Learning Family learns about Language in Egypt

Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs

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Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was basically a phonetic writing system.This means that each symbol generally represented a sound in their language. The symbols came from everyday objects, like birds, or baskets, or plants. Scholars think that the sounds for each symbol may have come from the sounds for the names of the objects. To make it easier for modern speakers of latin based languages, a common alphabet relationship has been developed. It isn't exactly what it would have been like in ancient Egyptian, but can give you an idea. You can use this chart to write your name, or send secret messages to your friends!

How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs : A Step-By-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier, Bill Manley, Richard Parkinson (Illustrator) Teach yourself how to read ancient hieroglyphs with this top rated book!

Modern Egyptian Arabic Words

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People in Egypt today speak Arabic.  Just like English, there are many different accents or dialects, so it makes sense that Egyptians speak Egyptian Arabic.  We learned only a little bit of Arabic, though every day we all tried to learn a new word or two. We spent some time at Mohammed's house, and his sister Salawa taught me the Arabic alphabet. She's a good teacher. Below are some of the words we learned while there. (Mohammed runs a little candy store by our apartment.) Arabic English baksheesh Tip bonboni candy shokran thank you la no aiwa yes faka change (currency) mesh(i) OK mathaf museum Ahkram pyramid abuhol sphinx moomkin maybe isme (my) name ana me/I maalesh it dosn't matter, never-mind mastaba tomb mufeesh mooshkela no problem (don't worry about it) gamila/gamil beautiful (feminine/masculine) bint girl walid boy yala Let's Go!/Go away! min fadlik/fadlik please (feminine/masculine) makhies Rhoda Nileometer kobari bridge mayya water katir crowded shwaia(r) a little

Egyptian Arabic: A Rough Guide Phrasebook   Pimsleur's Compact Egyptian Arabic : English I by Sahar Hassan, Ulrike S., Dr. Rettig Try one of Pimsleur's award winning language courses before your trip to Egypt.

Amanda's talks about heiroglyphs	[ Guide | Next >
I saw lots of heiroglyphs in tombs at Saqqara and in the Valley of the Kings. There are many animal characters in heiroglyphs, like snakes, birds, lions and cats. I liked looking for cartouches--ovals with heiroglyphs spelling people's names.	COLOR ME! Click on this image of a scribe and a man making papyrus for the full size picture, print it and color. (The large image is rotated to print correctly on your printer.)

What Harrison learned about heiroglyphs

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I suppose heiroglyphs came from the objects the Egyptians saw and used every day. Maybe after they used pictures to represent words, they got an idea for using pictures as sounds so they could write more descriptively. When I got a heiroplyph postcard, I almost memorized the alphabet. I've also memorized a few pharoahs names and can recognize their cartouches. It's easier to read than to write. At Saqqara I went into the pyramid of Teti and I recognized his cartouche.  It was written as two loaves of bread and a reed. Hieroglyphs are made of images of objects that people saw everyday.  For example, a lasso, a piece of twisted flax, an owl, or a stool.  Pictures either had sound meanings or word meanings.  Most of them were sounds, so you could almost call it a phonetic language. This is a picture of a scribe in a library at the Pharonic Village. The little tubes behind him are where the scrolls are kept. Scribes were very important in ancient Egypt, because not everyone could read and write.

Egyptian Hieroglyphics : How to Read and Write Them by Stephane Rossini A very visual way to learn to read and write hieroglyphics.

Susan's report	[ Guide | Next >

Rob's report	[ Guide | Next >
	Egyptian Hieroglyphics (Reading the Past, Vol 6) by W. V. Davies

Links	[ Guide | Next >
A Short Introduction to hieroglyphs - University of Paris. Can you learn how to read hieroglyphs? Hieroglyph Translator - from the Royal Ontario Museum. Download Nahkt Heiroglyph font for Windows! - from Dr. Berlin's Font Archive Download Nahkt Heiroglyph font for Mac! - from Yamada Language Guides (U of Oregon) King-Tut Treasures - Have a cartouche made with your name in heiroglyphs!

Resources Check these out from your local library, or buy them here. When you buy books here, you get the same great Amazon.com price, and help keep these pages going.

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For Younger Readers Color and Learn Arabic with us Book and Tape by Ashraf Alsabbagh Phidi A introduction to Arabic geared toward younger children, but fun for all. A great way to introduce the concept that other people speak different languages, and still understand eachother! Egyptian Hieroglyphics : How to Read and Write Them by Stephane Rossini A very visual way to learn to read and write hieroglyphics. Almost entirely pictures, this book teaches by example the entire phonetcis system. It may be fun just as a source for sketches, too. The ABC of Hieroglyphs: Ancient Egyptian Writing by Jaromir Malek Jaromir Malek is one of the authors of the exceptional Atlas of Ancient Egypt, so this has to be a great work. A good description of how the many words and meanings are constructed with the 24 basic hieroglyphic symbols.

For Older Readers Hieroglyphs Without Mystery : An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Writing by Karl-Theodor Zauzich, Ann Macy Roth (Translator) This is a great step-by-step book to understanding one of the oldest forms of writing. Not only will you learn the image vocabulary, but some important notes on the grammer of the ancient written system. Full of picture examples from real places make it a good study book. Egyptian Hieroglyphics (Reading the Past, Vol 6) by W. V. Davies Part of a series of works of exceptional works on ancient writing. In a ver short (64 pages) you can get a good overview of the basics of the images, examples of their use, and a primer in ancient Egyptian grammar. The Rosetta Stone by E. A. Wallis Budge Perhaps the foremost authority on ancient Egyptian language, Wallis Budge documents the history of the west's discover of the language, as well as the many related linguistic forms and influences of the time. A true scholarly work. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs : A Step-By-Step Guide to Teach Yourself by Mark Collier, Bill Manley, Richard Parkinson (Illustrator) Teach yourself how to read ancient hieroglyphs with this top rated book! Egyptian Arabic: A Rough Guide Phrasebook This is a small phrasebook that fits in a camera bag or in a pocket, making it easy to keep handy. Pimsleur's Compact Egyptian Arabic : English I by Sahar Hassan, Ulrike S., Dr. Rettig Try one of Pimsleur's award winning language courses before your trip to Egypt.