Changes

Sir Alan Gardiner developed a classification system for hieroglyphs, cataloguing signs by type or what they depict, i.e. birds, man and his occupations etc. Signs that do not depict particular items are classified by shape, i.e. tall, flat etc. Groups are identified by letter, A to Z, and Aa for unclassified signs.

Sir Alan Gardiner developed a classification system for hieroglyphs, cataloguing signs by type or what they depict, i.e. birds, man and his occupations etc. Signs that do not depict particular items are classified by shape, i.e. tall, flat etc. Groups are identified by letter, A to Z, and Aa for unclassified signs.

In addition each sign is assigned a code based on it’s group. A list of signs under the Gardiner classification can be found here.

In addition each sign is assigned a code based on its group. A list of signs under the Gardiner classification can be found here.

== Transliteration and Electronic Reproduction ==

== Transliteration and Electronic Reproduction ==

[[Image:Jseshscreenshot.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Application for digital rendering of hieroglyphs in documents and digital media have become more widespread in recent years. JSesh, pictured here running under WindowsXP, is a popular open source solution available for multiple platforms]]

[[Image:Jseshscreenshot.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Application for digital rendering of hieroglyphs in documents and digital media have become more widespread in recent years. JSesh, pictured here running under WindowsXP, is a popular open source solution available for multiple platforms]]

The 24 consonantal sounds represented by hieroglyphs can be transliterated into a Latin based alphabet. This alphabet is available as a font that can be added to a computer system for use in any modern word processing software, as well as in dedicated software for handling hieroglyphs.

The 24 consonantal sounds represented by hieroglyphs can be transliterated into a Latin-based alphabet. This alphabet is available as a font that can be added to a computer system for use in any modern word processing software, as well as in dedicated software for handling hieroglyphs.

This transliteration script is unable to record exactly what signs were used in the original text. Should this be required, it is possible to either refer to the Gardiner assigned codes, or, as is far more common, reproduce the original signs either by hand (as in the Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, one of the few modern hand written publications) or digitally.

This transliteration script is unable to record exactly what signs were used in the original text. Should this be required, it is possible to either refer to the Gardiner assigned codes, or, as is far more common, reproduce the original signs either by hand (as in the Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian, one of the few modern hand written publications) or digitally.