The Journey of Writing and Scripts in Egypt

In this history course, you will learn about the diversity and multilingualism that existed in Egypt, and how it had a bearing on the history of the country and its people.

Through the introduction of new languages, Egyptians learned to interact with scripts, cultures and peoples.

The plurality of languages and writing that Egypt witnessed along its history, gave rise to one of the most cosmopolitan melting pots in the ancient world. And although the peak of Egyptian multilingualism was in the Ptolemaic period [323-30 BCE], the country witnessed, in the pre-Ptolemaic period, the appearance of different foreign languages in official and public spheres.

Unit One: Introduction

• Lesson One: General Overview
• Lesson Two:  Early Inscriptions and Writings in Ancient Egypt
• Lesson Three: What is Hieroglyphic?
• Lesson Four: The Development of Ancient Egyptian Language     

Unit Two: Forms and Different Types of Writing in Ancient Egypt

• Lesson One: Hieratic
• Lesson Two: Demotic
• Lesson Three: Coptic
• Lesson Four: Cuneiform
• Lesson Five: Protosinaitic

Unit Three: Scripts of Foreign Communities in Egypt

• Lesson One: The Greek Language
• Lesson Two: The Carian Language
• Lesson Three: Aramaic Inscriptions in Egypt
• Lesson Four: Hebrew Inscriptions in Egypt
• Lesson Five: Amharic and Armenian Inscriptions in Egypt 
• Lesson Six: Syriac Inscriptions
• Lesson Seven: Tifinagh and Meroitic Inscriptions

Unit Four: Writing and Scripts in Modern Egypt            

• Lesson One: The Origin of Arabic Script
• Lesson Two: Arabic Inscriptions
• Lesson Three: The Turkish Language in Egypt
• Lesson Four: Persian, Italian and French