Minoan language
| Minoan | |
|---|---|
|
Linear A tablet | |
| Region | Crete |
| Era | About 1800–1450 BCE |
| Cretan hieroglyphs, Linear A | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 |
Either: omn – Minoan lab – Linear A |
Linguist list |
omn Minoan |
lab Linear A | |
| Glottolog |
mino1236 (Minoan)[1] |
The language (or languages) of the ancient Minoan civilization of Crete was written in Cretan hieroglyphs and later in the Linear A syllabary. As the Cretan hieroglyphs are undeciphered and Linear A only partly deciphered, the Minoan language is unknown and unclassified—and indeed, it cannot be known that the two scripts record the same language, or even that a single language is recorded in each. The Eteocretan language, attested in a few alphabetic inscriptions from Crete a thousand years later, is possibly a descendant of Minoan, but it is itself unclassified.