by Miles Togo

Created on: July 11, 2008   Last Updated: September 17, 2009

Let's get one thing straight from the get go.

I'm not an expert in any way when it comes to languages. Skills extend to above average English, a smattering of words in German and French, a word here and there of Mandarin and Vietnamese. (I took Mandarin classes for a few months. What a diabolical language!) I even studied Biblical Hebrew for a couple of years.

But Egyptian hieroglyphics? Not a chance!

However, from my Hebrew studies, I discovered that learning a language is not impossible. Hebrew reads from right to left. The mind's capacity for learning is wonderful. Those 22 squiggles make up the letters of the alephbeth (alphabet). It's amazing how quickly the mind creates new thought pathways; even my mind.

My friend is a professor of Ancient History. When he was a post graduate student, one of his fellow students complained to their professor that he'd never studied Assyrian. The professor replied "You're not in kindergarden now. Learn it!"

You see, almost anyone can learn a new language. Even Egyptian hieroglyphs.

First you need to learn the meaning of characters. A useful hint is to make hundreds of small memory cards, about the size of a matchbox. Write or draw a symbol on each side and the equivalent English expression in small print underneath.
Bore a hole through your stack and loop a length of wire through the holes to keep your cards together. Now you can flip each card along your loop of wire. As you look at the symbol, read the meaning and speak it out loud. Do this for half an hour three or four times a day. You'll quickly become familiar with the symbols.

For those fortunate to have a photographic memory, you'll be recognizing characters in no time.

Secondly, using a good reference book, exercise your new skill in putting sentences together. You'll need to learn the rules of grammar. This is perhaps the hardest part of learning any language. For first, second and third person, nouns, pronouns and verbs will inevitably change the form of words.
It's a grind, but there's no getting around this essential part of language.

I once read an analogy about the commonality of language. If an alien came to Earth and observed all our languages, it would conclude that all language was constructed in remarkably similar patterns.

For any new language, we intrinsically understand these patterns. We all use at least a noun and a verb. For example, "The mummy stinks".

So it is with Egyptian hieroglyphs. There's no secret. It takes rote practice and a good reference text.

Go ahead. I'll bet you can do it.

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