Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the Pharaohs [Paperback]

Bridget McDermott (Author), Joann Fletcher (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2001

For beginners and Egyptologists alike, reading hieroglyphs provides fascinating insights into the land and lore of the pyramids. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs is the only fully illustrated, easy-to-use guide to the meaning and mystery behind this ancient language. A history of hieroglyphs and instructions for how to read them are complemented by vocabulary lists and photographs of real inscriptions. In each chapter, skill-building exercises weave together with details of Egyptian life. Who could have imagined that the sign for the word "millions" is a lizard because Egypt was once overrun with reptiles? Hieroglyphs literally paint portraits of the ancients, depicting everyone from the pharaoh in his court to the farmer along the flooded Nile. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs reveals the beauty and hidden marvels of one of the world's most intriguing cultures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The French linguist who decoded the Rosetta Stone took 14 years to do so; amateur translators would find the task much simpler with Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the Pharaohs by British doctoral student Bridget McDermott. For instance: "a water pot on a human leg, a bread loaf and a flesh sign together" means "meat." The colorful text, a marriage between coffee-table picture book and high school language workbook, offers photographs of ancient inscriptions with sidebars clarifying their meaning as well as pronunciation and grammar guides, magic spells, maps, mythology and basic Egyptian history.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

A media consultant on Egyptian archaeology currently working on her doctoral thesis, McDermott offers the reader a delightfully illustrated introduction to ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic writing. Egyptian hieroglyphs are not simple pictographs; they form a phonetic writing system, so some knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is essential to deciphering the texts. The author introduces common signs and words in the context of various aspects of Egyptian culture, treating first their origin and then their use as either sounds or determinatives for meaning. The book concludes with a brief overview of the basic grammar of Middle Egyptian (the classical stage of the language), along with a selection of sample translations, a sign index, and a select bibliography. This treatment may be sufficient for those who simply want to understand how hieroglyphics work, but for readers who wish to learn Middle Egyptian, Mark Collier and Bill Manley's How To Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs: A Step-by-Step Guide To Teach Yourself (LJ 9/1/98) provides a more succinct and practical introduction. For a more intensive approach, J.P. Allen's Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language & Culture of Hieroglyphs (Cambridge Univ., 2000) will prove useful. Edward K. Werner, St. Lucie Cty. Lib. Syst., Ft. Pierce, FL
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Chronicle Books; 1st Edition Pbk Thus edition (August 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0811832252
• ISBN-13: 978-0811832250
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #441,283 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #54 in Books > History > Ancient > Africa

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not for beginners, June 28, 2002

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L. D. Bores "grumposaurus" (Scottsdale, AZ United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

This is not a book for beginners. It is too full of mistakes, contradictions and academic hubris to rely on. The copy editor of this work should be boiled in oil. For example - the glyph for lasso is called a brazier. Albeit, some of the phrases are of value and the pictures are first-rate.

On page 127, an inscription is shown and the author berates the long-dead scribe for having done it 'improperly'! Great heavenly days!

Intermediate and advanced students of ME will delight in testing their knowledge by conducting a mistake 'treasure hunt'. But others should look elsewhere.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not to my taste., May 21, 2002

By 

Terry A. Smith (N. Salem, ny USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

If you are looking for something that will build on the topic like a language primer, I suggest you keep looking. This text has topical chapters ('Magical dimensions', 'Trades and Skills'), but this did not come together for me at least.

This may be good for many people, but I had the sense of watching a light discovery channel piece. In such a show, someone tells you the meaning of the sign for plow and field; then they pan across and inscription; then they tell you that it says that "the evil ones came and sowed salt into the fields which then lay fallow for 17 years..."

This could of course, mean that it is at the right level for some interests.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very nice, February 15, 2003

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michael e jolley (Grayslake, Il United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs: How to Read the Secret Language of the Pharaohs (Paperback)

"Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs" by Bridget McDermott is a very nice introduction to Egypt and the Egyptian way of life. Every aspect of the Egyptian culture is discussed, in chapters that are from two to four pages long, so the reader does not get bored with any particular subject. The color photographs are superb. The attempt at interpreting hieroglyphs is superficial at best, but the book is not supposed to be an in-depth text book. This book certainly should inspire the neophyte and lead him (or her) into more advanced texts.