Egyptian Writing: What has changed?
Past:
In ancient Egypt, the Sumerians established a way of writing which was based on pictures or objects known as pictographs. These were called hieroglyphs that represented a form of a language that the Egyptians considered an art form. Many of the hieroglyphs that were presented as pictures represented how beautiful their civilization and land was. Hieroglyphs were inscriptions on monuments and temples. The ones that were inside, were in the deep chambers on goods, and they were expected to be buried forever. Each monument had their own special message on it including information about that certain monument, temple, or pyramid, and objects including papyri. For example, owners names were written on temples to receive food things from the gods, Another form of writing was called cuneiform. Cuneiform was displayed on clay tablets, and was used for many languages of the other developed civilizations in the same area including Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian. The Sumerians used clay because it was more durable than what the Egyptians have used. The Egyptians got the idea of writing from outside of Egypt, however they creatively came up with their own images from around the world.
Present:
Egypt's official language that they speak and use is Literary Arabic, which they use to write documents. On the street signs in Egypt, they use Literary Egypt as well as English. Since Egypt is a popular place for tourism, they have all types of languages like English, French, Italian, German, and Russian. Egyptian Arabic is commonly and frequently spoken in Egypt. They also have Arabic Script and Arabic chat alphabet which is their way of communicating through writing.
How has the writing in the past effected how Egypt's writing is now?
In ancient Egypt, their writing was kind of the start and base of what their language is now, and how they communicate through writing. For example, the Egyptians started carving into monuments which were permanent, so they could build off of what was left behind from ancient Egypt.
Resources:
- Editor in Chief Peter Bogucki. "Infobase Learning - Login." Infobase Learning - Login. Facts on File, 2007. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.
- "Languages of Egypt." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 9 Sept. 2015. Web. 17 Sept. 2015.