DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1167#0046
The same phenomenon can be observed in Egyptian during two different periods of its
history. In the New Kingdom, when numerous words were borrowed from Semitic
languages, there existed a specific set of monoconsonantal signs for writing them ("group
writing", for details 035° § 5.4.2). By the time of Demotic, this graphical distinction was
abandoned after the Semitic words had been fully integrated into the language.
Again in Coptic, a huge number of loans from Greek were adopted. Here again, it can be
observed that many Coptic scribes perceived the native vocabulary and Greek borrowings
as two distinct subsets of their language and tried to distinguish them on the graphical
level. The letters C /g/, A /d/, and 1 hi were not normally used in native words because
Classical Coptic did not have voiced obstruents. However, these letters are frequently
employed in Greek words, in many texts even where the Greek etymon had a voiceless
obstruent k /k/, % /t/, or o /s/ respectively (for details B3P § 3.3-5). My interpretation is
that most Copts probably did not make a difference in pronunciation between 17, A, and 3
on the one hand and K, T, and C on the other. They merely used the former letters to
indicate that the word in question was of Greek origin.
2.6 Transcribing Pre-Coptic Egyptian
2.6.1 On the nature of the conventional transcription
2.6.±.± General definition
There is a — not fully standardized — convention of transcribing Egyptian. This transcrip-
tion is widely used in Egyptology and either accompanies citations in the Egyptian script
or replaces them altogether. Also in this book, the Egyptological transcription is used
rather than the original script (except for Coptic). For variation in the transcription
symbols among different scholars US" § 2.6.2.
Kammerzell (1995: xxxix) describes the conventional Egyptological transcription as "die
konventionalisierte Representation der konsonantischen Bestandteile derjenigen Mor-
pheme der agyptischen Phonemsprache, die Korrelate in der hieroglyphischen Graphem-
sprache besitzen". The transcription thus neglects all semographic information conveyed
by the Egyptian script. Furthermore, it attempts to achieve consistency in transcribing a
given word form. The transcription of a specific word does not indicate whether it is
written phonographically, semographically, or by a combination of both methods. Neither
does it usually show whether all consonants are explicitly written in the actual case or
whether some of them are merely supplied by presumably more "complete" phonograph-
ical renderings of the same word form in other texts. The huge graphical variability of
Egyptian is therefore concealed as soon as words are put into transcription.
In most scholars' transcriptions, certain morphemes are separated from the lexical stem
by varying kinds of punctuation marks ("Strukturzeichen"). In this book, most suffixes are
separated from the stem by a dot (.), including the nominal feminine ending .t, the
46
history. In the New Kingdom, when numerous words were borrowed from Semitic
languages, there existed a specific set of monoconsonantal signs for writing them ("group
writing", for details 035° § 5.4.2). By the time of Demotic, this graphical distinction was
abandoned after the Semitic words had been fully integrated into the language.
Again in Coptic, a huge number of loans from Greek were adopted. Here again, it can be
observed that many Coptic scribes perceived the native vocabulary and Greek borrowings
as two distinct subsets of their language and tried to distinguish them on the graphical
level. The letters C /g/, A /d/, and 1 hi were not normally used in native words because
Classical Coptic did not have voiced obstruents. However, these letters are frequently
employed in Greek words, in many texts even where the Greek etymon had a voiceless
obstruent k /k/, % /t/, or o /s/ respectively (for details B3P § 3.3-5). My interpretation is
that most Copts probably did not make a difference in pronunciation between 17, A, and 3
on the one hand and K, T, and C on the other. They merely used the former letters to
indicate that the word in question was of Greek origin.
2.6 Transcribing Pre-Coptic Egyptian
2.6.1 On the nature of the conventional transcription
2.6.±.± General definition
There is a — not fully standardized — convention of transcribing Egyptian. This transcrip-
tion is widely used in Egyptology and either accompanies citations in the Egyptian script
or replaces them altogether. Also in this book, the Egyptological transcription is used
rather than the original script (except for Coptic). For variation in the transcription
symbols among different scholars US" § 2.6.2.
Kammerzell (1995: xxxix) describes the conventional Egyptological transcription as "die
konventionalisierte Representation der konsonantischen Bestandteile derjenigen Mor-
pheme der agyptischen Phonemsprache, die Korrelate in der hieroglyphischen Graphem-
sprache besitzen". The transcription thus neglects all semographic information conveyed
by the Egyptian script. Furthermore, it attempts to achieve consistency in transcribing a
given word form. The transcription of a specific word does not indicate whether it is
written phonographically, semographically, or by a combination of both methods. Neither
does it usually show whether all consonants are explicitly written in the actual case or
whether some of them are merely supplied by presumably more "complete" phonograph-
ical renderings of the same word form in other texts. The huge graphical variability of
Egyptian is therefore concealed as soon as words are put into transcription.
In most scholars' transcriptions, certain morphemes are separated from the lexical stem
by varying kinds of punctuation marks ("Strukturzeichen"). In this book, most suffixes are
separated from the stem by a dot (.), including the nominal feminine ending .t, the
46