Hieroglyphs
The word Hieroglyphics comes from the Greek word “sacred carving” (referring to the signs found coming from Egyptians). Egyptian scripts found on temple walls and public monuments were sculpted into stone to make inscriptions and labels. More than usual, the hieroglyphics were also used to identify the dead. These hieroglyphics weren’t commonly used by the people, because of other more convenient writing systems found. Only those who needed knowledge for their professions took time to learn the arts of reading and writing the hieroglyphic script, which meant a limited amount, understood it. Due to the emotional value of the hieroglyphic writing system, attempts to replace it remained ineffective. Hieroglyphics can be classified into three different groups, logogram, phonogram, and determinatives. Logogram – the word is written with a single sign, providing both the meaning and sound of the word. Logograms can usually be read as the object it represents. Phonogram – the word written represents the sound in the language. Determinative – the word acts as a word marker and gives abstract concepts. There are approximately 700 hieroglyphs. Read from right to left, the tools used to create hieroglyphic symbols, are chisels and hammers. ( J.A.C. ) http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/265021/hieroglyphic-writing |