Etruscan Language & Alphabet

The Etruscan language is still currently undeciphered. As the Greek historian Dionysius wrote, it was "unlike any other." Some linguists believe it is related to the unique language Lydian, of Asia Minor. The language is not Indo-European and is very complex in many regards.
The Etruscan alphabet is similar to the Greek. The Greek alphabet is originally derived from the Phoenician language. However, although the letters in the Etruscan language are like those of the Greek, the languages themselves are very different. Since the written language came after the oral side was highly developed, the written language is very complicated - a Greek alphabet with a totally different language. This is why the grammar is very different. The Roman alphabet even derived from the Etruscans.
The evolution of Etruscan writing had three primary stages. In 700 BC a form evolved with 26 letters. Two hundred years later, the alphabet was narrowed down to 23 letters. Its final stage, known as it "classic form," was created around 400 BC. It consists of 20 letters, 16 consonants plus four vowels. Generally, it was written from right to left, like many Middle Eastern languages. Sometimes, however, they use boustrophedon which alternates left-right, right-left. There are no surviving literary works and only one Etruscan manuscript. Most sample s of the Etruscan language have been acquired from tomb inscriptions. Below is an example of their alphabet.

Back Home!