Ancient Scripts Deciphered as Japanese（日本語として解読できる古代文字）
(Synopsis)
For 6 years, I have studied ancient scripts discovered among the ruins of the Minoan civilization and ancient Cyprus, as well as from the Harappan civilization, with the intuition that they were written in the Japanese language.
〇 Crete (Linear A, Cretan hieroglyphics, and the Phaistos Disk)
The background language can be hypothesized as Japanese, from translations using sound values from Linear B and others, elucidated by Western researchers. Transcriptions of Linear A texts into the Roman alphabet are available on Academia.edu.
〇 Cyprus
There is clear evidence that texts in Cypro-Minoan and the Cypriot syllabary can be read as Japanese, notably from a bilingual text, written in Greek and Eteo-Cypriot, and other texts that feature cartoons.
〇 Indus script
Indus symbols are without known sound values, but persuasive results were achieved by borrowing the sound values of similar symbols found in Linear A and Kanji.
However, these scripts are scattered across time and space, and it may not be easy to convince people that they are all written in Japanese.
One major reason lies in the bias that, the background language of an ancient script should reflect a language native to the country or region of origin, where the texts were found.
In the case of Egyptian hieroglyphs, the Rosetta Stone played a key role in decipherment, and the written language was found to be closely related to Coptic, spoken within Egypt.
For cuneiform writing, the Behistun Inscription, a trilingual text in cuneiform, found in Iran, facilitated decipherment. Initially, the text in ancient Persian was decoded, followed by the texts in Elamite and Akkadian. All these languages are from Iran or neighboring regions.
For Linear B, the texts were found on Crete, Pylos, and other places in Greece, and the background language was determined to be a dialect of ancient Greek.
Accordingly, conventional thinkers may conclude that, by analogy, Linear A must be in a language from Greece or a neighboring country; for Cypriot syllabic scripts, a language from the eastern Mediterranean or coastal areas; for Indus script, a language from Pakistan or India.
In 1979, J. Chadwick, one of the decipherers of Linear B, saw that there were similarities between ancient script from Cyprus and Japanese writing. However, he dismissed any connection, citing it as mere coincidence, given the lack of geographical proximity. (Source: G. Owens)
However, if ancient scripts are successfully deciphered as Japanese, it could benefit relations between countries such as Greece, Cyprus, Pakistan, India and Japan significantly, and patience will be crucial in continuing research and in presenting the findings.
I. Stability of the Japanese Language
It is intriguing to discover that Minoan, Cypriot, and Indus scripts can be deciphered as Japanese simply with knowledge of modern Japanese and Japanese classics, dating back to the Nara period. This must be attributable to the following factors:
1. Following decipherment of these texts, the resulting Japanese messages are almost consistently in the literary form of the language, that is said to be unchanged since the early 8th century CE.
2. According to Shichiro Murayama, in "The Origin of the Japanese Language" (1973), the Japanese archipelago did not experience significant invasion by other ethnic groups, and change in the Japanese language has been gradual, with no major discontinuity between modern Japanese and Japanese from the 8th century (Nara period). He estimates that even Japanese from around 2000-2500 years ago (Late Jomon - Yayoi period) can be reconstructed.
II. Common Features of Ancient Scripts in Japanese
1. Syllabic Systems
In the writing systems that can be deciphered as Japanese, whether from Crete, Cyprus, or the Indus River Valley, the symbols predominantly represent open syllables (Consonant + Vowel).
2. Combined Symbols
Especially in Indus script and Linear A, the number of symbols is considerably more than the 50 Hiragana symbols. The reason is for the use of many composite symbols, that combine symbols to represent 2 or more syllables.
In Linear A, symbols representing 2 syllables frequently appear; in Indus script, there are symbols that represent 2 to 4 syllables. The same applies to the Cypriot syllabary.
3. Reversible Reading
In Indus script, Linear A, and the ancient scripts of Cyprus, the texts can be read from right to left and vice versa to tell a coherent story, for the purpose of entertainment. This is known in present-day Japan too, for inner-circle amusement.
