Ekphonetic notation

{{Short description|Mnemonic symbols in sacred texts}}

File:Byzantinischer Maler um 1020 003.jpg from a Byzantine manuscript, of 1020 AD, displaying the beginning of the Gospel of Luke (1:3–6)]]

Ekphonetic notation consists of symbols added to certain sacred texts, especially lectionary readings of Biblical texts, as a mnemonic device to assist in their cantillation. Ekphonetic notation can take a number of forms, and has been used in several Jewish and Christian plainchant traditions, but is most commonly associated with Byzantine chant.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Joseph Huzaya introduced ekphonetic notation into Syriac in the early 6th century.{{cn|date=February 2024}}

Ekphonetic notation ceased to be used about the fourteenth century.{{cite journal |last1=Martani |first1=Sandra |title=The theory and practice of ekphonetic notation: the manuscript Sinait. gr. 213 |journal=Plainsong & Medieval Music |date=April 2003 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=15–42 |doi=10.1017/S0961137103003024 |s2cid=161057520 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/plainsong-and-medieval-music/article/abs/theory-and-practice-of-ekphonetic-notation-the-manuscript-sinait-gr-213/7763EC251F3DFE59BCD32BD9C98AA155 |access-date=4 February 2024 |language=en |issn=1474-0087|url-access=subscription }} In many cases, the original meaning of ekphonetic neumes is obscure, and must be reconstructed by comparison with later notation.{{cn|date=February 2024}}