Does anybody know where I can learn the language of the ancient Egyptians?

Question

I have been interested in ancient Egypt for many years now and I was just wondering if anybody knows where I can learn how to speak their language!

Answer 1

You'll want to begin with Middle Egyptian written in hieroglyphs and branch out from there to other phases and scripts.

There is an online course offered by a colleague of mine:
http://www.glyphdoctors.com/

You can also try self-taught courses using the following:
James Allen's Middle Egyptian Grammar. Some scholars have debated the validity of some of Allen's points of grammar, particularly his verb forms, but the text is modern, written with both professional and interested amateur in mind, and is reasonably accessible. There are answers in the back - I don't recall at the moment if they are for all of the exercises or only for the odd or even numbers.
http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Egyptian-Introduction-Language-Hieroglyphs/dp/0521774837/sr=8-1/qid=1166777872/ref=sr_1_1/102-3024582-7629760?ie=UTF8&s=books
Alan Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar - this is an older text and parts of it are considered outdated by professional scholars. It does have a certain value, however. The main problem with using it as a teaching text, especially for non-specialists or on your own is that it does not include a lesson key (though these can be found online) and that it supposes an excellent foundation in the principles of English grammar (parts of speech, etc.) and, to a certain extent, Latin grammar, which were typical for the well-educated at the time it was written. It can also be rather pricey. I'd wait on this one unless you just happen to come across a copy of it. It is extremely useful for the sign-list included in the back.
http://www.amazon.com/Egyptian-Grammar-Introduction-Hieroglyphs-Egyptology/dp/0900416351/ref=pd_sim_b_2/102-3024582-7629760
Collier and Manley's self-study guide is also quite good, if brief and might be a nice starting point. This will not provide a full fluency in the language, but is useful for common inscriptions, like offering texts on stelae often seen in museums and in the field and similar inscriptions.
http://www.amazon.com/Read-Egyptian-Hieroglyphs-Step-Step/dp/0520239490/sr=1-4/qid=1166778035/ref=sr_1_4/102-3024582-7629760?ie=UTF8&s=books

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but should get you started.

Answer 2

You won't get confused at all. Generally, European languages and Asian languages are radically different. Now, if the Asian language was part of the Indo-European language family (such as Farsi, and Armenian.. actually those are the only two I can think of that are widely spoken in Asia) and the European language was too (Spanish, French, German, Latin, Portuguese, Latin, Swedish, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Italian, Classical or Modern Greek, Gaelic of all flavours, and Welsh) then you might have some cognates, and possible confusion, but I doubt it. You should be fine.

Answer 3

Ancient history departments, specifically those that include Egyptian studies.

You can get the fonts and easily type and ancient Egyptian on your computer.

I doubt there is an evening class in egyptian though. You might just have to sit in on some classes and read the books.

Academics are generally friendly types and if you email or visit them (and your are not a student) they will be happy to help you.

Answer 4

hieroglyphic...well of course it's no longer spoken...but to learn it you can come to Egypt. you're most welcome. We had a great civilization, thanks for your interest in it. Are you French?

Answer 5

we barely can read what they wrote and alot of thats wrong. its no longer spoken. its lost