4. Manga
The most powerful clues to provide evidence and to corroborate the content decoded into Japanese, are the cartoons accompanying the texts and the unique shapes of objects on which they are inscribed. The frequent use of manga suggests a strong connection with Japanese culture.
5. Vowels and Consonants
(1) Vowels
According to Western researchers, the vowels in Linear A and Cypriot syllabic scripts are A, E, I, O, U.
(2) Consonants
(Linear A) D, J, K, M, N, P, Q, R, S, T, W, Z
(Cypriot Syllabary) J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, T, W, X, Z
L and R are not distinguished in Linear A, but in the Cypriot syllabary, they are separate, perhaps to write Greek. Additionally, in the Cypriot syllabary, the symbol for T also serves as D. While Linear A includes JE, it is speculated that in old Japanese, YE existed.
(Modern Japanese)
Vowels: A, E, I, O, U.
Consonants: H, K, M, N, R, S, T, W, Y
During the Nara period, the H sound was pronounced as F/P, so H can be replaced with F/P. Also, by representing Y as J, this becomes:
J, K, M, N, F/P, R, S, T, W
This basically matches the consonants of the Cypriot syllabary used until the 3rd century BCE, in Hellenistic times, albeit without the L, X, and Z sounds that were, presumably, for the Greek language.
(3) Absence of NG
In ancient scripts from the eastern Mediterranean, such as Linear A and the Cypriot syllabary and Indus script, there is no symbol for ん(NG). Therefore, during decipherment, it must be appropriately supplemented.
6. I, YA, SI, NO, Rule
For the ancient scripts from Crete and Cyprus, the word separator "・" is often shorthand for I,YA,SI, or NO. This rule is extended to bars or line segments, added on to standard symbols. This rule also applies to Indus script.
(ATTACHMENT) The Ancient Script, Linear A (1800-1450 BCE) from Crete
In the early 20th century, Sir Arthur Evans excavated the palace of Knossos. He discovered Linear A, Linear B, and Cretan hieroglyphics. Linear B (1450-1200 BCE) was revealed to be a dialect of ancient Greek in the early 1950s, by M. Ventris, with the support of researchers such as A. Cober and J. Chadwick.
Linear A consists of syllabic symbols, logograms, and composite symbols, totaling nearly 400 types. Many texts have been transcribed into the Roman alphabet, that sound like Japanese when read aloud.
(1) Linear A shares about 80 symbols with Linear B, and they are assumed to take on the same sound values. However, this has not yielded results insofar as languages in the Ancient Orient have been tried and tested. Some suggest that an unexpected, non-Indo-European language may be in the background. Currently, G. Leonhardt is the only other researcher who posits for Japanese.
The symbols in common with Linear B represent monosyllabic sounds, and the roots/origins can be explained from simple Japanese words, such as lily, turtle, ear.
(2) A stone table from Mount Iuktas (IO Za2) with holes on the 4 corners is recognized as a drum, based on the inscription that mentions TANARITE UCHINU, or “beat, in requiem.”
A silver pin from Mavro Spelio is similarly revealed to be either a hairpin or a pick, for playing the musical instrument, biwa.
A gold needle from the Agios Nikolaos Museum is recognized as a tool for scraping crab meat or an earpick.
A large jar from Zakros is shaped like a cow's udder, and the inscription tells a story of a baby who was given milk by the father, who in turn, was given milk in his old age by the offspring, now a mature adult.
(3) Linear A shows traces of influence from the Greek language. The word JA-SA-SA-RA-ME, that often appears in the libation formulas, may come from Classical Greek; JA-SA-THA-RA-ME would likely mean "(healing) goddess of rough seas."
If JA-SA-SA-RA-ME is viewed as a cartoon, JA must be a boat, and SA-SA could represent two masts or heavy rain; RA-ME depicts a boat about to sink.
For A-SA-SA-RA-ME, SA-SA could represent tears falling from the eyes, on the face of a woman.
