Egyptian hieroglyphics A

Teacher(s)

Obsomer Claude;

Language

French

Prerequisites

For the level I.1, none.
For the level I.2, the course LGLOR1622 (level I.1).

Main themes

An initiation to Middle Egyptian, the classic language of pharaonic Egypt.
Alternately with LGLOR1622, this course is given to two distinct groups of students according to their level.
For the level I.1 (beginners), it deals with hieroglyphic writing, basic vocabulary, the nominal morphology and the non-verbal sentences syntax.
For the level I.2, it deals with the verbal morphology, the verbal sentences syntax, as well as a translation, with commentary, of a classic literary text.
The exercises (15h, 3 credits) in addition to the lectures consist of epigraphic exercises.
Students attending this course during their preparatory year to the Master in Ancient Languages and Literatures (Oriental Languages) will receive specific guidelines enabling them to get in one year the necessary skills as required by the end of the two levels.

Aims

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	At the end of this course, which implies following the course LGLOR1622 also, the student will be capable of reading, transliterating and translating a hieroglyphic text in Middle Egyptian of average difficulty. In order to achieve this goal, he will have acquired the essential writing signs, the basic vocabulary, and the necessary grammatical structures.

The contribution of this Teaching Unit to the development and command of the skills and learning outcomes of the programme(s) can be accessed at the end of this sheet, in the section entitled “Programmes/courses offering this Teaching Unit”.

Content

Middle Egyptian is the classic language of pharaonic Egypt as used in the first half of the 2nd millennium, from the Middle Kingdom to the beginnings of the New Kingdom.
- Level I.1: after an introduction on the decipherment of hieroglyphs by Champollion, the course gives a progressive initiation into the system of writing, arriving at a memorisation of the most frequent signs and at a basic vocabulary. It then examines the morphology of nouns (nouns, adjectives, pronouns, determinatives...) and the composition of non-verbal sentences (with the verb "to be" to be added).
- Level I.2: the course goes into the morphology of verbs (roots, infinitives, participles, suffix forms...), as well as the syntax of verbal sentences. To this is added a translation, with commentary, of the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor and a discovery of the hieroglyphic captions accompanying carved scenes.

Teaching methods

The main course is given on the basis of the interactive DVD, projected in the class. Conceived specially for the course, this DVD gives, in order, the different questions treated, including the exercises illustrating each point of theory. These exercises will have been prepared by the students.
The translation of  the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor will be done on the basis of the transliteration proposed by the students and corrected on the board by the lecturer. The accent is placed on the structure and components of the sentences, as well as the analysis of the verbal forms that are met.

Evaluation methods

Oral exam, on the basis of a written preparation. This is explained in a document contained in Moodle.

Other information

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Online resources

The Power-point on the decipherment of hieroglyphs, the hieroglyphic captions for the illustrations, and  the hieroglyphic text of the Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor, etc. are available on the iCampus server.

Bibliography

Claude Obsomer, Égyptien hiéroglyphique, Bruxelles, Safran, 2009 (DVD interactif, grammaire et cahier d'exercices).

Faculty or entity

GLOR