The Scripts and Periods of the Ancient Egyptian Language

Third: The Scripts of the Ancient Egyptian Language

The ancient Egyptian language was written in four scripts: hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic and Coptic. These scripts did not all appear at the same time; rather they came in a chronological succession that expresses the long temporal extent through which the ancient Egyptian language lived, and at the same time expresses the intellectual maturity of ancient Egyptian man, who realised that the requirements of life might from time to time demand a kind of harmony between them and the instrument that expresses the language (namely writing). Because the hieroglyphic script – the script of the complete signs – is the oldest of the Egyptian scripts, the longest-lived, and the clearest and most beautiful, the Egyptian in certain periods resorted to simplifying it. This is represented in the hieratic script, then the demotic script, which means that there is a linear relationship between the three scripts. As for the fourth script of the ancient Egyptian language (namely the Coptic script), it was written with the Greek alphabet, to which were added seven signs from the ancient Egyptian writing whose pronunciation was not available in the Greek signs, and which will be mentioned later.

It is appropriate that we correct a widespread error with regard to the designation of the ancient Egyptian language. It is common to refer to it as the hieroglyphic language. Hieroglyphic is a script and not a language. This can be compared with the Arabic language: it is one language that was written in several scripts, among them naskh, ruq‘a, thuluth, Kufic, diwani, etc. Just as it is impossible to say “the naskh language” or “the Kufic language,” so it is impossible to refer to the scripts of the ancient Egyptian language as languages. It is one Egyptian language, which the Egyptian expressed in writing by means of four scripts.

1 – The Hieroglyphic Script

The word “hieroglyphic” is derived from the two Greek words hieros and glophos, which mean “sacred writing,” in reference to the fact that it was written on the walls of sacred places such as temples and tombs, and “incised writing” because it was executed in the style of raised or sunk relief on the walls of fixed monuments (buildings) and on movable monuments (statues, stelae, etc.).

2 – The Hieratic Script

The word “hieratic” is derived from the Greek word hieratikos, which means “priestly,” in reference to the fact that the priests were the people who used this script the most, since a large proportion of the hieratic texts (especially in the later periods) are religious texts, and most of them were written by the priests. The hieratic script is a simplification of the hieroglyphic script, or in other words an abbreviation of it. The ancient Egyptian may have arrived at this important script in the field of calligraphy for many reasons, among them that the hieroglyphic script (which is the script of the complete signs) is not suited to the nature of the secular and religious texts that increased with the increase in the movement of life, and which required a rapid script, as well as writing materials with which only the rapid script is suitable, such as papyrus and ostraca (potsherds). This is in contrast to the hieroglyphic script, the script of details, which is more suited to massive constructions where it was carved with chisels, whereas the hieratic script was written with a reed pen and ink.

3 – The Demotic Script

The designation of this script is derived from the Greek word demos, and the relative adjective from it is demotikos, meaning “popular.” This designation does not mean a connection between this script and the popular classes in Egypt; it is the script of daily transactions, and it can be compared with the ruq‘a script in relation to the Arabic language.

The demotic script, which appeared from the eighth century BC and continued until the fifth century AD, represents the third script stage after hieroglyphic and hieratic. It was no longer suited to the multiplicity of activities and the abundance of transactions, especially administrative ones, which require speed in accomplishment. This script was written on two principal materials, namely papyrus and ostraca (potsherds).

4 – The Coptic Script

This is the last stage of the stages of the ancient Egyptian language. The word “Coptic” is derived from the Greek Aigyptios and means “Egyptian,” in reference to the inhabitant who lived on the land of Egypt and to the writing that expressed his language in this stage. Because Coptic is the last echo of the ancient Egyptian language, it represents a special linguistic importance from the point of view of the use of the complete alphabet for the first time in a script of the scripts of the Egyptian language – a matter that helped to a large extent in arriving at the closest correct pronunciation of the ancient Egyptian language.

