Linear A between sound and meaning: Uncertain signs, logograms, and hybrid words

This paper examines specific features of writing in Linear A, with the aim of deepening our understanding of the internal functioning of this graphic system and its relationship to the underlying linguistic processes. The analysis focuses on three domains: (1) the most frequently attested signs of uncertain reading and the interpretative issues they raise; (2) the use of signs with logographic value, employed to denote specific concepts or terms within the texts; (3) the occurrence of hybrid words, which appear to reflect lexical formation dynamics and possible linguistic interferences, and may thus serve as indicators of an intermediate stage in the evolution of writing.

The purpose is twofold: on the one hand, to offer a critical and updated discussion of these three categories, grounded in a systematic comparison of the various editions of the texts and in an approach that privileges objective and verifiable data; on the other, to advance an interpretative framework—one I have long supported—according to which Linear A constitutes the medium of expression of a language that can be traced back to a protogreek idiom with evident Doric inflections. This hypothesis seeks to reopen the debate on the interpretative potential of Linear A and on its role within the broader history of writing and of the archaic Greek language.