For decades, archaeologists assumed that Linear B, an ancient script found on clay tablets in Crete and mainland Greece, recorded an unknown Minoan language. This assumption was largely based on the script's visual dissimilarity from the Greek alphabet and its association with the pre-Hellenic Minoan civilization. However, in 1952, Michael Ventris proposed that Linear B was actually an early form of Greek. Many scholars initially resisted this hypothesis. They pointed out that the script, a syllabary rather than an alphabet, seemed fundamentally unsuited for representing Greek phonology, which features complex consonant clusters that a syllabic system struggles to capture without ambiguity. Yet, Ventris's systematic application of a grid method eventually yielded recognizable Greek words, definitively proving his theory.
Which of the following best describes the primary function of the author's reference to "complex consonant clusters"?
- To explain the linguistic basis for scholars' initial resistance to Ventris's hypothesis.Answer
- BTo contrast the phonetic structure of Linear B with the phonetic structure of the unknown Minoan language.
- CTo express the author's own reservation regarding the suitability of the grid method for translating ancient texts.
- DTo demonstrate why a syllabary is generally an inherently ambiguous writing system compared to an alphabet.
- ETo provide an example of the specific types of recognizable Greek words that Ventris was able to decipher.