Egyptian Language

ancient Egypt · writing systems · languages

Super ancient writing. Egyptian language was first written down in hieroglyphic script over 5,000 years ago during the late 4th millennium BC, making it one of the earliest known written languages ever.

Longest record ever. No other human language has been written down for longer than Egyptian, with texts spanning more than 5,000 years of continuous records.

Middle Egyptian was special. A version called Middle Egyptian became the classical form of the language and was used for important literature throughout ancient Egypt's history.

Hieroglyphics decoded. For a long time, nobody could read Egyptian writing until scholars figured out how to decode hieroglyphics in the early 19th century, unlocking thousands of ancient secrets.

Part of a language family. Egyptian belonged to the Afro-Asiatic language family, which includes many other ancient languages spoken across Africa and the Middle East.