線文字A — いまだ沈黙のまま
◈解読に貢献した人物
線文字A・Bを最初に発見・分類。生涯を通じて解読には失敗。
解読を主張したが、学界には認められなかった。
◈どのように解読されたか
Since Linear B is deciphered, shared signs between A and B can be given the same phonetic values. However, the core problem is that Minoan doesn't match any known language family. Applying Linear B values, sounds can be read but meaning cannot be determined. There is no bilingual inscription and no known related language — this is the fundamental barrier to decipherment.
◈実際に解読された文字
A-SA-SA-RA-ME — 線文字Aに繰り返し現れる句。一部の学者は女神の名か宗教儀礼の文言と推定するが、確認は不可能。
◈解読の前後の物語
Used by the Minoan civilization of Crete around 1800–1450 BC for palace administration, religious rites, and trade documents. Found across the Aegean, but scarce enough to make statistical analysis difficult.
There has been no breakthrough. Over 120 years of attempts, none accepted by the scholarly community. Minoan is likely an isolated language or one that left no known descendants.
Linear A remains one of the greatest linguistic mysteries of our time. We still do not know what language the Minoan civilization spoke. Only a major new excavation or a bilingual inscription could provide the answer.