Understanding Relations Between Scripts II by Philippa M. Steele;Philip J. Boyes;

Author:Philippa M. Steele;Philip J. Boyes; [Boyes;, Philippa M. Steele;Philip J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: LITARARY CRITICISM / General
ISBN: 9781789250923
Publisher: Casemate
Published: 2019-10-10T00:00:00+00:00

Final remarks

Needless to say, the above scenario is inevitably tentative and many issues, such as the modes of transmission, or the language(s) and location(s) of the supposed common ancestor, have not been addressed here. This paper is first and foremost meant as an incentive to break away from the current paradigm, and to open up new horizons for research. In the present debate, the assumption that the introduction of the Greek alphabet took place around 800 BC is treated as an established fact and it forms the starting point of virtually all new research, preventing real progress. New facts and insights are being forced into the existing paradigm – at times with far-fetched ad hoc explanations – whereas these new facts should instead force us revise the paradigm. Paraphrasing Sherlock Holmes, the facts are insensibly twisted to suit the theory, instead of theories to suit facts (Doyle 1892, 7).

A different approach, allowing an earlier date for the introduction of the Greek alphabet and a less decisive role for the Greeks in the transmission of the alphabet to the ‘west’, may yield new insights and help us to better understand relations between (alphabetic) scripts.

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