The Meroitic Language and Writing System

ISBN-13: 9781107008663 / Angielski / Twarda / 2012 / 262 str.

Claude Rilly

Opis

This book provides an introduction to the Meroitic language and writing system, which was used between circa 300 BC and 400 AD in the kingdom of Meroe, located in what is now Sudan and Egyptian Nubia. This book details advances in the understanding of Meroitic, a language that until recently was considered untranslatable. In addition to providing a full history of the script and an analysis of the phonology, grammar, and linguistic affiliation of the language it features: linguistic analyses for those working on Nilo-Saharan comparative linguistics, paleographic tables useful to archeologists for dating purposes, and an overview of texts that can be translated or understood by way of analogy for those working on Nubian religion, history, and archaeology.

Spis treści

Preface; 1. Introduction to history and texts; 2. Meroitic writing; 3. Linguistic affiliation; 4. Meroitic phonology: facts and reconstruction; 5. Grammar: facts and hypotheses; Conclusions.