Cleopatra in Hieroglyphics (Specific Languages) Language Learning Forum

Cleopatra in Hieroglyphics
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emk
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Message 2 of 8

29 January 2014 at 3:32am | IP Logged

There was a special convention for writing foreign words in hieroglyphs. This was slightly different from regular hieroglyphic spelling, because it used a couple of rare signs to represent foreign sounds.

If you have Flash, you might enjoy this tutorial on writing foreign words in hieroglyphs. You can find hieroglyphic versions of Cleopatra's several official names on Wikipedia. And yes, this particular rendering of her name looks fairly close to what I've seen before.

Interestingly, according to Plutarch, Cleopatra was supposedly a pretty capable polyglot:

Quote:

It was a pleasure merely to hear the sound of her voice, with which, like an instrument of many strings, she could pass from one language to another; so that there were few of the barbarian nations that she answered by an interpreter; to most of them she spoke herself, as to the Ethiopians, Troglodytes, Hebrews, Arabians, Syrians, Medes, Parthians, and many others, whose language she had learnt; which was all the more surprising because most of the kings, her predecessors, scarcely gave themselves the trouble to acquire the Egyptian tongue, and several of them quite abandoned the Macedonian.

Personally, I know better than to trust second-hand stories about polyglots—and I know enough to distrust Plutarch on any subject—but it's still a pretty cool story.

Edited by emk on 29 January 2014 at 3:37am
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Cabaire
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Message 3 of 8

29 January 2014 at 8:04am | IP Logged

Oh great, she learnt the language of the "Cave dwellers (litterally "divers" (οἱ τρωγλοδύται)! Herodot writes that the language ressembles no other one and τετρίγασι κατά περ αἱ νυκτερίδες, they squeak like bats in it.
I wonder if he describes a tonal language here?!
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patrickwilken
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Message 4 of 8

29 January 2014 at 10:08am | IP Logged

Cabaire wrote:

I have no idea, but couldn't it be one of the African click languages?

Edited by patrickwilken on 29 January 2014 at 10:30am
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akkadboy
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Message 5 of 8

29 January 2014 at 10:19am | IP Logged

mitsos wrote:

Is this rendering of the name correct? Other variants?

You can have a look here, at Lepsius' Denkmäler, volume IX. Check plate 62e, 64a or 65a for instance.
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Stolan
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Message 6 of 8

29 January 2014 at 3:21pm | IP Logged

emk wrote:

Interestingly, according to Plutarch,
Cleopatra was supposedly a pretty capable polyglot:

Personally, I know better than to trust second-hand stories about polyglots—and I know enough to distrust
Plutarch on any subject—but it's still a pretty cool story.

Is there a more accurate account of Cleopatras linguistic skills?

Edited by Stolan on 29 January 2014 at 3:23pm
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emk
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Message 8 of 8

30 January 2014 at 12:41pm | IP Logged

mitsos wrote:

akkadboy wrote:

You can have a look here, at Lepsius' Denkmäler, volume IX. Check plate 62e, 64a or 65a for instance.

Where can one find more extensive lesson on Egyptian Hieroglyphics?

If you're comfortable reading English, I strongly recommend Allen's Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. This is a traditional-style language course, not an Assimil-style course, but it's exceptionally well-organized, at it will actually teach you the language. If you just want to translate a couple of formulaic tomb inscriptions, How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide to Teach Yourself, Revised Edition is OK, but it lacks both the extensive example texts and detailed explanations of Allen's book.

For lots more resources, see the first post in the Egyptian team thread.

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