Hieroglyphic Writing in Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphic Alphabet
Theodosius I, the Byzantine Emperor, closed all pagan temples across the empire in 391. This move put an end to a four-thousand-year-old tradition, and the ancient Egyptian language’s message was lost for 1500 years. The Ancient Egyptians were not awakened from their lengthy slumber until the discovery of the Rosetta stone and the efforts of Jean-Francois Champollion (1790-1832). We now know more about Egyptian civilization than we do about most other ancient cultures thanks to the huge amount of writing available.
Unlike other societies, the early image forms were never abandoned or simplified, possibly because they are so beautiful to look at. The writing was established approximately four thousand years before Christ, and there was also a decimal system of numeration up to a million. The Egyptians referred to hieroglyphs as “the language of God,” and they were primarily utilized by priests. These meticulously drawn symbols were wonderful for adorning temple walls, but there was another script, known as hieratic, that was used for everyday business. The image signals were shortened to the point of abstraction in this handwriting. Hieroglyphs can be read from left to right or right to left and are written in rows or columns. Because the human or animal images always face towards the beginning of the line, you can tell which way the text should be read. The higher symbols are also read first, followed by the lower symbols.
There are four types of hieroglyphic symbols:
- Each letter of the alphabet represents a distinct sound. Unfortunately, most vowels were taken for granted by the Egyptians, and letters like ‘e’ and ‘v’ were not represented. As a result, we may never know how the words came to be.
- Two or three consonants are represented by syllabic marks.
- Word-signs are images of items that are used as words to describe those objects. They’re followed by an upright stroke to show that the word is finished in a single sign.
- A determinative is a visual representation of an object that aids the reader. If a term represented an abstract notion, for example, an image of a roll of papyrus tied and sealed was provided to demonstrate that the meaning of the word could be expressed in writing but not pictorially.
There were 24 uniliteral in the Egyptian hieroglyphic alphabet (symbols that stood for single consonants, much like letters in English). All Egyptian words might have been written in the way of these signs, but the Egyptians never did, and their complicated writing was never reduced into a real alphabet.
Learn how to write your name in Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics Alphabet
Writing your name in Hieroglyphics, the “ancient Egyptian language,” is really simple. As seen in the image above, the letters are shown, and you can use them to create your name just like you would in any other language. We write your names in Hieroglyphics alphabet with golden hue highlighted with dark black color during a trip to Egypt. Join one of our Egypt tour packages and have a Luxury Nile cruise experience like no other, and discover Egypt like no one else.
