Linear B," page 34.
Academic text (2008) -
The Linear B tablets from Pylos do seem to indicate that there were urban centers of some sort; see "Linear B," page 34.
Academic text (2008) -
The Linear B tablets also do not appear to have been intended for long-term storage and were only preserved by the accident of fire that destroyed the palaces where they were kept.
Academic text (2008) -
His amateur status, though, is a red herring: Michael Ventris, one of the co-decipherers of Linear B, was an amateur, and professionals listened to him because his arguments were based on solid evidence and were convincing.
Blog text (11) -
Linear B seems to have been a language used for bureaucratic and administrative purposes, not private or artistic endeavors like history, philosophy, or poetry, for which the later Greek language would be so richly employed.
Academic text (2008) -
Have you ever heard of Linear B?
Surface Forms
Morphology
The adjective 'linear' gives a general clue (something line-related) and 'B' looks like a label or variant, so learners might infer it names a type or version of a linear system. However, a B1 learner who only knows the constituents would not be able to derive the specific meaning—an ancient syllabic script used for Mycenaean Greek—without prior exposure, so the relation is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Linear B gets its name from the scholar Arthur Evans, who called the marks Linear because they are straight lines rather than pictures and who labelled two groups 'A' and 'B'. The second group, B, turned out to be the writing used for Mycenaean Greek, so today we call that script Linear B.