Ιc! Ουcβω ν'βερι!
Welcome to the Hieroglyphic Alphabet Primer; the purpose of this page is to teach you the most elementary hieroglyphs.
I'll update this on my wikipedia page and here
https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/User:Aearthrise/Hieroglyphics/Egyptian_PrimerThe History of Hieroglyphs:Hieroglyphs come from before the Old Kingdom period (circa 3000 B.C.) of Egypt, existing for more than 5000 years. Most recorded hieroglyphs come from Classical Egyptian, i.e. the dialect of Egyptian used during the Middle Kingdom (circa 2000 B.C.).
The Late Kingdom(circa 1000 B.C.) used hieroglyphs as well, but scribes wrote in a different dialect to Classical Egyptian. A cursive form of hieroglyphs from the Late Kingdom appeared called Demotic script, which mirrored the pronunciation of Late Egyptian hieroglyphs. Coptic is like Late kingdom Egyptian in that it is a more analytical dialect of Egyptian, that it uses articles, and that it has a similar syntax and grammar.
Pronunciation of Hieroglyphs:Hieroglyphs at their inception were consonants/semi-consonants; Old and Middle Kingdom pronunciation of Egyptian continued the same consonant use. However, Late Egyptian pronunciation changed as Egypt and many of its Semitic neighbors such as Assyria(Syria),Canaan/Phoenicia(Palestine/Lebanon), and Babylon(Iraq) became conquered by Persia, being influenced by the Persian language, and later by Alexander the Great, spreading Greek to the former Persian Empire. The Greek Empire in Egypt became the Ptolemaic Empire, and Greek rulers wrote Greek words using former consonants as vowels.
About Writing Hieroglyphs:- All hieroglyphs had color, and many are elaborately detailed to compliment stelae or paintings of beautiful story scenes. *hint (most body parts were red)
- Hieroglyphs use determinatives, e.g. 𓀀(man), which allow for clarification of word meaning; many words sounded alike.
- Some hieroglyphs have one consonant sound, such as 𓄿'ع', many have two consonant sounds like 𓉐 'pr', and a few have three, such as 𓋹 'ankh' ωνϧ.
1.𓄿The Egyptian Vulture
Color: Multi-colored, the wings could be blue, green or grey
Classical:
ع, Ain, a glottal stop
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Αα, Alpha
2.𓇋The Papyrus Reed
Color: Green
Classical:
iy'
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Ιι *Εε* *Αα* Iota *sometimes it represented Α and Ε*
3.𓇋𓇋Two Papyrus Reeds
Color: Green
Classical:
Yi
Ptolemaic/Roman:
*Ⲏⲓ*, *Ⲓⲏ*, *Ⲉⲓ* *Sometimes, Not always*
4.𓂝An Arm
Color: Red
Classical:
' a closure of the throat
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Ηη Eta
5.𓅱,
𓏲The Baby Chick/ Abbreviated Chick Spiral
Color: Yellow
Classical:
Uw, W
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Υυ, Ουου Upsilon
6.𓃀A foot
Color: Red
Classical:
B
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Ββ, Beta
7.𓊪A floor mat
Color: Green
Classical:
P
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Ππ Φφ, Pi Ṗi(Phi)
8.𓆑The Viper with Horns
Color: Yellow
Classical:
F
Ptolemaic/Roman:
Ϥϥ, Fai
To remember the hieroglyphs, I recommend drawing them. You will become a better artist and better acquainted with the system.
Watch for more lessons, and I appreciate any feedback, questions, and opinions. Thank you!
