04 January 2002

Learning to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Collier, Mark and Bill Manley. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs. A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself: (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998). Illustrated, 179 pages List price: $18.95. ISBN 0-96569303-1.

Reviewed by Sheldon Greaves

 

 

The study of antiquities has provided many amateurs with opportunities to make serious contributions to our knowledge of the past. Some of the most important discoveries of modern Classical studies were the work of amateurs. Michael Ventris, a British architect, deciphered the ancient Mycenean language known as Linear B where dozens of professionals had failed. Heinrich Schliemann, an amateur archaeologist and classical scholar, stunned the world by discovering and excavating the ancient city of Troy, which the academic community had long since written off as a mythical fabrication. Finally there is Sir Henry Rawlinson, an employee of the East India Company and amateur philologist who served in Persia. He laboriously copied and eventually published a tri-lingual inscription which contained writing in two unknown languages. This may not sound too difficult, but the inscription was carved into a sheer cliff some 300 feet from the ground in order to prevent vandalism. Rawlinson copied the inscription while perched precariously on a ladder resting on a tiny ledge just below the second part of the tri-lingual inscription.

This inscription was written in Old Persian which was just becoming possible to read (also thanks in part to amateur contributions), Elamite, and Akkadian. It eventually provided the key to Akkadian cuneiform and the written languages of ancient Mesopotamia: Babylonian, Assyrian, and Sumerian.

Times have changed. These days it is more difficult for amateurs to become involved with serious antiquarian field work, but no matter. The quantity of material available for study is far, far greater than the number of qualified scholars available to work on it. Therein lies an opportunity for the dedicated amateur.

A previous issue of this newsletter was dedicated to work performed by members of SAS in connection with ongoing archaeological work in Egypt. Amateurs working in Egyptian materials have always been hampered if they could not read hieroglyphic Egyptian. This is true for anyone who seeks to do serious work on an ancient civilization; a solid grasp of the subject demands knowing the language, whether that language is Greek, Latin, Sanskrit, Anglo-Saxon, Mayan, or whatever. Professional scholars of antiquities frequently consider language skills first when considering someone's qualifications. Enthusiasts who wanted to learn Egyptian in the past had to work through Sir Alan Gardiner's monstrous tome Egyptian Grammar, which first appeared in 1957. Gardiner's book is not for the faint-hearted, and it assumes that you are already familiar with many of the nuances of ancient languages. Worse, much of the material is badly dated. Unless you use this book in a university course with a professor who is up on the current state of the language, you are likely to go astray. For the average non-specialist whose linguistic background consists of a language studied in high school, Gardiner is useless.

Many amateurs also try to learn Egyptian from the works of E. A. Wallis Budge, only to find that his works are badly dated, and were of dubious quality at the time they were published near the turn of the 20th century. Amateurs who admit to studying Egyptian using Budge's books only open themselves to ridicule by professionals.

For this reason, the volume by Collier and Manley is a refreshing antidote. This is one of several books that have appeared in recent years aimed specifically at "ordinary" people interested in learning Egyptian. In my opinion, it is the best of three or four books currently available (excluding Gardiner). In one tight, lucid, well-edited volume the authors have provided the student with all of the basic tools needed to begin reading Egyptian texts.

Collier and Manley do not forget that the reader is new to the business of ancient language. For example, they explain about tasks like transliteration; a minor issue in most modern languages, but which is critical to ancient language study. The explanation of how to actually do transliteration comes later in the book than I would prefer it, but this is a minor quibble. Features of ancient languages such as determinatives and variant spellings are handled clearly. The section on which direction to read hieroglyphic signs is the best I have seen in any of the new books on this subject. The book is careful to define every linguistic term used, even such basic terms as "noun" and "adjective."

Best of all, this book is self-contained. It includes a glossary and a sign list for all of the texts used as exercises in the book. It also has a reasonably good index, and a brief but very useful bibliography, focusing on works that the student will actually use. Someone using this book–and only this book–could develop a good working knowledge of Egyptian hieroglyphics.

I mentioned exercises, and this book has them, along with an answer key in the back. The exercises are taken from actual texts found on objects now on display in the British Museum. The texts in this book focus on inscriptions found on small objects such as you will likely encounter in a museum collection. Since many of these inscriptions are highly formulaic, it is likely that you would be able to read the inscriptions on objects in a museum near you. Now, this is not to say that Collier and Manley make Egyptian simple and painless. That would be asking too much. But they do make it accessible. While reading through this book I realized that the reader would do well to observe the following guidelines. I offer them as someone who has studied more ancient languages than should probably be attempted by any sane being.

First, go slowly but steadily. The material is all there and well-presented, but it may take a few passes before it sinks in Be thorough and take your time. Second, make notes of the new Egyptian words as they are introduced in the text. I strongly suggest that you make up (and use) some flash cards, first to learn the signs,

then the vocabulary. Third, work through the exercises on paper. Don't try to just read them off and do it "in your head." You'll reach that point, eventually, but even the best scholars work it out on paper as a matter of course. Besides, this will be good practice for when you see something in a museum and you want to copy it for study later. Finally, consult a few of the books listed in the bibliography. I personally recommend W. V. Davies Egyptian Hieroglyphs, part of the Reading the Past series published by the British Museum. I also recommend checking out the web site for the Ancient Egyptian Language Email List, located at http://www.rostau.demon.co.uk/AEgyptian-L/index.html.

All told, this is a great introduction to an essential tool for amateurs interested in ancient Egypt. If nothing else, it will make your next visit to a museum collection of Egyptian antiquities richer and more interesting. This may represent a sea change for amateurs interested in antiquities; I hear that a similar book on Assyrian cuneiform is in the works by a different author and is scheduled for publication soon. Time will tell.