By Mark Millmore 2009 http://shop.discoveringegypt.com/printmachine2.html
Hieroglyphs Hieroglyphs are written in rows or columns and can be read from left to right or from right to left. You can distinguish the direction in which the text is to be read because the human or animal figures always face towards the beginning of the line. Also the upper symbols are read before lower. 1. There are twenty-four alphabet signs each one representing a single sound. The Egyptians did not include vowels E, U or V in their writing although these sounds were present in the spoken language. (nither did they have a letter for X). For example, Sobek is the name of the crocodile god but the Egyptians would have written it ‘Sbk’. It is possible to write a whole word using only symbols from the ancient Egyptian alphabet. For example the Fourth Dynasty pharaoh, Khufu, wrote his name in this way.
2. Syllabic signs represent a combination of two or three letter sounds. Such as in English ‘buy’ and ‘pie’ or in ancient Egyptian ‘Sha’ and ‘Ka’
It is possible to write the English word ‘THANKS’ (right) with a combination of alphabet and syllabic signs. Note the three strokes - this is the sign for a plural. (this is a determinative sign) 3. Determinative signs - Some hieroglyphs work like road signs for example when we see the road sign showing a car with skidmarks we know it means there is a slippery road ahead. Determinative signs are pictures of objects that helps the reader understand the meaning of a word. Written words did not represent all of the sounds of spoken words. For instance the word ‘boat’ was expressed in hieroglyphs as ”dpt” (it might have been pronounced ‘depet’), but
Depet is also a person’s name. To prevent the reader from mistaking it for another word, the writer included a picture of a boat to clarify the word’s meaning. If a word expressed an abstract idea, such as “happy,” a picture of a sealed papyrus scroll was included to show that the meaning of the word could be expressed in writing but not pictorially.
4. Word signs are pictures of objects used as the words for those objects. Each word sign is followed by an upright stroke to indicate that the word is complete in one sign. For example, if there wasn’t enough space to write ”boat” in hieroglyphs, the ancient writer just used the picture of a boat followed by an upright stroke to indicate that the sign should be read as ”boat.”
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A list of the ancient Egyptian words used in the program with their English translations. A AS-- - L i ke ABIILITY ABOVE
ASSISTA N T
B ECO M E
BEER
ASC E N D A C C O R D I N G LY
ADVANCE
B
BA C K
B E FO R E B EG
BREAK
DA R K N E S S CHIEF DA U G H TE R
B R E ATH E CHILD BRING C H O OS E
DAY
D E AT H
B ROT H E R CITY
AFFECTION
AFTER
BA D
BEHIND
BAR L EY
B E LO V E D
CLEAN
AGAIN ALONE
BAS K ET
BEAU T I F U L
CO L D
DESCEND
C A LC U L ATE CAREFUL
CO M E D E S E RT CO M P L A I N DESIRE
ANCECTOR BEA U T Y
B OAT 2
C AT C ATC H
BE
BORN
CRAFSMAN
BEAT L E
BLACK
C H AT TE R
DISOBEDIENT
D
D I S O B EY
CHARMING
ARM AS-Far-As
C
D E PA RT
BE-Abundant
B OAT 1
ARMY
C LOT H E BY
BIRD AMONG
DEED
B U TC H E R
B ET W E E N
B I TE AMONG
D ECO R ATE
BUILD
DA N C E
DO
F DO
END
FO L LO W
G I FTS
G R E AT
GIVE
G R E ET I N G S
FA C E DONE DRINK
ENDURI N G
FA L L
FO L LO W I N G FO O D
ENEM Y
FA R
G U I DA N C E GIVE LIFE
H
FO O L ENRIC H
FO OT
DUTY
E
HAD
FAT H E R
ENTER
FEAR
FO R
ETERNIT Y
EVERY
FO RG ET
G O -A ST R AY
FREE
G O -AWAY
F EW
FRIEND
EASTERN EVERYTHING
EVIL
F RO M
GO-UP
F RO N T
GOD
FINGER
EFFECTIVE
EXPLAIN
EYE
HAPPEN
FIRM
G
GODS H E _ H I M _ HI S
GENTLE
GOOD
G I FT
G O O D BY
FIRST
FLY
HAPP Y
H ATE FULL
EXIST
HAND
FIND
EDUCATE EXCELLENT
GO-DOWN
HALF
FIGHT_Fighting
EAT
EMPTY
GO
F ETC H
EAST
ELDER
HAIR
HAIRDRESSER
EAR
EGYPT
GIVEN
HEAD
H E A LT H
J HEAR
LO N G
IF Joined With
HEART
LAND
IGNOR A N T
