How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-By-Step Guide to Teach Yourself

by Mark Collier and Bill Manley

Book Overview

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.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520215974
• ISBN13: 9780520215979
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 1.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.4" x 9.5"

Customer Reviews

Very informative and if you are wanting to learn, this book is an excellency choice.

For those who love all Egyptian or language learning, this book is by far the best choice. I have several other books that teach the same tongue, but I am I love with this one. It’s very informative, easy to understand, and if you have time I suggest you try it out!!!

Cat Square Squiggle God-symbol

Well, what title should I give for a book on Egyptian hieroglyphs? Actually, the information blurb from the Library Journal linked to the book's entry here states: 'Reference collections desiring more complete coverage will want Alan Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar (1957. 3d ed.) despite some obsolescence in the treatment of the verbal system.' I actually learned hieroglyphs using that text at the University of London in the 1980s. But I have assembled a collection of more accessible books on how to learn hieroglyphs as refreshers and for sharing. I have four texts, and this was the first of the lot. If you are truly interested in learning Egyptian hieroglyphs for an upcoming trip to Egypt or to visit a museum with a collection (I amazed a friend once by being able to read an inscription at the museum; I confessed that of the hundreds of 'paragraphs' of hieroglyphs in the collection, that that was one of only two I could decipher without my notebook), Collier and Manley's 'How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs' is a good choice for learning. It begins with a basic description of the way in which hieroglyphs are used (some signs are words, but actually very few, and others are sound-meaning symbols). Collier and Manley introduce a transliteration system to ease your way into pronunciation (and pronunciation is very sketchy, given the fact there are no recordings from ancient Egypt). Symbols can vary occasionally for sound, meaning, and determinative value. The pattern of hieroglyphs is also variable. Generally, you always want to 'read into the face', i.e., the picto-glyphs will be facing the direction from which to start -- more often right to left than left to right, and columns go top to bottom. There are no punctuation marks and no word breaks -- this can make meanings hard to decipher. Consider the example: IAMNOWHERE which could be broken into I AM NOW HERE or I AM NOWHERE and in this case, context might not help provide which meaning is the true one. Or perhaps the author is poetical and sees the trouble of distinction and means that trouble to be present. No wonder hieroglyphs are hard! Collier and Manley's book is excellent in basic vocabulary building and basic grammar. And, if you're like me and will make flash cards, you'll become a better draw-er too. There are exercises, and pictures of inscriptions to practice on, and a key to the exercises in the back of the book.

Really, teach yourself!

After searching and searching for a good book on this subject, I happened upon this one. All the others taught you the occasional word, but mostly involved Egyptian history and traditions. This book was really about teaching you hieroglyphics. It first must be stated that Egyptian is tough. There are no vowels. One hieroglyph can mean a zillion things. A ton of hieroglyphs can mean the same exact thing. Its tough. If you are bad at learning languages, walk away now. That being said, if you're still interested in learning this language, this is the book to get. Its written in a workbook format, complete with exercises and a dictionary. I can't tell you exactly how accurate it is, although I'm sure it is, but I'll update when I actually take a class on this. In the meantime, this book is very thorough, starting with the basics and working its way to more involved deciphering. This is a must for any blossoming Egyptologist, especially since its tough to find a class on this (heck, its hard enough finding a school for archaeology). Its not bad for bragging rights either, so if you feel like learning a dead language to show it off, you might enjoy this as well.

Inspirational!!

This book is essential for all sole learners and is now being used by educational institutions as an introductory resource for teaching ancient egyptian. It is up-to-date, well written, visually enticing, free of impenetrable linguistic jargon, and uses actual examples. Experienced readers have found a number of minor typographical errors, and these are described along with more general comments, at the Ancient Egyptian Language web site (sorry no URL's allowed here, but do a search).

This is the book to get you started!

So far it is the best introduction to reading Middle Egyptian I have seen. It is ideal for studying at home in your own pace and in your own time and, maybe the most important feature, all by yourself.The examples are actual writings taken from stelae from the British Museum, so you learn the real stuff, no messing around with artificial examples.It is not an exhaustive and in depth course for the Middle Egytian language, but is the best way to get you started. I recommend it to every one who is interested in Middle Egytian, but does not know where to start.

Best introduction to hieroglyphics available!

This book fills the gaping hole between the large reference grammars such as Gardiner's, the popular introductions that don't really teach any of the language, and the out-of-date material by Budge.Written at the British Museum, this is a textbook for learning to read hieroglyphs such as you find on the walls of a museum. It is not a complete grammar and won't teach you how to read complex literture, but will give you a complete enough command of the language to read most common material.The book is well-printed and nicely bound, and is small enough to take to the museum with you! It contains a wealth of material, a glossary, king lists, and information about Egyptian gods.Many of the exercises are drawings or pictures of wall paintings or carvings, making the book fun to use. Answers to exercises are given at the back.If you don't know which hieroglyphic book to pick, this is the one!