Egyptian Language Research Articles

Towards a Pedagogy of Ancient Egyptian Language and Hieroglyphs

This paper discusses the challenges of teaching the Middle Egyptian language and Egyptian hieroglyphs to adult anglophone learners outside university settings. These challenges include the lack of L1 speakers; the large volume of signs in the script; the difficulty in reconstructing pronunciation due to the paucity of written vowels; and the lack of accessible learning tools such as readers and textbooks for the intermediate stage. As spoken proficiency in this extinct language is not a feasible goal, it is argued here that teaching should revolve around achieving reading competence. The paper advocates for a pedagogical approach that centres on using vocabulary, including variant spellings, as the fundamental building blocks of learning. This entails reading words, sentences and paragraphs of increasing complexity, which over time aids memorisation of vocabulary and builds confidence. Grammar and syntax can be gradually introduced and contextualised by reading practice sentences. It is also argued here that producing digitised versions of ancient Egyptian texts using hieroglyphic font software such as JSesh allows for the creation of practice texts in a standardised and legible format. This, in turn, makes it possible to use pedagogical aids such as adding spaces between words and adding signs omitted by the ancient scribes. Finally, it is argued that learning vocabulary and grammar is enhanced by discussions of the wider semantic and cultural meaning(s) of the ancient text in question.

Linguistic borrowings in trade terminologies: an analysis of ancient Indian and Egyptian languages from 3300 BCE to 500 CE

The research delves into the intricate web of linguistic borrowings in trade terminologies between Ancient Indian languages (Sanskrit, Prakrit) and Egyptian languages (Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Demotic script) spanning from approximately 3300 BCE to 500 CE. Through a meticulous analysis of selected literary texts and inscriptions, including the Hathigumpha Inscription, Rudradaman I Inscription, Junagadh Rock Inscriptions, Nasik Cave Inscriptions, Rosetta Stone, Satirical Papyrus, and Turin Taxation Papyrus, the study unravels the linguistic evolution and cultural exchanges embedded within ancient trade networks. Contextualizing these linguistic borrowings within the historical framework of trade routes, maritime activities, and economic exchanges, the research sheds light on the nuances of communication and adaptation in commercial interactions. By employing rigorous research methodologies and comparative studies, the findings offer a comprehensive understanding of how language served as a bridge for commerce, diplomacy, and cultural exchange between these ancient civilizations. This study not only contributes to the fields of linguistic history and ancient trade studies but also offers valuable insights into the dynamic interplay of language, trade, and cultural connectivity in the ancient world.

Notes on the Concept and Significance of the Astral Entities Ixmw sk and Ixmw wrD in the Ancient Egyptian Language

Notes on the Concept and Significance of the Astral Entities Ixmw sk and Ixmw wrD in the Ancient Egyptian Language

Hellenization of the monumental landscape of the Meroitic kingdom under Natakamani and Amanitore: cultural and historic context

The Meroitic Kush was the largest state on the southern borders of the Roman world. It reached its highest development by the 1st century AD under the rule of Natakamani and Amanitore whose extraordinary building activity attracted many scholars. Withing the framework of a large-scale program of renewing the monumental landscape of their state, the co-rulers erected, rebuilt, and restored cult and palace complexes throughout the country from Amara in the north to Naqa in the south. A characteristic feature of this activity was a wide use of Hellenizing motifs in both architecture and iconography. However, Hellenization did not affect all royal monuments: it was limited to palace complexes and temples of local Kushite gods, predominantly Apedemak, located on main trade routes passing from the inner Africa to the Mediterranean. The paper attempts to explain the reasons for such a striking but, to all appearances, carefully planned phenomenon. The author argues that Natakamani and Amanitore were willing to strengthen their own position within the country and beyond by emphasizing their independence from the northern neighbor through Egyptianization instead of Romanization. The latter could be an attempt to establish themselves as heirs of the Ptolemaic state using Ptolemaic iconography (primarily Dionysiac and solar), Egyptian language, and construction or restoration of the temples of Amun. The case of the Meroitic kingdom under Natakamani and Amanitore may be extremely useful for understanding cultural and historical processes that took place on the outskirts of the Hellenistic and then Roman worlds.