LO O K
J OY IMMEDIATELY
K
LO R D
KILL L ATE R
IMPORTA N T KIND IMPRO V E
LAUGH
KING
HERSELF
L AW HIGH
HOUSE
IN
King-UpperLower
INDE E D
HOW INSP ECT
KISS
M A D E- BY
KNEE
KNIFE
MOON MORNING
M OT H E R
M O U N TA I N
Le a r n
L EG
MANY
MOUTH
MEAL L E N GT H
HUNGER
M E M O RY
MUCH
MINE
I IS
I or ME
M
MONUMENT
LEAP
HOUSES
I
LO V E
MAN IN-FRONT-OF
MONTH
L A RG E
HEAVEN
HER
MOMENT
KNOW
LIFE
M U L I T P LY
LIMIT
M I RRO R
K N O W - N OT IT
L
LITTLE
m i s e ra b l e
MY
IT I S
L a ke
LIVE
MISS
MYSELF
N
O
P
NAKED
OBEY
Pa i n
NAM E
OBSERV E PEACE
R RIVER RAGE RAIN REBEL
NEAR
ODOUR
P E A SA N T
OF P EO P L E
NEVER OFFER NEVER NIGHT
NO
P E R F ECT OFFERIN G S
OFFICIA L OFFSPRIN G
ROA D
RUN
S
REEDS REJOICE RELAX
SA C R E D SA I L SA LT
PERISH
PERPETUATE
REMEMBER
R E PA I R
S H E- H E R- I T
SHINE SHIP SIBLINGS
SINCE
SING SINGER
SA N D S I STE R SAT I S F I E D Sistrum
OLD PLAN
N O B L E LADY
NOD
NOSE
ON
PLANT
OPEN
PO O R- M A N
ORDER
R E P E AT
SAY SMALL
RESCUE PRAISE RESENT
SCRIBE S EC R ET
Our-Us- We NOT-KNOW
PRINCE
R E ST
Q OVERSEE R
OVERTHROW
SOLDIER
SON
SEE SON OF RA
R EV E R E D
Q U I ET
S KY SLEEP
R E PO RT
NOT
NUMBER
SAT I S F Y
RISE
SEIZE SEND
SOUL
SUN in the SKY
SPIRIT
T TAKE-Pleasure
Stable
TARD I LY
THINGS
U PO N
THIS
US
THOROUGHLY
WHICH
WHY
V
TEA C H
VA R I O U S WING
T H OS E STAND
TEM P L E TERRO R
V E RY T H RO W
STAR TH AT
TO G ET H E R
STEP STO REHOUSE
STORM
V I EW
WA K E THE B E S
WA L K TO OT H
TheirTheyThem
TREE
WA S H
WATE R
THE S E STRIKE
TH EY
TRUE
SUN
THI G H
WORK
W R I TE
WE
U W E A LT H
They-Th em-Their
WOMAN
Y
SUFFER SUMMER
WITH
WA RR I O R
THEREFORE
STRIDE
WISH
TO M B
T R AV E L STRENGTH
W I N TE R
W
UNDER
UNDERWORLD
YO U N G
YO U R WIFE
STAIRWAY
YO U
YEAR
WEEP
YES
WELL
Y E STE R DAY
Imagining Egypt - the special limited edition.
‘Artist Millmore brings ancient Egypt to life with colourful computer re-creations of ancient monuments.’ ‘Millmore’s thorough primer is chockablock with gorgeous illustrations.’ Publisher’s Weekly. The special edition is signed and comes with a free CD ROM containing four software programs and six movies. You also get two temple reconstruction greeting cards and a beautifully illustrated souvenir bookmark. www.imaginingegypt.com
Discovering Ancient Egypt - CD ROM For Windows® and Macintosh® Discovering Ancient Egypt has over 240 pages of text illustrated with over 1700 images including photos, paintings, drawings, interactive maps and computer generated reconstructions. There are 16 videos and animations showing the pyramids and temples together with reconstructions of how they were built and how papyrus is made. http://shop.discoveringegypt.com
The Ancient Egyptian Game of Senet Play the ancient game of the Pharaohs.
Board games were a favorite pastime in ancient Egypt, and Senet was the most popular of these. It was played by two people, either on elaborate carved and inlaid boards, like the one found in Tutankhamen’s tomb, or on a ‘board’ simply scratched into the earth. You can now play this ancient game ether against the computer or another person. http://shop.discoveringegypt.com/senet.html
Discovering Ancient Egypt by Mark Millmore On this site you will find lots of Egyptian stuff -. There are stories of the great kings & queens. In the pyramid & temple section you can explore the ancient monuments; using interactive maps, photos, drawings, and paintings. Also check out Rebuilding Temples and see how these shrines, to the gods, may have appeared to ancient eyes. There is a basic description of hieroglyphic writing. And for a bit of fun you can send a friend their name as an eCard using the hieroglyphic translator. There are also images of hieroglyphs you can use in your own projects. Learn about Egyptian numerals and test your knowledge with some mathematical problems set out using the ancient numbers. And there are lots of free things you can download. www.eyelid.co.uk