Introduction: Mdu Ntr Language The Ancient Egyptians were also famous for their unique system of writing. Called “Mdu Ntr” in its native language, it is most commonly referred to as “Hieroglyphics” in modern times. Mdu Ntr is one of the oldest (if not the oldest) writing systems in the world, dating back to before 3000 BCE. Its written form, or script, was based on drawings from nature, which made it a very beautiful, visual language. Seeing impressive hieroglyphs with their continuous, fluid style and numerous symbols may cause some to become discouraged and think that Mdu Ntr is impossible to learn. But because its symbols are based on the natural world (instead of arbitrary or abstract scribbles like most writing systems) it is much more intuitive and easier to learn than other languages. It is also commonly thought that Mdu Ntr is a dead language. But that’s not necessarily true. Many of its sounds, words and phrases live on in Coptic, Wolof and other closely related African languages. Hieroglyphic Study Mdu Ntr Hieroglyphics first began as a type of “proto-writing” around 4000 BCE in the area of southern Egypt / Nubia. Proto-writing is the early developmental stage of a written language, characterized by symbols that stand for basic concepts like life and health. Over the millennia it naturally evolved into a full script, with symbols representing not just general ideas but also sounds, thus enabling the complete written form of the language. It later matured into three types of writing styles: Hieroglyphic, Hieratic and Demotic. Although there is some debate about whether or not Sumerian Cuneiform is the oldest written language in the world, actual evidence proves that Ancient Egyptian Mdu Ntr Hieroglyphics is older, as shown by artifacts with Hieroglyphic “proto-writing” dating back to 4000 BCE. (Sumerian Cuneiform proto-writing only dates back to 3200 BCE.) The written forms of Mdu Ntr eventually fell out of popular use by about 400 CE, due to the invasion and occupation of Egypt and to the closures of its many temples, where scribes taught and practiced Hieroglyphics. However, Mdu Ntr still managed to live on in different forms, like Coptic, Wolof and other related African languages. Decipherment Hieroglyphics were deciphered in modern times by Jean-François Champollion in 1822, with the help of others and an artifact called the Rosetta Stone. The Rosetta Stone was the key to deciphering the Mdu Ntr because it had the same message written in three different scripts: Hieroglyphics at the top, Demotic (a cursive form of Hieroglyphics) in the middle and Greek at the bottom. It was easy for historians to translate the Greek, which was already known. What was needed was some kind of clue, a key, to decoding the Hieroglyphics. That clue came in the form of a Shenu, an oval that encircles royal names in Mdu Ntr. (It is called a “cartouche” in French and English.) It was drawn in Hieroglyphics several times on the Rosetta Stone. Champollion was finally able to crack the code by comparing the symbols in the Shenu with the name of the king in Greek. Other Hieroglyphic artifacts were used to do the same. After those symbols were isolated, translated and propagated throughout the rest of the texts, it was only a matter of time before the puzzle was completed. From then on the rest of Mdu Ntr Hieroglyphics was deciphered. Past Ways Of Studying Hieroglyphics Although a lot of work has been done to transcribe massive amounts of Hieroglyphics, current decipherment techniques fall short of fully explaining the meaning of the content that is being translated. Trying to convert ancient texts that are written from an African linguistic and cultural perspective directly into a non-related, foreign, modern language and script is inherently problematic. For starters modern hieroglyphologists do not even make an effort to try and translate texts into related African scripts or ask for clarification from African speakers of languages related to Mdu Ntr like Coptic, Wolof, etc. As a result, many of the translations are inaccurate because it strips the Mdu Ntr language of its indigenous African context. Whole meanings of words and phrases, the very understanding of how Ancient Egyptians viewed the world, is lost in translation. A more accurate way of translating Hieroglyphics would be to compare it to related African languages that share the same linguistic and cultural meanings. Plagiarization To further compound the issue, in order to cash in on Egyptomania, numerous authors have written books on Hieroglyphics. However, after examining these books it becomes very clear that many of these authors do not really understand Mdu Ntr themselves. It is evident that most of them just plagiarized information from previous books on the subject. Sometimes copying passages word for word and using the same exact examples and exercises. This resulted in a lot of useless books and confused, misinformed people. DETERMINATIVES All nouns have determinatives. A determinative is a picture sign that gives a visual meaning or category of meaning to a word. Even if one does not know the exact meaning of a noun the category of meaning can be determined from the picture. There are 26 categories of meaning of words in Mdu Ntr. Determinatives are not pronounced, they are a purely visual component of a word. Determinatives normally occur at the end of words, there, they indicate where one word ends and the next one begins. There are no spaces between words in Mdu Ntr, and no punctuation marks such as periods and commas, determinatives take their place. Some signs are particularly vivid in showing the meaning of words.Walking legs at the end of a word indicates motion. The picture of legs walking in the opposite direction indicates motion away from something. Some pictures even have walking legs of their own. For example a walking reed leaf means to come. Determinatives also distinguish between homophones, namely, words that are spelled alike and sound alike. English examples of homophones are Mary, marry, and merry, no and know. Since vowels are not written in Mdu Ntr, it is the determinatives that distinguished between words that possibly sounded the same.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Jan 2015 02:11:56 +0000
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