The The Semitic Origins of the Term "Sūqa".

The term “sūqa”, which appeared continuously in ancient Egyptian texts from the Late Egyptian to demotic and continued to be used in Coptic, is similar to the Arabic word "souqa" meaning the lower class of society. A comparable word has attested in the Akkadian texts from the Old Babylonian and Assyrian periods. Thus, the aim of the study is to find an etymological link between the Akkadian word and its Egyptian and Arabic counterpart. The problem of the research and its hypothesis lie in linking the Akkadian origins of this term to the Egyptian ones and then the Arabic ones. The most important problem facing this study is that the word does not appear in the currently published studies of borrowed words or expressions borrowed from the Semitic languages to the Ancient Egyptian language, and therefore the bridge language that transports the word needs research and study. The aim of the study is to form a general perception about the development of the word and its transfer from one language to another. The hypothesis of the study is based on the fact that the Arabic word “sūqa” cannot be of Arabic origins; rather, it is a semitic word that has been transferred to the Arabic language through the Egyptian language. To prove this hypothesis, the methodology of the study will rely on analyzing texts of the three languages and the examination and analysis of this word “sūqa” and its synonyms in each language, according to their context to deduce their significance and to verfy the scientific hypothesis of the study. In conclusion, one main finding of the study is that it has demonstrated that the word “sūqa” appeared in Akkadian texts to mean "street", and then it was transferred to the Late Egyptian with a change of meaning to be associated with “foolishness” and “inferiority”, which is the same change of meaning with which it was transferred to Arabic. It also shows the congruence between the word in Arabic poetry and that in ancient Egyptian texts, but with a clear meaning associated with low social class and another associated with arrogance and class superiority.

An Integrated Software Application for the Ancient Coptic Language

Coptic language was an important period of the Egyptian language, coinciding with a period of social and cultural changes. Coptic is also associated with the Greek language, as its alphabet is used for the transcription of Coptic. Despite the fact that the Coptic element is strong in Greece, the theoretical background is rather weak. For this reason, it is considered necessary to create a software tool that aims to help in the translation of Coptic into Greek and at the same time to overcome various obstacles that the researcher may encounter while processing the various corpora or artifacts, such as processing issuer, diacritics etc. This tool consists of a database, a search engine and an interface.

Wn Between the Concept, Synonyms and Connotations in Ancient Egyptian Language

Wn Between the Concept, Synonyms and Connotations in Ancient Egyptian Language

The Semantic Indicator pw and the Relationship to Methods and Contexts of Restriction in Ancient Egyptian Language "Analytical and Comparative Study from the Perspective of Semantic Linguistic Approaches"

The Semantic Indicator pw and the Relationship to Methods and Contexts of Restriction in Ancient Egyptian Language "Analytical and Comparative Study from the Perspective of Semantic Linguistic Approaches"

Wp An Analytical Study of the Concept, Connotations and Synonyms in Ancient Egyptian Language

Wp An Analytical Study of the Concept, Connotations and Synonyms in Ancient Egyptian Language

אֶלְגָּבִישׁ: Ein neues ägyptisches Lehnwort im Alten Testament?

Abstract The article offers a discussion of a supposed new Egyptian loanword in the book of the prophet Ezekiel proposed by Jonathan Thambyrajah in 2021. The proposal that אֶלְגָּבִישׁ (Ez 13,11.13; 38,22) is a loanword from the Egyptian language can be firmly rejected due to many linguistic and cultural-historic problems.

Demotic Papyrus Hamburg 39 (inv. no. 35.2806): A New Religious Text from Roman Egypt

Summary This article offers the first edition of a Demotic papyrus fragment of early Roman date and of uncertain, probably Fayumic, provenance in the collection of the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky. The fragment preserves parts of two columns of a hitherto unattested enigmatic religious work, for which mostly only distant and short parallels can be found in the evidence currently available to us in any of the Egyptian languages and scripts used in the Late and Graeco-Roman Periods. The only relatively close parallel that we are aware of is a slightly modified form of a sentence that occurs in the composition known as ‘The Great Decree Issued to the Nome of the Silent Land’. The vocabulary and the meagre parallels suggest that we may be catching a glimpse of a previously unknown work of Osirian religious literature. This article provides a general introduction, a transcription and translation of the text, as well as a commentary.

