Hieroglyphs Without Mystery: An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Writing

This book is great. It is really easy in the directions it provides for hieroglyphs.

Hieroglyphs without Mystery by Karl-Theodor Zauzich.Of the four basic texts I have on learning hieroglyphs, this book is perhaps the simplest of the four to use. It has a basic vocabulary and basic grammar building. The exercises and the flow of the book didn't appeal to me as much as Collier and Manley's, but that might be due to the fact it is translated from German (I have studied German, but not well enough, alas, to attempt to read hieroglyphs through German if I can avoid it!). This book also incorporates a transliterated system to aid learning.I appreciated the honest in the first sentence: 'This is this first point to remember: Egyptian hieroglyphic writing was mastered in its own time by many people, most of whom were no more geniuses than present-day people (or Egyptologists) are.'Sometimes the study of something such as hieroglyphs can be unnecessarily intimidating; this book reduces anxiety by reducing the language to easily understood components of vocabulary and grammar. This book would make a good volume for self-study, for church or study groups to use for informal learning, and for one-semester courses for those interested in ancient history or ancient languages.

I looked at several introductions to Egyptian and this seemed to be the easiest and clearest entry into the subject. The text by Collier/Manley is more detailed and gives more information from a structural linguistics standpoint, but I would read this book to get an understanding of the alphabet, basic symbols, diglyphs, triglyphs, phonetics, and word overall structure before tackling their book. The book also contains sample translations and exercises to test your comprehension, and it's nicely illustrated with actual inscriptions from cartouches and Tutankhamen's tomb, so you get the real stuff.Although I have a pretty strong background in both applied and theoretical linguistics, I still found this book valuable before reading the more technical works. After reading this you'll have a good background for the more advanced books. All in all I highly recommend it as the best starter text around.

In this book, the author presents the basic grammar rules needed to read and learn common hieroglyphs. Exercises and hieroglyphic inscriptions are included to practice the material learned. The answer-key to the exercises is available as well. An interesting presentation of the hieroglyphic language, this book is mostly aimed at travelers or museum visitors who wish to read Ancient Egyptian art. For those who are most serious in pursuing their linguistic studies, the author has provided a list of books to consult. Well illustrated in color, it is all in all a recommended book for students or Egyptophiles.

This book is the best introduction to reading hieroglyphic inscriptions I have seen. While "How to Read Egyptian Hieroglyphs" by Collier et.al. is more complete, and actually introduces you to more grammar and vocabulary, Zauzich's book is a very readable introduction. It starts from the very basics and will allow you to get the gist of a variety of inscriptions from actual artifacts: cartouches, items from Tut-Ankh-Amen's tomb, etc. I highly recommend it!