The language of Ancient Egypt has been the object of careful investigation since its decipherment in the nineteenth century, but this is the first accessible account which uses the insights of modern linguistics. Antonio Loprieno traces Ancient Egyptian’s historical development from Old Egyptian to Coptic, and, combining diachronic and synchronic viewpoints wherever possible, he looks at the hieroglyphic system and its cursive varieties (Hieratic and Demotic), the phonology of Classical Egyptian and Coptic, the phonology and syntax of the literary languages, and semantic and pragmatic constraints on syntax. He also looks at the genetic connections of Egyptian within the Afroasiatic family, especially with Semitic languages such as Akkadian, Arabic, and Hebrew. This book will be essential reading for linguists and Egyptologists alike.

 First linguistic (rather than philological) treatment of Old Egyptian  Loprieno world-renowned authority in his field  Most general linguists will want this as indispensable background to issues being debated about languages which are currently spoken

Contents
1. The language of Ancient Egypt; 2. Egyptian graphemics; 3. Egyptian phonology; 4. Elements of historical morphology; 5. Nominal syntax; 6. Adverbial and pseudoverbal syntax; 7. Verbal syntax; Epilogue; References; Indexes.