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Document Details : Title: Phonology of the Late Babylonian Cuneiform Signs for Sibilants Author(s): KASSIAN, Alexei S. , POPOVA, Olga V. Journal: Ancient Near Eastern Studies Volume: 60 Date: 2023 Pages: 231-248 DOI: 10.2143/ANES.60.0.3292572 Abstract : The Late Babylonian cuneiform orthography consistently discriminates between four sibilants, s-, z-, ṣ- and š-series, to express phonemes, which go back to Proto-Semitic *ʦ *ʣ *ʦ *š respectively. The exact phonetic representation of the LB sibilants remains controversial. We analyze the LB spelling system and morphophonology as well as the linguistic data of the languages which were in contact with LB (Ancient Greek, Old Iranian, Aramaic). We conclude that the Late Babylonian cuneiform writing reflects the phonetic peculiarities of the spoken language relatively consistently and that the s-, z-, ṣ- and š-series covered /s/, /z/, /ṣ/, /š/ respectively in Late Babylonian. |
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