In searching for the reasons that led the Egyptian to write this last stage of the stages of the Egyptian language in Greek letters, it can be said that the Egyptian had been compelled for practical reasons (represented by the presence of the Greek conquerors) to search for a script that would facilitate for him a means of understanding with them. He therefore chose the Greek alphabet in order to express the sounds of the Egyptian language, and added to it seven letters taken from demotic that have no phonetic counterpart in the Greek language.

Fourth: The Periods of the Ancient Egyptian Language

Ancient Egyptian history is divided into thirty dynasties – the division established by the ancient Egyptian historian Manetho, who wrote the history of Egypt in Greek by commission of the Ptolemaic king Ptolemy II (around 280 BC). Modern historians have placed these dynasties within the framework of historical periods, such as the periods of the Old Kingdom, the Middle Kingdom, the New Kingdom, etc.

Alongside the historical periods, there are, with regard to the ancient Egyptian language, linguistic periods. One of the results of this long temporal extent of the ancient Egyptian language was the occurrence of changes in grammar and orthographic rules, in the determinatives and in the phonetic values. Through the studies carried out by specialists in the ancient Egyptian language, it has been possible to divide the language into periods, each of which is distinguished by particular linguistic characteristics. These periods are:

1 – The Language in the Old Period: Old Egyptian

This is the stage of laying the first building-blocks in the structure of the Egyptian language. It began from the First Dynasty and continued until the middle of the Eighth Dynasty. This stage corresponds historically to the Archaic Period (the First and Second Dynasties), the period of the Old Kingdom, and the Seventh and Eighth Dynasties of the First Intermediate Period. The texts of this linguistic period appear clearly in the monuments of the Old Kingdom and in the Pyramid Texts.

2 – The Language in the Middle Period: Middle Egyptian

The characteristics of this linguistic stage appeared in the period from the middle of the Eighth Dynasty and continued until the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty. This stage represents the stage of complete maturity with regard to the ancient Egyptian language. It covered historically certain dynasties of the First Intermediate Period, the period of the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period, and the beginning of the New Kingdom.

3 – The Language in the New (Late) Period: New Egyptian, Late Egyptian

This linguistic stage appears clearly in the texts of the dynasties from the second half of the Eighteenth Dynasty until the Twenty-fifth Dynasty – that is, it includes historically the New Kingdom and the Late Period.

4 – The Demotic Stage: Demotic

This is a stage that began from the eighth century BC and continued until the fifth century AD. It is a linguistic stage even though it was written in a different script, namely the demotic script.

5 – The Coptic Stage: Coptic

This is a linguistic stage that began from approximately the first century BC and ended officially, though not actually, with the entry of Islam into Egypt in 641 AD, when the Arabic language began gradually to take its place, although the two continued together for a long period.

Fifth: The Direction of Writing

The ancient Egyptian language in its hieroglyphic script was written horizontally and vertically from right to left, except in the cases that necessitated changing the direction of the writing in order to conform with the direction of a particular scene or a particular text on an architectural element of a special nature. Aesthetic arrangement and form also required in some cases that the texts be written from left to right.

As for hieratic and demotic, they were always written from right to left. The direction of the text with regard to hieroglyphic writing can be determined according to the direction of the signs that have a face and a back, such as the human being, animals, birds and reptiles. If the sign is facing towards the left, it is read from left to right; and if it is facing towards the right, it is read from right to left, in the following manner:

Module Key Takeaways

• Four Scripts, One Language: The Egyptian language was expressed through Hieroglyphic, Hieratic, Demotic, and Coptic scripts, each evolving to suit ceremonial, administrative, or daily needs.
• Five Linguistic Periods: The language passed through Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, New/Late Egyptian, Demotic, and Coptic stages, each marked by distinct grammatical and orthographic changes.
• Directional Flexibility: Hieroglyphic writing could run right-to-left or left-to-right, determined by the orientation of human and animal signs, while Hieratic and Demotic were consistently written from right to left.