How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs

Hieroglyphs are pictures used as signs in writing. When standing before an ancient tablet in a museum or visiting an Egyptian monument, we marvel at this unique writing and puzzle over its meaning. Now, with the help of Egyptologists Mark Collier and Bill Manley, museum-goers, tourists, and armchair travelers alike can gain a basic knowledge of the language and culture of ancient Egypt. Collier and Manley's novel approach is informed by years of experience teaching Egyptian hieroglyphs to non-specialists. Using attractive drawings of actual inscriptions displayed in the British Museum, they concentrate on the kind of hieroglyphs readers might encounter in other collections, especially funerary writings and tomb scenes. Each chapter introduces a new aspect of hieroglyphic script or Middle Egyptian grammar and encourages acquisition of reading skills with practical exercises. The texts offer insights into the daily experiences of their ancient authors and touch on topics ranging from pharaonic administration to family life to the Egyptian way of death. With this book as a guide, one can enjoy a whole new experience in understanding Egyptian art and artifacts around the world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction to the Revised Edition 1. Hieroglyphs 2. More Uses of Hieroglyphs 3. Special Writings 4. Scenes and Captions 5. Description 6. Further Aspects of Description 7. Characterisation 8. The Future Hieroglyphic Sign-Lists for the Exercises Reference Tables Egyptian-English Vocabulary Key to the Exercises Bibliography and Further Reading Index

About the Author :
Mark Collier is Lecturer in Egyptology at the University of Liverpool. Bill Manley teaches Egyptology at the University of Glasgow. Richard Parkinson is Curator in the Department of Egyptian Antiquities at the British Museum.

Review :
"The strengths of this book are many. . . . It is especially recommended for the educated general reader who wishes to be a more info informed museum visitor, or the individual who intends to graduate to one of the fuller grammars used today to teach Middle Egyptian."-- "Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin" "With the burgeoning public interest in all things Egyptian, as well as with the growth in self-study and distance learning, especially fostered by the Internet, this book fills a definite need . . . Students who complete the lessons will find themselves able to read, at least in part, many common and simple inscriptions." -- "Journal of Near Eastern Studies" "In most books of this sort, a simple outline of the grammar is presented first, along with varying amounts of history and context, and then various real or made-up texts that the student should be able to read, with some assistance with vocabulary and grammar. How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs takes a slightly different approach. There is no discussion of the history of decipherment, the historical development of the Egyptian language, or the relationship of Egyptian to other Afro-Asiatic languages; it instead dives right into real Egyptian texts. And it introduces far more of the grammar than other such books, including participles and relative forms."-- "Middle East Studies Association Bulletin"