Part I : The History of an old Language
http://www.ancient-egypt.org/index.html
.The origins :
For a long time, scholars have considered that writing originated in ancient Summer. But new discoveries indicate that writing first appeared in Egypt, during the predynastic period ( 5000-3050 B.C ). The predynastic period precedes the unification of Egypt and scholars divide it into five steps : the Fayyum period / Neolitic, the Badarian period, Naqada I, Naqada II, and Naqada II, according to the places they originated. At that time, Egypt was divided into two parts, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Two different cultures developed in those two areas. Probably for economic reasons, the leaders of the South decided to control Lower Egypt which, according to some evidence, led to violent battles between the South and the North. These conflicts took place during Naqada III ( 3200-3000 B.C ). Archeologists discovered bone labels dating from Naqada III in the tomb of King Scorpion, one of Egypt first rulers, which present evidence of the early Egyptian writing system as well as the earliest evidence of writing of the world. In addition, in 1995 Dr John Coleman Darnell and Dr. Deborah Darnell found a tableau in a desert cliff probably belonging to King Scorpion also, showing early hieroglyphs that must date from 3250 B.C
For a long time, scholars have considered that writing originated in ancient Summer. But new discoveries indicate that writing first appeared in Egypt, during the predynastic period ( 5000-3050 B.C ). The predynastic period precedes the unification of Egypt and scholars divide it into five steps : the Fayyum period / Neolitic, the Badarian period, Naqada I, Naqada II, and Naqada II, according to the places they originated. At that time, Egypt was divided into two parts, Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Two different cultures developed in those two areas. Probably for economic reasons, the leaders of the South decided to control Lower Egypt which, according to some evidence, led to violent battles between the South and the North. These conflicts took place during Naqada III ( 3200-3000 B.C ). Archeologists discovered bone labels dating from Naqada III in the tomb of King Scorpion, one of Egypt first rulers, which present evidence of the early Egyptian writing system as well as the earliest evidence of writing of the world. In addition, in 1995 Dr John Coleman Darnell and Dr. Deborah Darnell found a tableau in a desert cliff probably belonging to King Scorpion also, showing early hieroglyphs that must date from 3250 B.C
The evolution :
The Egyptian writing system greatly evolved over time. Each step of the language evolution corresponds to a certain period of time. The first Egyptian dynasties ( 3050-2663 B.C ) used what we now call Archaic Egyptian. During the Old Kingdom ( 2663-2160 B.C ) the language evolved into Old Egyptian, followed by Middle or Classical Egyptian used during the Fist Interediate Period ( 2160-2066 B.C ), the Middle Kingdom ( 2066-1650 B.C ), and the Second Intermediate Period ( 1650-1549 B.C ). By the time the New Kingdom started followed by the Third Intermediate Period, the language had evolved and we call it New Egyptian. People living during the Late and Greco-Roman Period used Demotic. Finally, the Coptic language was used starting the Second century After Christ
.
The discovery :
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rosetta_Stone_BW.jpeg?uselang=fr
The Egyptian writing system dramatically differs from our modern alphabetic systems and can be very confusing for someone who looks at a text written in hieroglyphs for the first time. The mysteries around the hieroglyphes fascinated many Arab scholars such as Abd-al-Latif, Al-Idrisi, Ibn Wahshiyah, al-Qalqashandi and many others. Arab scholars understood the relationships between Coptic and the hieoglyphic system but failed to decipher it. The hieroglyphes finally delivered us their secrets during the XIXth century, when the great Jean-François Champollion coud decipher the Rosetta stone. The Rosetta stone contained a text engraved in Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphic. Using his knowledge in languages and especially in Coptic and Greek, Champollion could identify the names of Ptolemy and Cleopatra that gave him the key to fully understand the entire hieroglyphic system.
