In search of the 'perfect fit' between speech and writing. The case of the Linear B writing.

The article reviews the structure and the functioning of the Linear B syllabic script in view of its adequacy and its defects in the rendering of Greek utterances preserved in the tablets of the archives. Putting together a number of observations, both of external and internal nature (literacy, status of the scribes on the one side; structure of the syllabary, spelling rules, development of sematography on the other), the Author claims that the Linear B syllabary was perfectly adequate for the intended purposes, and a sign of its success lies in its use throughout the entire duration of the Mycenaean kingdoms.