*28B

Status: proposed. A proposed value.

Evidence: one word, *28B-NU-MA-RE, on three Zakros lists

Phonetic value

FieldValue
Value/yi/
Alternates/we/, /ʾu/, /ē/, /no/
Linear BNone, value None
Linear B noteNo direct Linear B equivalent identified. Linear B does not distinguish JI from I in most contexts. Salgarella 2020 (294–295, 337) proposes A 28b as the graphic source of Linear B *52 no; Soldani 2013 (125, 162) links it to *43 a₃ (aj) instead.
Neutralization classnone

Alternate values

ValueEvidence
/we/*28B-NU-MA-RE (ZA4a, ZA5b, ZA15a) = wēnu-mārē "wine stewards", wēnu < *wayn with ay > ē: as good a fit as yīnu-mārē, and the w- onset agrees with VIN+WA on HT27b (the house reading of wine as *wayn); AB75 WE is not a Linear A sign, so the value /we/ is unclaimed; Against: *28B-TI (HT62+73) gives no Semitic form as WE-TI, and the sign is a graphic variant of I (AB28)
/ʾu/A second aleph sign on the Ugaritic three-aleph model, with U also writing /w/: *28B-TI = Ugaritic ud 'payment' (DULAT 16); Against: *28B-NU-MA-RE unread; ZA6b writes the initial /ʾu/ of ʾukulti with I
/ē/Soldani 2013 (125, 162) reads A28b as aj, the value of Linear B *43 (a₃), a non-CV sign absent from Cypro-Minoan; ē < *ay, as Ugaritic {ỉ} writes /ʾê/ (Huehnergard 2012 §II.F, 21): (y)ēnu 'wine' (Amarna ye-nu); Against: overlaps E, which ZA4a also uses
/no/A 28b, 'drawn with a marked thumb placed on the right-hand side', as the graphic source of Linear B *52 no (Salgarella 2020, 294–295 fig. 36, 337), followed by Montecchi 2024 (173, fig. 9.1) and Coleman & Owens 2017; Against: no *28B word reads with /no/, Salgarella notes the change of vocalic series, and Soldani 2013 (162) rejects the link because Cypro-Minoan CM017 no is an innovation

Forms cited for the value

  • JI-NU-MA-RE = yīnu-mārē 'wine-lords/wine-stewards' (√y-y-n + mārē)—3× on Zakros distribution tablets (ZA4a, ZA5b, ZA15a); Candidate, and Negri (SMEA 43/1, 2001, 82) reads i-nu-ma-re as a personal name
  • JI-TI = yittī 'he gave / given portion' (√y-t-n)—HT62+73; Speculative, yittī matches no G-stem form
  • J-series gap-fill: JA, JE, JU exist—no JI in standard grid (weakened: the house reads JU = /lu/)
  • Wine-tablet association: 4 of 5 tablets carry VIN (ZA4a via verso ZA4b, ZA15a, HT62+73, ZA6b)
  • Competitors open: WE, ʾu, ay/ē, and the published /no/ and /aj/ links (see alternates)
  • Co-occurrence proof: JA appears on ZA4a alongside *28B—proves distinct signs
  • √y-t-n attested independently in JE-TA-NA = Yatana (HTWa1020); JI-TI = yittī is a second form of the root

Note

I (AB28) with an added thumb at top right; working value JI (/yi/), Candidate. GORILA V (p. XXXIII) and Salgarella 2020 (160, 162) file it as a variant of I, but the scribes contrast the two in one word (ZA6b) and on one tablet (ZA5b, ZA15a), across two Zakros hands. The value rests on JI-NU-MA-RE = yīnu-mārē 'wine-stewards' (√y-y-n + mārē), which WE reads equally well; JI-TI = yittī is Speculative. WI is excluded because AB40 WI is attested; WE and NO are unclaimed in Linear A and stay open, with ʾu and ay/ē (Soldani's aj, see alternates). The ZA6b token may stand apart before GRA+PA, as Younger reads it (see I-KU-JU-TI).

Updated 24 October 2026

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Linear A Lexicon