http://www.worldtravelmaroc.com/croisieres-sur-le-nil.htm
.The characteristics :
The hieroglyphic system is not an alphabet. The usual hieroglyphic alphabet given or sold to tourists visiting Egypt gives a false image of what the hieroglyphic system really is. Indeed, it is a list of many drawings that can represent animals, humans, part of animal and human body, plants, objects, natural phenomena, etc... The signs are divided into three categories : ideograms ( represent an idea ), phonograms ( represent a sound ), and determinatives. Phonograms are divided into three main categories : signs that write one sound only, signs that write two sounds, and signs that write three sounds. A determinative, placed at the end of the word, does not produce any sound. Every hieroglyphic sign can fall into all of these three categories. Words are combinations of phonograms, ideograms, and sometimes determinatives. Signs can be written from right to left, left to right, down or across. When the scribe writes them, he must make them fit into imaginary squares. When we are translating a text from hieroglyphs to a modern language, we use an intermediate writing called " translitaration ". It looks like the Latin alphabet, including new signs that help to reproduce the Egyptian sounds. The number of signs changed over time. Middle Egyptian, or Classical Egyptian, contained around 750 signs while their number increased during the Greek period to reach more than 4,000 signs.
The hieroglyphic system is not an alphabet. The usual hieroglyphic alphabet given or sold to tourists visiting Egypt gives a false image of what the hieroglyphic system really is. Indeed, it is a list of many drawings that can represent animals, humans, part of animal and human body, plants, objects, natural phenomena, etc... The signs are divided into three categories : ideograms ( represent an idea ), phonograms ( represent a sound ), and determinatives. Phonograms are divided into three main categories : signs that write one sound only, signs that write two sounds, and signs that write three sounds. A determinative, placed at the end of the word, does not produce any sound. Every hieroglyphic sign can fall into all of these three categories. Words are combinations of phonograms, ideograms, and sometimes determinatives. Signs can be written from right to left, left to right, down or across. When the scribe writes them, he must make them fit into imaginary squares. When we are translating a text from hieroglyphs to a modern language, we use an intermediate writing called " translitaration ". It looks like the Latin alphabet, including new signs that help to reproduce the Egyptian sounds. The number of signs changed over time. Middle Egyptian, or Classical Egyptian, contained around 750 signs while their number increased during the Greek period to reach more than 4,000 signs.
The other types of writing
http://i-cias.com/e.o/hieratic.htm
During the Pharaonic period, the hieroglyphs were not the only writing used. In fact, they are sacred and used only for certain types of texts, like religious texts, biographies, Historical texts and all sacred texts that could be engraved into walls. The funerary texts ( sarcophagi texts, the Book of the Dead ) had a special writing called cursive hieroglyphes, which are easier and faster than the hieroglyphes but respect the same rules. Do not get confused between the cursive hieroglyphs and the hieratic. The hieratic is also an easier and faster way of writing the hieroglyphs but cannot be written from left to right and its style is dramatically different from the hieroglyphs and the curisve hieroglyphs. In hieratic, two hieroglyphs signs can be written in one. Hieratic is used for any type of texts ( administrative, medical, mathematical, epistolary, and litterary, etc... ) and is written on papyrus, ostraca, clay tablets. All those three writing systems were used to write Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian and New Egyptian. During the Late Period, the Demotic appeared and became the usual writing. Demotic can only be written from right to left. Finally, the Coptic era began with its own language, a mixture of a few hieroglyphs signs and of Greek alphabet, written from left to right. This picture shows a text written in hieratic.
Other early writing systems
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/writing/home_set.html
The Middle East is the area where writing originated. Mesopotamia ( modern Irak ) also developed an early writing systems based on pictograms which evolved to become what we call cuneiform. The writing system was used to record amount of crops before being used for more complex purposes. They used clay tablets as a surface and a kalam to draw the signs. Alphabetic systems appeared later, whith the Phoenicians whom writing system is considered as the ancestor of the modern alphabets.
Here is a clay tablet showing the cuneiform system.
Here is a clay tablet showing the cuneiform system.