Akkadian Cuneiform - the Hardest Language I Have Ever Tried to Learn!

For my Rosetta Stone project, I was in the Mesopotamian group (Phoenicia is in that area) and we had some difficulties with our language and writing form.  I mostly worked with Catherine to create the first artifact, and so during the second part I took a back seat, and mostly worked as the liaison to the group that received our artifact.  But the first artifact itself was hard enough.

To start with, one of our other group members had talked to  a professor on campus that was fluent in Akkadian cuneiform, so he went and talked to him, and gave us a sheet of paper with the English phonetic syllables and the English translation of the Akkadian, but not the cuneiform.  For that, he told us to go down to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures and look at the actual clay nail that it was written on.  (Note: Akkadian is the language of the Babylonians around 2500 B.C., cuneiform is the script they used to write it down, and Babylonia was the civilization that Catherine studied.)

The Origins of the Alphabet, Phoenician Style

In the beginning, there were Egyptian hieroglyphs and Mesopotamian cuneiform.  From that sprung the 22-letter Phoenician alphabet that is the Mother of every other alphabetic system known to man.

#2 - Talking to an Academic Professional

During my research on the Phoenicians, I had the opportunity to explore several aspects of their culture and understanding. My interview with Professor Hamblin here at BYU confirmed a lot of my knowledge about the culture and their educational practices, and also brought to light a few of the details that I missed.  Overall, it was an interesting experience to meet with him, because I didn't know him at all, and he didn't know me, (I don't think he even learned my name) and the first time we talked I called him and asked if I could interview him (after doing my research on different professors' specialties).  So picture this, well, awkward setting, when I show up to speak to him during his office hours, though it is an appointment, and he is late because of a department staff meeting, and we finally sit down and I start asking questions and he gives answers and I take some very messy notes.  Below is basically what I learned from our discussion about the Phoenicians and their culture and oral tradition.  

Library Experiences!!

Since we are doing oral knowledge, I woud like to tell a story with my post, that has to do with the Phoenicians, education, and unfortunate events.

A couple of days ago, I did a little research on the subject librarians at the Harold B. Lee Library (I learned that they existed through my honors writing class last year).  I found one that dealt with ancient history and the middle east, a Mr. Ryan Combs, and I thought 'perfect'! Yesterday, I got up the courage to go ask for help on my research about the Phoenicians and I am so glad I went.  I had to nervously stand out side his office for a few minutes after I realized that he was actually in there, studying the books on a nearby shelf and telling myself that I was silly not to ask for help.  Finally, I went and stood in the doorway and knocked lightly on the metal door frame. He looked up, turned off whatever game he was watching, and invited me in.  I stepped into the room and explained who I was and what I was looking for, all in a crazy rush, hoping to convey in as few words as possible the topics and assignment that I was trying to learn about.  He immediately turned back to the computer and started typing,  then almost absent-mindedly invited me to sit down.  I got out a pen and a notecard, and we started our discussion on the library's resources on the Phoenicians.

Phoenicia = Purple

The Phoenicians are famous in history for a variety of things - the invention of the "first" alphabet, their amazing purple dye, the cedars of Lebanon, and their great trading ships.  However, oral histories and educational institutes were apparently not one of them.  Or at least not any that we are aware of today, because although they invented a 26- and 22-letter alphabet system that simplified the Egyptian language, they kept their records mostly on papyrus, which decays over time.  Though based on other aspects of their society, I will try and construct some understanding of what their education and oral tradition might have been like.

The Cedar is an important carry-over from ancient times, and is on the modern flag of Lebanon.