Community Translation and Modern Philosophy

The Rosetta Stele, an inscribed stone slab, was discovered in July 1799 near the town of Rashid, ancient Rosetta, which is situated in the western part of the Nile delta of Egypt, by soldiers of Napoleon Bonaparte’s invading army. After the French surrender of Egypt in 1801, the stele passed into British hands and is now in the British Museum in London. The commemorative stele contains three versions of the same text (in Egyptian hieroglyphic, Egyptian Demotic and ancient Greek script, representing two varieties of the ancient Egyptian language and the ancient Greek language). It recounts a decree issued on 27 March 196 BCE by Egyptian priests during the Ptolemaic dynasty on behalf of Ptolemy V Epiphanes to commemorate his crowning. It took more than 20 years and various attempts by scholars to decipher the Demotic and hieroglyphic Egyptian texts. This was done by utilising the mechanisms of modern philology, which had been established as a field early in the 1800s. Standing on the shoulders of his predecessors, Jean-François Champollion was the first Egyptologist to crack the code of hieroglyphic writing by realising that some of the signs were alphabetic, some syllabic, and some determinative. The discovery and decipherment of the Rosetta Stele put multilingualism and the practice of translation and interpreting during the Ptolemaic reign over Egypt into focus. In this essay we describe the rediscovery, as well as the emergence and growth of new knowledge, that was unlocked by the decipherment of the Rosetta Stele, including its implications for African orthographies.

Walking My Path Together with W. W. Phelps

Walking My Path Together with W. W. Phelps

Intellectual Decolonization and Harmful Nativism: Arabic Knowledge Production of Ancient Egyptian Literature

The essay argues that Eurocentric modernity continues to impact how ancient Egyptian language and literature is experienced, researched, and taught in Arabic-speaking Egypt as a direct result of its colonial history. It explores some reasons and justifications for the omission of Egyptian Egyptologists from the century-long formation and evolution of ancient Egyptian literary and linguistic studies. This hegemonic approach still causes intellectual suffering for those who were/are colonized. The essay seeks to deploy analytical approaches from the Arabic literary tradition to decolonize the overwhelming and illogical divorce between linguistic and literary studies. A comparative reading of ancient Egyptian literary devices provides the grounds for a further argument, which concerns more broadly the ways in which scholars should approach the literary devices of ancient Egyptian texts, and opens the door to previously unexplored literary and linguistic approaches. The aim of this essay is to investigate the possibility of offering a new and a closer textual reading of ancient Egyptian literary devices, based on Arabic balāghah methodology (literally, eloquence, and roughly translated as poetics). This comparative approach demonstrates that Arabic scholarship can reclaim a respected space in the knowledge production that re/defines the cultural heritage of ancient Middle Eastern literature(s). The essay calls upon Euro-American and Arab academics to endorse various methodologies of “intellectual decolonization” in order to avoid reinscribing the long-established Eurocentric elements of coloniality and to invest more deliberate efforts in helping ancient Middle Eastern literary cultures to speak for themselves without any impositions rooted in Eurocentrism or Arabocentrism.

EXPRESSION UP-SIDE DOWN IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE: SIGNS A29 , P(1) EXAMPLES

Among the vast number of signs that were used in the ancient Egyptian language was the corpus of upside-down signs. This paper focuses on two models of it, namely the signs A29 and P(1) in Gardiner’s Sign List.

