Egyptian hieroglyphs: A language or type of font?

CAIRO – 6 April 2021: Egypt’s Ministry of Education stated that the idea of introducing the hieroglyphic symbols and their corresponding meanings in the Arabic language into the curricula from the fourth grade to the secondary stage is being considered.

This aims to inform students of their ancient history with the aim of knowledge, raising awareness and arousing students' interest in hieroglyphic writing, which was one of the most important means of communication with the ancient Egyptian civilization.

Hieroglyphs were used as a pattern for official writing on temples, tombs, statues, colored stone and wooden panels. The ancient Egyptian language is African (Hamitic) and Asian (Semitic, like Arabic) languages.

The ancient Egyptians invented the ancient Egyptian language around 3000 BC. It continued to be used until about the tenth century AD. Perhaps this makes it the oldest language in the world, as it is existing for more than 4,000 years.

Perhaps the most prominent lines of the ancient Egyptian language are "hieroglyphs", meaning "sacred inscription" in the language of the ancient Greeks.

Most of the inscriptions and writings that came from the Pharaonic civilization of Egypt were written in hieroglyphic script, which is somewhat similar to the script of copies in our contemporary Arabic.

The classical stage is the language of ancient Egyptian literature. The ancient Egyptian language has passed through five main stages, according to scholars:

1-    Ancient Egyptian: It is the oldest known stage of the language and dates back to about 2600 to 2100 BC.

2-    The Medieval Egyptian: It is sometimes called the Classical Egyptian and is related to ancient Egypt. It appeared around 2100 to about 1600 BC. It continued as a language throughout ancient Egyptian history.

3-    The Late Egyptian: This stage of the language took the Status of the Medieval Egyptian after 1600 BC. It differs from the previous stages, especially in grammar.

4-    Demotic: An evolution from the late Egyptian, and appeared for the first time around 650 BC and continued to be used until the fifth century AD.

5-    Coptic: It is linked to Demotic, and appeared at the end of the first century AD and was used for a thousand years. The oldest Coptic texts written by the Egyptians date back to the eleventh century AD.