24 - The Syllable SI : Origins of Writing in Western Civilization and the Kaulins Minoan Aegean Sign Concordance (MinAegCon™): A Syllabic Grid of Mycenaean Greek Linear B Script, the Cypriot Syllabary, the Phaistos Disk, two Old Elamite Scripts, the Inscription on the Axe of Arkalochori, and Comparable Signs from Sumerian Pictographs and Egyptian Hieroglyphs

NOTE: This posting presents one of the most spectacular of all the syllables on the grid because it ties in the "fish"-related origin of the SI-signs and similar signs of the major syllabaries and alphabets of Western Civilization. Christians will be pleased to see their "fish" so prominently featured in writing origins and fans of Sports Illustrated should be aglow (the magazine is known in the vernacular simply as "SI" and that's what you get if you simply "google" SI).


This is the 24th posting in this series (which started here), and presents the Syllable SI in the Syllabic Grid. Each syllable is presented in its own posting.

There is first a scan of a "syllabic" table excerpt from the original Microsoft Word manuscript -- the links there are not clickable because it is one image.

That image is followed by the original text -- the links there are clickable -- but you can not see the Aegean Fonts or images embedded in Microsoft Word, as these do not resolve in Blogger, so you will see some "filler" material. After I get all the syllables online, I will clean up the individual pages by making images of the various signs and uploading them to eliminate the current text resolution deficiencies, but it is a massive amount of tedious extra graphics work, so I am not doing it right now, as it is not essential for online purposes. One can see the full grid for the syllable on the scanned image.

 The Syllable SI in the Minoan Aegean Sign Concordance (by Andis Kaulins)

SI The Phaistos Disk fish sign is seen by some to be a mackerel or tuna. A “horse-mackerel” was called σαῦρος in Ancient Greek, a term similar sounding to σειραίνω and σειρέω meaning “to dry, dry out, parch”. The non-fish signs are supports viz. drying racks for dried fish. In Ancient Egypt fish were dried in the sun. The Phoenician, Hebrew and Arabic terms for samekh mesh with the others.

Cypriot syllabary 𐠪 SI A propped tent In Phoenician: Semk  (samekh or simketh) 𐤎 Hebrew samekh means “support” while samak is “fish” in Arabic

Linear B 𐀯(41) SI Rack for drying or smoking fish. Fish drying rack at Seeds of Christianity. “SI” is for fish.

Phaistos Disk 𐇰 SI ἰχθύς (also an early symbol of Christianity) Archaic ἔσχαρος "fish", Compare Latvian asaka “fishbone”, Polish osc-

No comparable Axe sign Santorini (Thera) Fisherman with “mackerel or tuna” Wikipedia image

Elamite SI A rack for drying fish Egyptian Food rack prop, O30, Gardiner

Sumerian ZUBUD (Jaritz #962) Compare Latvian zivīte dim. of zivs Lithuanian: žuvis" “fish” Latv. žāvēt “to dry“