The last spelling habits concern vowels that meet. You saw in One Sign, Several Sounds that h is not written and in Clusters and Empty Vowels how consonant clusters are split. When two vowels stand side by side, or form a diphthong, scribes had a few more habits.
Key idea
| Signs | Spelled | Said | What the spelling does |
|---|---|---|---|
| 𐀂𐀋𐀩𐀄 | i-je-re-u | hiereus | h unwritten; j glide after i; the u of eu written |
| 𐀡𐀴𐀛𐀊 | po-ti-ni-ja | potnia | empty vowel ti; j glide between i and a |
| 𐀓𐀈𐀛𐀊 | ku-do-ni-ja | Kudonia | j glide between i and a |
| 𐀐𐀨𐀕𐀄 | ke-ra-me-u | kerameus | the u of eu written as its own sign; final s dropped |
| 𐀦𐀄𐀒𐀫 | qo-u-ko-ro | gʷoukoloi | the u of ou written; the i of the final oi left out |
| 𐀺𐀜 | wo-no | woinos | the i of oi left out before n; n and s dropped |
| 𐀁𐀨𐀺 | e-ra-wo | elaiwon | the i of ai left out; also spelled e-ra3-wo, with the special sign for rai |
Glides
Say "hiereus" slowly and you will hear a small y sound sliding from the i into the e. The scribes wrote that slide with the j row: i-je. After u they often wrote a w slide instead. These glide signs are not extra consonants of the Greek word; they show how the vowels joined.
Diphthongs
A diphthong is two vowels said in one syllable: au, eu, ou, ai, ei, oi. Linear B treated them differently. The u half is written with the vowel sign u (or the special sign au). The i half of ai, ei and oi is often skipped before a consonant, though a scribe could write it (pa-i-to, Phaistos) or use the special signs a3 (ai) and ra3 (rai).
Why it works
Common mistake
Worked example: Spell it
- ke-ra-me: three plain syllables.
- The u of eu is written as u.
- The final s is dropped.
Answer: ke-ra-me-u
Worked example: Spell it
- po is a plain syllable.
- t-n is a cluster: t takes the vowel of the next syllable, ti, then ni.
- i meets a: a j glide, ja.
Answer: po-ti-ni-ja