Monday, October 18, 2010

A Babylonian Revival


































As of the 30th of September, researchers at Cambridge University have discovered how to speak Babylonian. Through an in depth study of forensic evidence, spelling commonalities, and comparisons with other known languages, the scholars have been able to discover how to pronounce the words of the Babylonians, instead of just reading them. The scholars have posted several audio recordings of themselves speaking these languages online. A sample of these recordings can be found here: http://www.firstcontactradio.com/blog/?p=167273

The commander-in-chief of this massive undertaking was Martin Worthington, who claimed his work to be that of a detective, deriving clues from the cleverest places. He knows their current pronunciations may not be perfect, but he feels as if they have made a fairly good guess. Because of his work, documents such as the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Code of Hammurabi that have not been read aloud in over 2000 years can be heard anew in modern times.
http://sify.com/news/scholars-bring-alive-babylonian-2-000-years-after-it-died-news-international-kj4vaoichib.html

Griffin B. Period 8

6 comments:

Unknown said...

This article was very interesting to me. I love hearing about different languages coming alive again, especially if they have been out of use for a long period of time! Languages are a special part of each and every culture, and the writings of these cultures last forever! It's exciting to know that even if no one speaks English in the future, our records, books, notes, etc. will be around for people to try to decipher, just like people are today with ancient languages like Babylonian.

Unknown said...

This article was very interesting to me. I love hearing about different languages coming alive again, especially if they have been out of use for a long period of time! Languages are a special part of each and every culture, and the writings of these cultures last forever! It's exciting to know that even if no one speaks English in the future, our records, books, notes, etc. will be around for people to try to decipher, just like people are today with ancient languages like Babylonian.

Anthony Vandre said...

This artice really caught my eye for one i love sports, ad the Olympics are my favorite time of the year. I like hearing aboutt the past and how it was different from the way we live today. It is fascinating how we can decipher so much from the past in Greece and the knowledge that we have aqquired. All in All, a very good and interesting article.

Andrew Goyhenetche said...

This article was very intriguing to me and probably for most of its viewers. Languages throughout the world have been around since the beginning of human life, even if it may have been a grunt or gesture. Yet it is still a form of communication and for people today to be able to find the meanings behind each of the "ancient" sounds or gestures is simply amazing. On the other hand, it is actually very surprising to me that it has taken up to the present day to decipher a language that has been such a prominent piece in the history of the world. But all in all, the topic here is very fascinating an would make me want to do further research.

Amanda said...

Although most languages develop a written from, all start out as spoken word. But what was more intriguing was that they were able to decipher the sounds from other languages. In the (hopefully far) future, I am sure almost all things will be digitally recorded and translated. I wonder how that will affect historians in the future who may attempt to decipher ancient languages.
It was also very helpful to include all the links. Good job, Griffin!

Unknown said...

I find it amazing that even though the language was last spoken two thousand years ago that researchers were able to decipher sounds from text that was written down over two thousand years ago. Thanks for providing a link to listen to the ancient language.

Alex Marazzi Pd. 3