With the iClassifier research tool, we map the repertoire of classifiers in texts and word lists across several ancient complex scripts, including Ancient Egyptian, Sumerian (Cuneiform), Ancient Chinese, and Luwian (Anatolian hieroglyphs). By creating data-driven classifier networks for each language, we gradually reconstruct the semantic ranges of the hosts that occur with each classifier and trace the evolution and transformation of classification patterns across corpora.
Using iClassifier
Preliminary access
The pilot version of iClassifier is open to browse and cite:
https://iclassifier.pw/reports/. Currently, the access requires registration, write us an email to iclassifierteam@gmail.com to receive access information for the iClassifier reports.
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Classifier lists
The iClassifier tool presents the repertoire of classifiers of a specific source, time period, script type or geographic area. Users can query and access reports of individual classifiers, lemmas, and texts.
Classifier list of The Tale of Sinuhe, data courtesy of TLA, annotated in iClassifier by Susana Soler.
The image below shows a list of all classifiers attested with nouns in the different copies of the Ancient Egyptian Tale of Sinuhe.
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Each lexeme or root is presented by showing all its orthographic varieties and listing its classification patterns. For example, the classification of the word ḏꜣḏꜣ.t “assembly; council” varies across one corpus (the Coffin Texts), and its patterns are summarized in the lemma form.
Lemma report
The lemma ḏꜣḏꜣ.t “assembly” in the Coffin Texts, annotated in iClassifier by Jorke Grotenhuis.
Citation format for Lemma Reports:
Grotenhuis, Jorke. “ḏꜣḏꜣ.t ‘assembly’ Lemma Report.” In: iClassifier Reports. Edited by O. Goldwasser, H. Harel, and D. Nikolaev. https://www.iclassifier.pw/reports/CT/lemmas/106, accessed 15/08/2025.
Classifier report
In the classifier report, we document the emergence and change of signs in their role as classifiers over time, visualizing their semantic scope and meaning range.
The classifier 𓂻 (D54) [MOVEMENT] in the Coffin Texts, annotated in iClassifier by Jorke Grotenhuis.
Citation format for Classifier Reports:
Grotenhuis, Jorke. “D54 classifier report, Coffin Texts iClassifier.” In: iClassifier Reports. Edited by O. Goldwasser, H. Harel, and D. Nikolaev. https://www.iclassifier.pw/reports/CT/classifiers/D54, accessed 15/08/2025.
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Querying networks and generating macro reports
The classifier network of lexical borrowings in Egyptian texts of the New Kingdom: (left) hieratic script, (right) monumental hieroglyphic script; annotated in iClassifier by Haleli Harel.
We study the complex interplay of multiple classifications by showing the lexical stock and semantic range occurring with a certain classification pattern/class, listing the combination patterns of classifiers in each corpus. Users can uncover distribution patterns by tracking variation according to textual genres, linguistic registers, scribal hands or entities in texts, and compare varieties across time and space.
Citation format for Classifier Networks:
Harel, Haleli. “Classifying The Other, Classifier Networks.” In: iClassifier Reports. Edited by O. Goldwasser, H. Harel, and D. Nikolaev. https://www.iclassifier.pw/reports/lexicalborrowings/network, accessed 15/08/2025.
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We are developing a typological framework for graphemic classifiers in complex ancient scripts, along with a toolset for comparing classifiers both within a single script and across multiple scripts. By assigning shared comparative labels to lemmas and classifiers, we analyze the semantic range of classifier systems and identify both their shared and unique features.
