Revitalizing the Phoenician language?

PHOENICIAN WATCH: Why a group of digital linguists are trying to revive the long-extinct Phoenician language. Academics are sceptical about whether the ancient Semitic language can ever be accurately revived but a group of budding linguists on Discord have taken up the challenge (Tarek Yousef Tahan, Middle East Eye).

One other popular outlet is the Phoenicia server on Discord, a messaging server initially used by video gamers but now also by hobby groups separated geographically but brought together online.

The server is run by two Lebanese users, named Loun and Aamunir (spelt 3amunir), whose interests are in Levantine culture.

They say their server is non-political, educational and dedicated to revitalising Phoenician, and that anyone is welcome to join.

To say the group is trying to "revive" Phoenician may lead to a misunderstanding. No one is trying to make it a spoken language in Lebanon or anywhere. Their efforts to "revitalize" it are more realistic, if still ambitious.

"We teach the language, help with reading and understanding sentences, and with how words are spoken within certain stages of the language," Loun says, adding they mostly rely on surviving inscriptions, academic papers, and “adaptive reasoning”.

There are also YouTube channels that focus on the reconstruction of the Phoenician language. One even puts "Phoenician poetry" to music.

This sounds like a fun, niche hobby. The article interviews various specialists and goes over the challenges of Phoenician studies.

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