Egyptian

Heiroglyphs
 What is
Heiroglyphs?
 Heiroglyph is a character used
in a system of pictorial writing,
particularly that form used on
ancient Egyptian monuments.
Hieroglyphic symbols may
represent the objects that they
depict but usually stand for
particular sounds or groups of
sounds.
Etymology of
Heiroglyphs
 The word hieroglyph comes from
the Greek adjective hieroglyphikos.
HEIRO means sacred and GLYPHO means
carve or engrave.
Which means “the sacred engraved letter”
the Greek counterpart to the Egyptian expression
of
mdw.w-nṯr “god's words”.
Greek ἱερόγλυφος meant "a carver of
hieroglyphs"
 Egyptian Hieroglyphs were
the formal writing system used
in Ancient Egypt and used for
writing the Egyptian language.
History and
Evolution
 Hieroglyphs may have
emerged from the preliterate
artistic traditions of Egypt.
For example, symbols
on Gerzean pottery from c.
4000 BC have been argued
to resemble hieroglyphic
writing.
 Geoffrey Sampson - a Linguist -
stated that Egyptian hieroglyphs
"came into existence a little
after Sumerian Script (Cuneiform),
and, probably, [were] invented
under the influence of the latter”,
and that it is "probable that the
general idea of expressing words of
a language in writing was brought
to Egypt from
Sumerian Mesopotamia”
Heiroglyphs are only used
by Royalty, Scribes, Priest,
and Government Officials.
 Hieroglyphs consist of
three kinds of glyphs:
A.) Phonetic glyphs - including single-
consonant characters that function like
an alphabet
B.) Logographs - representing morphemes.

C.) Determinatives - which narrow down

the meaning of logographic or phonetic
words.
 Writing
System of
Heiroglyphs
Hieroglyphs are written in columns or in
horizontal lines. They are generally read
from right to left and from top to bottom.
Sometimes, the script is read from left to
right. The reader can determine the
orientation by looking at the animal and
human figures -- they face towards the
beginning of the text. For example: if a
figure faces right, the text should be read
from right to left.
Words and names written in hieroglyphs
were believed to have magical powers.
For this reason, funeral texts and the
names of the deceased were written on
coffins and tomb walls. This meant that
the gods would hear the prayers and the
individuals would be protected from
harm. A name written in hieroglyphs
embodied a person's identity. If it was
obliterated, the person's identity was lost,
along with his or her means to continue
living in the afterworld.
Visually, hieroglyphs are all more or less
figurative: they represent real or abstract
elements, sometimes stylized and
simplified, but all generally perfectly
recognizable in form. However, the same
sign can, according to context, be
interpreted in diverse ways: as a
phonogram (phonetic reading), as a
logogram, or as an ideogram ("
determinative") (semantic reading).
Phonetic
Reading
Phonograms formed with one consonant
are called uniliteral signs; with two
consonants, biliteral signs; with three,
triliteral signs.
Twenty-four uniliteral signs make up
the so-called hieroglyphic alphabet.
Egyptian hieroglyphic writing does not
normally indicate vowels, unlike
cuneiform, and for that reason has been
labelled by some as an abjad, i.e., an
alphabet without vowels.
Logograms
A hieroglyph used as a logogram defines
the object of which it is an image.
Logograms are therefore the most
frequently used common nouns; they are
always accompanied by a mute vertical
stroke indicating their status as a
logogram (the usage of a vertical stroke
is further explained below); in theory, all
hieroglyphs would have the ability to be
used as logograms. Logograms can be
accompanied by phonetic complements
Determinative
 Determinatives or Semagrams (semantic
symbols specifying meaning) are placed at the
end of a word. These mute characters serve to
clarify what the word is about,
as homophonic glyphs are common. If a similar
procedure existed in English, words with the
same spelling would be followed by an indicator
that would not be read, but which would fine-
tune the meaning: "retort [chemistry]" and
"retort [rhetoric]" would thus be distinguished.

A number of determinatives exist: divinities,

humans, parts of the human body, animals,
plants, etc. Certain determinatives possess a
literal and a figurative meaning. For example, a
roll of papyrus,
Hieroglyphs and
their cursive
equivalents