DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1167#0043
'Xbk, which is a picture of a human eye and is also employed in writing the Egyptian word
ir.t "eye", is usually painted with dark rims, a white eyeball, and a red iris (cf. Staehelin
1990: 111). A single sign can be painted polychromatically. For example, the sign °
(W24) is painted red in the bottom half and blue in the top half. Especially in careful
inscriptions, a sign may have numerous details in diverse colors which are superimposed
on its basic color. Ultimately, the background color can also influence the color of the
hieroglyphs. For instance, signs which should be yellow may be painted green if there is a
yellow background.
It is not yet known to what degree colors are distinctive and how many distinctive colors
there are (cf. Staehelin 1990: 107). It appears that a formal distinction of hieroglyphs can
be emphasized or even replaced by the use of different colors. For example, the signs 0
(N5) and 9 (Aai), which are frequently written without interior details and share the
same form then, are painted in red and green respectively (Staehelin 1974: 52) which
produces a clear distinction (if color is used at all). Similarly, /$_ (Gi) and <£$_ (G4),
which are indistinguishable by form in many inscriptions, may be differentiated by their
colors (Davies 1958: 27, cf. Staehelin 1990: n3). There is the possibility that color
serves to express graphemic differences which have yet to be revealed. This might be
true of a sign such as "" (F32), phonogramm <h>, which shows a great variety in coloring
(cf. Staehelin 1990: n3).
I have indicated the colors of the monoconsonantal signs in § 2.6.2.
2.5.6 Segmentation
On the syntagmatic level, in the hieroglyphic style at least, a certain segmentation is
suggested by the spaces which regularly separate the elements of the hieroglyphic script.
But this preliminary segmentation needs some further qualification. For instance, the
function of the group ^J bears no obvious relationship to the function of a single ~~~
and should be considered a grapheme in its own right. Accordingly, both are assigned
different numbers in the sign lists (N 35 and N 36, respectively).
Differences on the diachronic level are frequent. To take just one example, the hiero-
glyph —-* (F 18) has several functions, one of them being to serve as a complex phono-
gram <hw>. Later, the custom develops to add the sign =s:= (Y 1) below —■* wherever the
reading <hw> is intended. There is no easy way to tell from which time on ^ should be
considered a single grapheme. Furthermore, due to phonological change the sound value
of the phonogram gradually changes from <hw> to <h>. In Demotic, from ^^ a ligature
develops which can no longer be analysed into its former components. This is a popular
phonogram for the consonant <h> and is the ultimate source of the letter % /h/ of the
Coptic alphabet.
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ir.t "eye", is usually painted with dark rims, a white eyeball, and a red iris (cf. Staehelin
1990: 111). A single sign can be painted polychromatically. For example, the sign °
(W24) is painted red in the bottom half and blue in the top half. Especially in careful
inscriptions, a sign may have numerous details in diverse colors which are superimposed
on its basic color. Ultimately, the background color can also influence the color of the
hieroglyphs. For instance, signs which should be yellow may be painted green if there is a
yellow background.
It is not yet known to what degree colors are distinctive and how many distinctive colors
there are (cf. Staehelin 1990: 107). It appears that a formal distinction of hieroglyphs can
be emphasized or even replaced by the use of different colors. For example, the signs 0
(N5) and 9 (Aai), which are frequently written without interior details and share the
same form then, are painted in red and green respectively (Staehelin 1974: 52) which
produces a clear distinction (if color is used at all). Similarly, /$_ (Gi) and <£$_ (G4),
which are indistinguishable by form in many inscriptions, may be differentiated by their
colors (Davies 1958: 27, cf. Staehelin 1990: n3). There is the possibility that color
serves to express graphemic differences which have yet to be revealed. This might be
true of a sign such as "" (F32), phonogramm <h>, which shows a great variety in coloring
(cf. Staehelin 1990: n3).
I have indicated the colors of the monoconsonantal signs in § 2.6.2.
2.5.6 Segmentation
On the syntagmatic level, in the hieroglyphic style at least, a certain segmentation is
suggested by the spaces which regularly separate the elements of the hieroglyphic script.
But this preliminary segmentation needs some further qualification. For instance, the
function of the group ^J bears no obvious relationship to the function of a single ~~~
and should be considered a grapheme in its own right. Accordingly, both are assigned
different numbers in the sign lists (N 35 and N 36, respectively).
Differences on the diachronic level are frequent. To take just one example, the hiero-
glyph —-* (F 18) has several functions, one of them being to serve as a complex phono-
gram <hw>. Later, the custom develops to add the sign =s:= (Y 1) below —■* wherever the
reading <hw> is intended. There is no easy way to tell from which time on ^ should be
considered a single grapheme. Furthermore, due to phonological change the sound value
of the phonogram gradually changes from <hw> to <h>. In Demotic, from ^^ a ligature
develops which can no longer be analysed into its former components. This is a popular
phonogram for the consonant <h> and is the ultimate source of the letter % /h/ of the
Coptic alphabet.
43