Harappan script

[George Thompson]

Dear List,

I too have grown weary of this debate, but some list members may not
be aware of this article by Harry Falk:

"Foreign Terms Pertaining to Writing in Sanskrit"

which has appeared in a collection:

*The Idea of Writing: Play and Complexity*, ed. by Alexander J. de
Voogt, Irving L. Finkel, [Brill 2010].

In this article, Harry asserts, in his first footnote, that "the
arguments brought forward by Farmer, Sproat, & Witzel (2004) against
the nature of the Harappan signs as 'script' are not convincing,
individually or as a whole.  I concur  with the counter-arguments
amassed by Parpola [2008]."

Parpola 2008:

"Is the Indus script indeed not a writing system?"  in Airaavati:
Felicitation Volume in Honour of Iravatham Mahadevan (pp. 111-131).
Chennai (Varallaru.com).

The issue is apparently not yet settled.

Best wishes,

George Thompson

On Tue, Jun 19, 2012 at 1:57 PM, Steve Farmer <saf at safarmer.com> wrote:
> Alakendu Das writes:
>
>> If anybody may throw light by way of referring any opinion/journals/books on deciphering of Harrappan Script pertaining to the Indus Valley civilisation.
>
>
> On this acrimonious issue opinion/journal/books flow in endless streams, as they have for the past 135 years or so. :^)
>
> Can I suggest that another open-ended discussion about "deciphering" symbols whose linguistic status is itself disputed is hardly appropriate on the List?  It is torturous to have to revisit the same territory repeatedly.
>
> I suggest that those interested go to the List archives here
>
> http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa?S1=indology
>
> and type in the words (no quotes) "Indus script".
>
> Then add in the Since Box (again no quotes) "2011".
>
> That will take you to the last of many List discussions on the topic, involving summaries of the conflicting views of Asko Parpola, me and my colleagues, and others -- all based on already published and readily available papers.
>
> If you want older discussions -- often reiterating the same arguments -- expand on the date range in the search fields to 1999 or so. You will find further opinions, etc., in abundance.
>
> Warm regards,
> Steve Farmer
>
> On Jun 19, 2012, at 12:05 PM, alakendu das wrote:
>
>> To all,
>> If anybody may throw light by way of referring any opinion/journals/books on deciphering of Harrappan Script pertaining to the Indus Valley civilisation.
>>
>>
>> Alakendu Das,
>> Post-Graduate,Indology.
>> mailme