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Let's take examples from the different types of sign.

Hieroglyphs include a few signs that stand for a single consonant sound, as in the English (Roman) alphabet. One of these is the horizontal zigzag line which represents the sound n.

There are many more signs that represent two consonants. One of these is the sign showing a pair of ox horns joined at the base; this represents the sound wp.

Other signs represent a group of three consonants, such as a stone jug with a handle representing the sound xnm(kh+n+m).

All these are called phonemes, meaning that they have sound values and can be used to spell out words in the ancient Egyptian language.

Another sign looks like this: ' ' ' It is used to indicate a plural noun and has no sound value.

Other signs, called ideograms, represent an entire word or concept - these are few in number. An example is a circle with a diagonal cross inside it; this represents the word nwt, a town or locality. Another shows the foreparts of a lion lying down - head, shoulder and front leg - and it represents the word h't, meaning front.

Notice that no vowels were written, although the scribes and priests knew exactly how to read the words with the right vowels included. We can not do that, and nobody alive today can speak ancient Egyptian because of those missing vowels.

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13y ago

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