Egyptian Language

Surveys

    Jacq, Christian: Fascinating Hieroglyphics: Discovering, Decoding, & Understanding the Ancient Art, Sterling Publishing Co., 1996, paperback, 224 pages, black and white photos.

      This book was translated from French, and that makes all the difference! Had the translation been better, it would have been a splendid little book: it is clever and creative, beautifully printed (except that hieroglyphs are sometimes aligned sloppily), and filled with large photos. Each short chapter introduces a few Egyptian words and gives imaginative and poetic explanations of their spelling -- not to be taken literally, but the kind of thing a beginner will enjoy and remember. There are frequent clever quizzes with questions such as "Does one see Ra' during the day or night?"
      No grammar is presented.

      The serious problems with this book are related to its French origin. The French phonetics were not converted, so, for example, the sound "w" is spelled "oo" and the sound "sh" is spelled "ch" (as in "chef"). The result is words like "taooy" ("The Two Lands", normally "tawy") and "sech" (scribe, normally "sesh"). Some translations are clumsy, especially in the quiz questions. For example, one asks "Is a'req an essential worry?" A'req means "clothing", so something like "an important concern" would have been better English than "an essential worry".

      An appendix contains the translation of the obelisk standing in the Place de la Concorde in Paris. However it doesn't include the Egyptian -- either in hieroglyphs or transliteration -- for those of us not fortunate enough to live in Paris.

      Finally, American parents will probably want to keep this book away from young children because of its frank presentation of genitals and sexual relations.

      Contents:

        Part One: Face to Face with the Hieroglyphs
      1. The Deciphering Epic
      2. What hieroglyphs!
      3. How do they work?
      4. A strange alphabet
      5. Our most common words are not hieroglyphs
        Part Two: A Life in Hieroglyphs
      1. What is life?
      2. Meeting Pharaoh
      3. In court with the dignitaries
      4. The hieroglyphic sky won't fall on our heads
      5. Taking the time of the hieroglyphs
      6. Nature in hieroglyphs
      7. The animals speak
      8. Man and woman: An old story
      9. When the body becomes a hieroglyph
      10. Love in hieroglyphs
      11. Parents and children
      12. Name of names
      13. In hieroglyph school
      14. Reading and writing
      15. Counting and measuring
      16. Speaking hieroglyphs
      17. Thinking in hieroglyphs
      18. Creating in hieroglyphs
      19. Beautiful truths
      20. In the company of the gods
      21. A good house in a good town
      22. Dinner's ready!
      23. As long as you've got your health!
      24. At the doctor's
      25. A day at work
      26. Acquiring in hieroglyphs
      27. The traveling hieroglyph
      28. To arms!
      29. Old age and serenity
      30. Hieroglyph for eternity
        Appendix
        Index


    Wilson, Hilary: Understanding Hieroglyphs: A Complete Introductory Guide, Passport Books, 1993 (reprinted 1996), paperback, 192 pages, pen-and-ink drawings throughout.

      This book gives a very simple overview of Egyptian writing and a survey of Egyptian life and culture. It lists Egyptian words used in each area but doesn't really teach in any coordinated way. For AS members, the most interesting parts may be the maps of cities and nomes along with their Egyptian names. After reading this book, you'll have a general knowledge of life in Egypt and will be able to pick out some names and a few words in inscriptions. Useful for children or adults.

      Contents:

      1. What's in a Name?
      2. Personal Names
      3. Royalty
      4. Spirits of Place
      5. Be a Scribe
      6. Officialdom
      7. The Priesthood
      8. The Servants in the Place of Truth
      9. Keeping Count
      10. Marking Time


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