[back to AEL] [this page was originally written in 1998 by Mike Dyall-Smith]
How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs
A step-by-step guide to teach yourself
by Mark Collier and Bill Manley
British Museum Press, 1997
ISBN 0 7141 19105
About this page:
My comments on the book are given below. I have also compiled the
comments and criticisms sent to me by others who have purchased
and read the book (click here). These should be useful to future readers (such as those who
subscribe to AEL!) as well as to the authors. Please send me your
impressions [mlds@unimelb.edu.au] so I can add them. I should add that I have no financial interest
in the book. I do this purely for fun.
For many years now, Gardiner's 'Egyptian Grammar' has been the
most important english textbook for those who wish to learn the
language of ancient Egypt. The new publication by Collier and
Manley is a major step forward in providing self instruction to
those members of the lay public who have a fascination with egyptian
hieroglyphs, but don't wish to embroil themselves in the arcane
jargon of linguistics.
I found "How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs" inspirational and compelling reading! I finished it over the course of a week (while on holiday)
and found it simple to read and understand, well set out for the
beginner, and focussed on the job at hand, which was to allow
novices to read actual inscriptions. Even for someone like myself,
who has been studying the language for some years, I discovered
much that was of interest to me, such as the discussions on religious
ceremonies and the roles of various deities. I particularly enjoyed
the grammatical aspects, which are presented in a straightforward
and uncomplicated manner.
The size of the book (179 pages, 16 x 24 cm) is not imposing, in
stark contrast to Gardiner's 'Egyptian Grammar'. It is pitched
at the level of the interested lay person, you don't have to be
a grammatical whiz to enjoy it, and there is much to enjoy. Very
quickly you are given real pieces of text to transliterate and
translate, including pictures or clearly drawn copies of actual
inscriptions (king lists, stela, coffin texts etc.). There is
adequate discussion and preparation before each example, and there
are extensive notes to help you with some of the difficulties.
The rear of the book contains an index vocabulary, sign list,
bibliography, key to the exercises (ie. the answers!), and referece
tables of grammatical points covered in the previous8 chapters.
Thinking that in my enthusiasm I may have missed some fundamental
flaws, I gave it to my wife to read. As a complete beginner (and
not someone obsessed by the language), she found it hard going.
What particularly annoyed her were:
a) The lack of any description of what the monoliteral signs represented.
"Was the i sign a feather or what?" Not knowing what they were made it harder
for her to remember them. [MDS note: a complete beginner would
find this a daunting task as the table on p129 assumes you know
what the sign is before you look it up! The table on p127 doesn't
give the codes for monoliteral signs, and the reed-i isn't listed
in 'other tall signs'.]
b) The lack of any method for learning the signs or words. Either
there needed to be more extensive drills given, or a system needed
to be described to the reader to do this (eg. a card flip system).
These criticisms have some justification, but in general I found
the content matched the intended aims, and did it in an impressivly
attractive style that will draw many a youth (and the young at
heart) towards a deeper study of egyptian. Mark and Bill should
be congratulated on their efforts to foster interest in what is
perceived (by university students) to be an extremely difficult
area of academic pursuit.
General comments:
Does not use Gardiner sign list, or Manuel de codage. Signs listed
by their own system.
No description of what the monoliteral signs represent.
Transliteration uses the simple english/american system, which
can be confusing. For example, you cannot distinguish between preposition n and genitive n(.i), they are both n.
Vocabulary at end of book does not include all words used in the
book (eg. aHA, fighting)
