ReadEgypt Live

This app is for people who want to develop a working ability to read ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics. However, there seems to be a gap in the available resources for someone who wants to be able to do this: either the content is aimed at schoolchildren so they can transliterate their names into hieroglyphics or by academics who gloss over too-familiar texts as they conduct deeper linguistic and historical investigations. Yet it is the 'formulaic' texts that are perfect for the serious amateur, because the only realistic scenario in which this skill could be applied is in viewing funerary objects in museums or on the internet. Having a reading comprehension of even twenty sentences would give someone a good chance of at least picking out some words and at best reading all but unfamiliar names and titles on objects they have never seen before. CHAPTERS TAB For those who want to jump right in, this tab is the table of contents for the app's anthology of common Ancient Egyptian texts. Tapping one of these items loads the chapter and takes you to the next tab. There are two definitions of 'common' used here. The first is in the formulaic sense, in that these texts are likely to be seen on other museum objects. The readings in this category include the Coffin of Nephthys, Shabtis of Yuya, and the Stela of Senres and Hormose. The second kind of common is internet ubiquity due to the cultural, artistic, or historical significance of the tomb or object. These include the tombs of Tutankamun, Nefertari, and Nebamun. READER TAB Each text, paired with a zoomable image, is transcribed into a clear hieroglyphic font and translated. The 'words' feature combines the two to reveal the grammatical structure of the sentences. An introduction places the object in context. HIEROGLYPHICS TAB This tab is a reference for all 1,071 standard hieroglyphs. Other than the uniliterals, biliterals, and triliterals, you need not memorize these because most do not appear in the formulaic texts. Uniliterals are those hieroglyphs that represent the sounds of the ancient Egyptian language. Biliterals and triliterals represent combinations of uniliterals. If you memorize these, you will be able to take an Egyptian person's name from a museum label and locate it in the hieroglyphs. QUIZZES TAB For those who wish to systematically build a solid foundation of hieroglyphic knowledge, this tab features interactive quizzes of key hieroglyphic and vocabulary sets.