Egyptian

Language Information

The language of the ancient Egyptian civilization (or simply Egyptian) was an Afro-Asiatic language. Egyptian was one of the first known written languages. Though the language and most of the languages derived from Egyptian have been extinct for centuries, modern Coptic (believed to be closely linked with Egyptian) is still used as a liturgical language in Coptic Orthodox Churches.

The Egyptian language experienced notable evolution and had several distinct stages: 

Earlier Egyptian

• Archaic Egyptian (pre Old Kingdom)
• Old Egyptian (Old Kingdom)
• Middle Egyptian (Middle Kingdom to 18th Dynasty)
• Middle-Late Egyptian (Uprising from the later part of Middle Kingdom)
• Medio-Late Egyptian (New Kingdom, peak at 19th Dynasty)

Later Egyptian

• Neo-Middle Egyptian (20th Dynasty to Roman Period, paralleling with Late Egyptian)
• Late Egyptian (19th Dynasty to Late Period)
• Demotic Egyptian (Late Period to Roman Period)
• Coptic (Late Roman Period to Islamic Period, now)

Writing System

The official writing system of the Egyptian language is Hieroglyph. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with a total of approximately 1,000 distinct characters. It is the one of the most famous elements of ancient Egyptian civilization.

Demotic script is another writing system used for Demotic Egyptian, although its use was limited to certain religious workers. Early Demotic script is thought to date to the 25th Dynasty or 7th-4th Century BCE.

IU Courses

At Indiana University, the Department of Middle East Languages and Cultures offers numerous course on Egyptian language and culture every year, including Hieroglyphic Egyptian, Middle Egyptian and Demotic Egyptian.