Isn't it deciphering ancient scripts? Like what they did with the Rosetta Stone?

"Peter T. Daniels" wrote:

Er, maybe we'd better back up a step: what does "epigraphy" mean to you?

Cathy Waldman wrote:
>
> Peter, thanks for replying!
>
> Another question: What if I'm not sure what language I'm interested
> in? Right now I'm interested in all languages, really. Especialy the
> ones that are not from Europe: Native Americam, Asian, Mesoamerican,
> Middle East. Is there a way to study epigraphy w/o picking a
> particular language, maybe by studying a whole language group or how
> about studying comparative writing systems?
>
> Cathy
>
> "Peter T. Daniels" wrote:
>
>      Why is it not on topic?
>
>      The epigraphy of a language is a (very small) part of the study of (the
>      history of) that language. So if you have specialized in a language or
>      language family, that is the department you belong in. (Archeologists
>      aren't epigraphers, unless they happen to have also studied that
>      subject; they invite them to the dig in order to deal with whatever
>      inscriptions might turn up.)
>
>      Cathy Waldman wrote:
>      >
>      > Hello Qalam,
>      >
>      > I'm applying for grad schools in the hopes of getting a PhD
>      > in a  program that will allow me to become an epigrapher.
>      > However, I'm having trouble finding this specific field
>      > listed on grad school sites.
>      >
>      > Does anyone know in which department epigraphy is usually
>      > studied? I have checked out linguistics, classics,
>      > archaeology, anthropology, and language depts in various
>      > schools, and found nothing definite. In what programs did
>      > you all get your degrees?
--
Peter T. Daniels     grammatim@...

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Cathy L. Waldman
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