Comment on I was treated with disrespect, smh
iocase@lemmy.zip 2 days agoI felt like adding a tangent that apparently cuneiform scribes could write as fast as a person talks. To do the same in English we have to use shorthand. I think it’s neat that cuneiform is itself both a shorthand and the entire language.
NotEasyBeingGreen@slrpnk.net 2 days ago
Do you have sources for this intriguing fact? Just looking at cuneiform I wouldn’t guess that it would be especially fast to write…
iocase@lemmy.zip 2 days ago
I heard the quote in passing but can’t find it. It was translated from a cuneiform tablet something to the effect of “a skilled cuneiform scribe can write as fast as the mouth moved”
Dr. Irving Finkel has said the same. The Babylonians and others managed massive bureaucracies at the time handling thousands of letters, court transcripts, and official dictations. There was more than enough practice for a scribe to get fast at it.