DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9059#0066
HIEROGLYPHS.
(11
man, the man placing his hand on his mouth,
and the tail of the quadruped are signs which
are not pronounced; but the presence of these
signs points out that the word which precedes
them is either a proper noun or a word express-
ing a sentiment, or the name of a quadruped,
etc., etc.
Such, then, is the construction of hieroglyphic
writing in its principal features. At first sight
it seems complicated ; but in reality the use of
the determinatives affords great help, and, how-
ever obscure or mysterious a hieroglyphic text
may appear, it is certainly by no means more
difficult to decipher than a Hebrew text, nor
does its translation require so great an effort of
mind as that of a passage of Chinese.
We must not forget to add that the task of
interpreting hieroglyphic texts is facilitated by
the fact that the Coptic tongue is derived from
the language which lies hidden under the ancient
Egyptian writing. And this Coptic tongue,
whose connection with the old language can
easily be traced, has a vocabulary and a grammar
well known to scholars, and, although justly
reckoned among the dead languages, it continues
to live in its literature.
(11
man, the man placing his hand on his mouth,
and the tail of the quadruped are signs which
are not pronounced; but the presence of these
signs points out that the word which precedes
them is either a proper noun or a word express-
ing a sentiment, or the name of a quadruped,
etc., etc.
Such, then, is the construction of hieroglyphic
writing in its principal features. At first sight
it seems complicated ; but in reality the use of
the determinatives affords great help, and, how-
ever obscure or mysterious a hieroglyphic text
may appear, it is certainly by no means more
difficult to decipher than a Hebrew text, nor
does its translation require so great an effort of
mind as that of a passage of Chinese.
We must not forget to add that the task of
interpreting hieroglyphic texts is facilitated by
the fact that the Coptic tongue is derived from
the language which lies hidden under the ancient
Egyptian writing. And this Coptic tongue,
whose connection with the old language can
easily be traced, has a vocabulary and a grammar
well known to scholars, and, although justly
reckoned among the dead languages, it continues
to live in its literature.