Re: Boustrophedon

From: André Szabolcs Szelp (a.sz.szelp@gmail.com)
Date: Sun Nov 09 2008 - 07:44:18 CST

  • Next message: Hohberger, Clive: "RE: Boustrophedon"

    That maya example as shown in the image is _not_ bustrophaedon, if the arrow
    is correct.
    That's two columns of LTR (each column being two blocks wide).
    If the reading would be 1-2-4-3-5-6, then it would be bustrophaedon.

    2008/11/7 Hohberger, Clive <CHohberger@zebra.com>

    > *Phil Chastney* wrote on* *Wednesday, November 05, 2008 4:14 PM
    >
    > so, are there any examples of boustrophedon writing where the letters are
    > NOT mirrored?
    >
    > /phil
    >
    > Phil,
    >
    > I'm only aware of hieroglyphic languages that were written
    > boustrophredonically without mirror imaged characters. Unlike Egyptian
    > hierogrlyphs which were written in the same direction in in parallel rows or
    > column the lines of Luwian hieroglyphs are written alternately left-to-right
    > and right-to-left. This practice was called by the Greeks<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greek>
    > *boustrophedon <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boustrophedon>*, meaning "as
    > the ox turns" (as when plowing a field).
    > I am told that occaisionally ancient Chinese was written
    > boustrophredonically, if I understood what I saw at the National Museum in
    > Taipei, but I'm sure others know better than I.
    >
    > Maya script (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya_script ) was written
    > boustrophredonically, usually written in blocks arranged in columns two
    > blocks wide, read as follows:
    >
    > Regards,
    > Clive
    >
    > *Clive P. Hohberger, PhD
    > **VP, Technology Development
    > Zebra Technologies Corporation
    > 333 Corporate Woods Parkway
    > Vernon Hills, IL 60061-3109 USA*
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    >
    >
    > ------------------------------
    > *From:* unicode-bounce@unicode.org [mailto:unicode-bounce@unicode.org] *On
    > Behalf Of *philip chastney
    > *Sent:* Wednesday, November 05, 2008 4:14 PM
    > *To:* Unicode Mailing List; Doug Ewell
    > *Subject:* Re: Boustrophedon (was: Re: Question about the directionality
    > of "Old Hungarian" (document N3531))
    >
    > --- On *Tue, 4/11/08, Doug Ewell <doug@ewellic.org>* wrote:
    >
    > From: Doug Ewell <doug@ewellic.org>
    > Subject: Boustrophedon (was: Re: Question about the directionality of "Old
    > Hungarian" (document N3531))
    > To: "Unicode Mailing List" <unicode@unicode.org>
    > Date: Tuesday, 4 November, 2008, 2:07 PM
    >
    > Q: Why is this thread like boustrophedon itself?
    > A: Because it goes in two different directions.
    >
    > It would be really neato if we could split the "principles of
    > boustrophedon" discussion off into a separate thread, called, oh, I
    > don't know, maybe "Re: Boustrophedon", and leave the present
    > Subject line for discussions that really do have to do with
    >
    > Old/Szekler
    > Hungarian.
    >
    >
    > fair enough --- may I start with a query?
    >
    > p218 of 'Reading the Past' (British Museum Press, 1990) says, "Some early
    > Greek and South Arabian texts were written boustrophedon [...]. In such
    > inscriptions the letters are often reversed to face the direction of
    > writing."
    >
    > that's "often", not "always"
    >
    > unfortunately, the illustrations provided all show mirrored lettering
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
    >
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    -- 
Szelp, André Szabolcs
+43 (650) 79 22 400

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