Hieroglyphic Egyptian I

Teacher(s)

Obsomer Claude;

Language

French

Prerequisites

None.

Main themes

An initiation into Middle Egyptian, the classical language of Pharaonic Egypt.
The course deals with hieroglyphic writing, a basic vocabulary, and the nominal morphology.

Learning outcomes

At the end of this learning unit, the student is able to :
1	understand how the hieroglyphic system of Pharaonic Egypt works;
2	master the 200 most important hieroglyphic signs;
3	read, transliterate and translate 400 of the most frequent words;
4	master the syntax of nouns and adjectives.

Content

Middle Egyptian is the classic language of pharaonic Egypt as used in the first half of the 2nd millenium, from the Middle Kingdom to the beginnings of the New Kingdom.
After an introduction on the decipherment of hieroglyphs, the course gives a progressive discovery of the writing system, arriving at a memorization of the 200 most frequent signs and of a basic vocabulary of some 400 words. It then examines the morphology and syntax of nouns and adjectives.

Teaching methods

The main course (15h) is given on the basis of the interactive DVD, projected in the class. Specially conceived for the course, this DVD presents the various questions treated, including the exercises which illustrate each theoretical point. These exercises will be prepared by the students (15h).

Evaluation methods

Oral exam based on written preparation. The subjects are specified on a document on the Moodle server.

Online resources

On Moodle you can find details of the subject matter of the exam
How to draw hieroglyphs: http://safran.be/proddetail.php?prod=LCA23DRAW.

Bibliography

Claude Obsomer, Égyptien hiéroglyphique, Bruxelles, Safran, 2009 (DVD interactif, grammaire et cahier d'exercices).
Claude Obsomer and Sylvie Favre-Briant, Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Brussels, 2016.

Faculty or entity

EHAC