The Sais Inscription. Translation and Commentary

The article presents a Russian translation of an important epigraphic evidence of the Hellenistic Egypt, the so-called Sais Inscription. The Sais Inscription was compiled in the Late Middle Egyptian language during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285—246 BCE) in late 260s but was later transported to Rome. Only three fragments of an inscription exist to this date: A). Codex Ursinianus, fol. 6 ro — redrawing of a part of the inscription made in 16th century, B). a fragment of a stela at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples (No. 1034) and C). a large fragment of a stela at the Musée du Louvre (No C 123). The available fragments make it possible to reconstruct the first eleven columns of the text which was probably longer. These fragments allowed Chr. Thiers to publish the reconstructed inscription in 2001. The present publication is largely based on this reconstruction and aims to clarify some disputed passages of the text and to provide its new commentary. It is necessary to note the importance of the text for the researchers of Hellenistic Egypt. It provides the information on the nature and the peculiarities of interaction between Ptolemy II Philadelphus and the Egyptian elite. The text describes the gathering of its members at Sais organized by the king in order to bring the statue of Arsinoe II to Sais. According to a number of researchers, this might be an early case or a prototype of a synod, a special gathering of the Egyptian priesthood intended to discuss and to decide important issues in the development of the Ptolemaic dynastic cult.

Hierarchy, Religion and Race: Nineteenth Century Philology and the Search for the Origins of the Egyptian Language

Abstract During the nineteenth century, early Egyptologists were still in the first stages of understanding Egyptian grammar, while at the same time comparative philologists were attempting to reconstruct the historical origins of languages and peoples. These two disciplines intersected and produced various models that situated the Egyptian language into broader world histories. This article explores how early Egyptological scholars during the mid-nineteenth century like Christian Bunsen, Richard Lepsius, and Leo Reinisch, as well as a constellation of figures from comparative philology, drew boundaries around the Egyptian language and speculated about its origins. Their work belonged to a broader intellectual culture where historical language – the nuts and bolts of grammar – became scientific data that revealed biblical truth for some, underpinned the divergent intellectual foundations of civilization for others, and for yet more determined the fate of a people in a manner that prefigured and eventually joined with biological racism.

Some Remarks on the Philological Significance and Differentiation Between the Synthetic and Analytic Systems of the Ancient Egyptian Language

Some Remarks on the Philological Significance and Differentiation Between the Synthetic and Analytic Systems of the Ancient Egyptian Language

Dendara as a Counterpart of Heliopolis in Ptolemaic Texts

The relationship between the two famous cities Heliopolis and Dendara is very strong. This relationship is shown in the similar names Iwnw and Iwnt. The Ptolemaic texts give a special relationship between those two cities as they make both of them equal, considering Dendara as the Upper Egyptian female counterpart of the northern Heliopolis. The texts of Dendara Temple emphasize that Dendara of the south replaces and takes the place of Heliopolis of the north; the relationship is also mentioned in the common name of Dendara TA-n-Itmw that means ‘The Land of Atum’ who is the traditional god of Heliopolis. The aim of this paper is to examine special texts quoted from Dendara and other temples and discuss its significance. It is worth mentioning that the Egyptian language used a lot of synonyms for the idea of replacement and equals. Such as m-isw; m-ḏbAw; m-idnw.

Increasing the effectiveness of educational technologies in the foreign languages learning process by linguistic students (comparative analysis of Russian, Indonesian and Egyptian experience)

The aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of educational technologies in the foreign language learning process by linguistic students. The focus is to compare the experiences of Russia, Indonesia, and the Egyptian language experience regarding effective of educational technologies. The role of educational technologies has gained significant importance recently; therefore, considering this aspect, the study focused on a comprehensive discussion on this aspect using previous literature and argues what has been examined previously. The rationale and significance of the study are provided, along with the brief structure of the research. Besides, the study opts for a quantitative methodology to present empirical insights into the use of educational technologies in the foreign language learning process by linguistic students in Russia, Indonesia and Egypt. To analyze and interpret the research data, a descriptive technique is used where data was collected from 90 students (30 from each country). The collected data was analyzed using statistical tools, namely SPSS, where descriptive analysis was used to determine the effectiveness of educational technologies in the foreign language learning by Russian, Indonesian, and Egyptian students. The data findings revealed that the use of educational technologies in foreign language learning facilitated the learning process for the students with the integration of various technologies ranging from computer-assisted activities and audio-visual devices to online resources and social media. The findings also revealed that the utilization of technology-assisted tools proliferated the foreign language learning, making the language learning process highly engaging and interactive, while enabling the students to have better control and autonomy over their learning, wider resource accessibility, helping improve the pronunciation, and enabling to interact with native speakers. Hence, the study concluded that technology positively contributed to the language learning experience of the students, irrespective of the location.