Difference between revisions of "Egyptian language"
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| − | The '''Egyptian language''' is a member of the Afro-Asiatic family of [[language]]s and is related to Berber and Semitic. Egyptian has been spoken since 2600B.C. and still survives today as [[Egyptian]] [[Arabic]]. It has lasted nearly four millennia, and is one of the oldest recorded languages. | + | The '''Egyptian language''' is a member of the Afro-Asiatic family of [[language]]s and is related to [[Berber]] and [[Semitic]]. Egyptian has been spoken since 2600B.C. and still survives today as [[Egyptian]] [[Arabic]]. It has lasted nearly four millennia, and is one of the oldest recorded languages. |
==Development== | ==Development== | ||
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#400-1500AD - Coptic | #400-1500AD - Coptic | ||
| − | Middle Egyptian fell out of everyday use after 1300BC, but survived through the first few centuries AD as a formal written language, used in the same way as Latin was in Medieval Europe. | + | Middle Egyptian fell out of everyday use after 1300BC, but survived through the first few centuries AD as a formal written language, used in the same way as [[Latin]] was in [[Medieval Europe]]. |
==Structure== | ==Structure== | ||
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Vowels are not written in Egyptian. | Vowels are not written in Egyptian. | ||
| − | Egyptian, like many of its related languages, has single, dual, and plural forms of nouns, meaning a noun can be written three different ways signifying one thing, two things, and three or more things. Like the Romance | + | Egyptian, like many of its related languages, has single, dual, and plural forms of nouns, meaning a noun can be written three different ways signifying one thing, two things, and three or more things. Like the [[Romance language]]s and [[Irish]] [[Gaelic]], Egyptian nouns are either masculine or feminine. Egyptian’s basic word order is ‘Subject, Noun, Object.” ‘The man opens the door’ would be ‘Opens the man the door’. |
| − | When most people think of the Egyptian Language, they think of | + | When most people think of the Egyptian Language, they think of [[hieroglyph]]s, but not all Egyptian is written with glyphs. While Archaic, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian were written with hieroglyphs, Demotic was written with an alphabet similar to modern Arabic script, and Coptic was written with a modified form of the Greek alphabet. |
[[Category:Languages]] | [[Category:Languages]] | ||
[[Category:Egypt]] | [[Category:Egypt]] | ||
Revision as of 01:40, August 9, 2008
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The Egyptian language is a member of the Afro-Asiatic family of languages and is related to Berber and Semitic. Egyptian has been spoken since 2600B.C. and still survives today as Egyptian Arabic. It has lasted nearly four millennia, and is one of the oldest recorded languages.
Development
The development of Egyptian is broken into six stages.
- Pre 2600BC - Archaic Egyptian
- 2600-2000BC - Old Egyptian
- 2000-1300BC - Middle Egyptian
- 1300-700BC - Late Egyptian
- 700BC-500AD - Demotic
- 400-1500AD - Coptic
Middle Egyptian fell out of everyday use after 1300BC, but survived through the first few centuries AD as a formal written language, used in the same way as Latin was in Medieval Europe.
Structure
The structure of Egyptian is similar to many other Afro-Asiatic languages. Most words have a root of three consonants, although some have more or less.
Vowels are not written in Egyptian.
Egyptian, like many of its related languages, has single, dual, and plural forms of nouns, meaning a noun can be written three different ways signifying one thing, two things, and three or more things. Like the Romance languages and Irish Gaelic, Egyptian nouns are either masculine or feminine. Egyptian’s basic word order is ‘Subject, Noun, Object.” ‘The man opens the door’ would be ‘Opens the man the door’.
When most people think of the Egyptian Language, they think of hieroglyphs, but not all Egyptian is written with glyphs. While Archaic, Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian were written with hieroglyphs, Demotic was written with an alphabet similar to modern Arabic script, and Coptic was written with a modified form of the Greek alphabet.