Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T00:16:13.309Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Towards the Afro-Asiatic etymology of Egyptian zš ‘to write’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 February 2009

Gábor Takács
Gábor Takács
Affiliation:
Székesfehérvár, Hungary
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

It is not necessary to emphasize the importance of writing in the culture of Ancient Egypt. The ancient Nile Valley dwellers' cult of writing is famous, while the Egyptian language has the longest written continuity known in history. At the same time, however, we linguists know painfully little about the origin of the Egyptian verb zš ‘to write’ because of the apparent lack of reliable Afro-Asiatic cognates.

Type
Articles
Information
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 63 , Issue 2 , January 2000 , pp. 261 - 273
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abraham, R. C. 1962. Dictionary of the Hausa language [Second edition]. London: University of London Press.Google Scholar
AHW = von. Soden, W. 1965–1981. Akkadisches Handwörterbuch. I–III. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.Google Scholar
Albright, W. F. 1918a. ‘Notes on Egypto-Semitic etymology’. American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, 34/2: 81–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albright, W. F. 1918b. ‘Notes on Egypto-Semitic etymology. II’. American Journal of Semitic Languages and Literatures, 34/4: 215–255.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Albright, W. F. 1927. ‘Notes on Egypto-Semitic etymology. III’. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 47: 198–237.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Appleyard, D. 1977. ‘A comparative approach to the Amharic lexicon’. Afroasiatic Linguistics, 5/2.Google Scholar
Basset, M. R. 1887. ‘Notes de lexicographie berbère’. Journal Asiatique, ser. VII, vol. 10: 365–464.Google Scholar
Belova, A. G. 1987. ‘Struktura kornja v drevneegipetskom i semitskih jazykah’, in: Problemy jȩzyków Azji i Afryki. Warsaw: Widawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, 275–282.Google Scholar
Belova, A. G. 1989. ‘Refleksy semitskih sibiljantov v drevneegipetskom’. Meroé, 4: 9–21.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. 1975. Omotic. A new Afroasiatic language family. Carbondale, IL: Southern Illinois University Press.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. and Fleming, H. 1976. ‘Non-Semitic languages’, in Bender, M. L., Bowen, J. D., Cooper, R. L. and Ferguson, C. A. (ed.): Language in Ethiopia. London: Oxford University Press, 34–58.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. 1983. Proto-Koman phonology and lexicon’. Afrika und Übersee, 66: 259–297.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. 1988. ‘Proto-Omotic phonology and lexicon’, in Bechhaus-Gerst, M. and Serzisko, Fr. (ed.): Cushitic-Omotic. Papers from the First International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic Languages, Cologne, January 6–9, 1986. Hamburg: Helmut Buske Verlag, 121–159.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. 1994. ‘Aroid (South Omotic) lexicon’. Afrikanistische Arbeitspapiere, 38: 133–162.Google Scholar
Bender, M. L. 1994. ‘The mystery languages of Ethiopia’, in Marcus, H. (ed.): New trends in Ethiopian studies. Vol. 1. Lawrenceville: Red Sea Press, 1153–1174.Google Scholar
Blažek, V. 1989. Omotic lexicon in Afroasiatic perspective: body parts cognates. Unpublished paper presented at the II International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic Languages (Turin, November 1989). 41 pp.Google Scholar
Blažek, V. 1992. ‘Basque and North Caucasian or Afroasiatic?’ Komparative Afrikanistik. Wien: Afro-Pub, 21–30.Google Scholar
von. Calice, F. 1936. Grundlagen der ägyptisch-semitischen Wortvergleichung. Vienna: Selbstverlag der Orientalischen Institutes der Universität Wien.Google Scholar
Cerulli., E. 1938. Studi etiopici. III. Il linguaggio del Giangerò ed alcune lingue Sidama dell'Omo (Basketo, Ciara, Zaisse). Rome: Istituto per 1'Oriente.Google Scholar
Cohen, M. 1947. Essai comparatif sur le vocabulaire et la phonétique du chamito-sémitique. Paris: Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion.Google Scholar
D'Jakonov, I. M. 1975. ‘Lingvistiĉeskie dannye k istorii drevnejŝih nositelej afrazijskih jazykov’. Africana. Afrikanskij étnografiĉeskij sbornik, 10: 117–130.Google Scholar
Diakonoff, I. M. 1981. ‘Earliest Semites in Asia. Agriculture and animal husbandry according to linguistic data (VIIIth–IVth millennia B.C.)’. Altorientalische Forschungen, 8: 23–74.Google Scholar
Diakonoff, I. M. (with the assistance of A. Ju. Militarev, O. V. Stolbova) 1986. Proto-Afrasian and Old Akkadian. Leningrad. (Recently published in the Journal of Afroasiatic Languages 4/1 (1992) and unavailable to the author when writing the present paper.)Google Scholar
Diakonoff, I. M. 1988. Afrasian languages. Moscow: Nauka.Google Scholar
D'Jakonov, I. M. and Porhomovski, V. Ja. 1979. ‘O principah afrazijskoj rekonstrukcii. Balcanica’. Lingvističeskie issledovanija. Moscow: Nauka, 72–84.Google Scholar
Dolgopol'skij, A. B. 1973. Sravnitel' no-istoričeskaja fonetika kušitskih jazykov. Moscow: Nauka.Google Scholar
Dolgopolsky, A. B. 1982. ‘Chadic-Semitic-Cushitic: epenthetic -γ- in Sura in the light of Hamito-Semitic comparative linguistics’, in Jungraithmayr, H. (ed.): The Chad languages in the Hamitosemitic-Nigritic border area. Papers of the Marburg symposium, 1979. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag, 32–46.Google Scholar
Dolgopolsky, A. B. 1987. ‘South Cushitic lateral consonants as compared to Semitic and East Cushitic’, in Jungraithmayr, H. and Miller, W. W. (ed.): Proceedings of the Fourth International Hamito-Semitic Congress. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dolgopolsky, A. B. 1989. ‘Problems of Nostratic comparative phonology (preliminary report)’, in Shevoroshkin, V. (ed.): Reconstructing languages and cultures. Bochum: Brockmeyer, 90–98.Google Scholar
Edel, E. 1955. Altägyptische Grammalik. Roma: Pontificium Institutum Biblicum.Google Scholar
Ehret, Ch. 1980. The historical reconstruction of Southern Cushitic phonology and vocabulary. Berlin: Dietrich Reimer.Google Scholar
Eilers, W. 1978. ‘Semitische Wurzeltheorie’, in: Fronzaroli, P. (ed.): Atti del Secondo Congresso Internazionale di Linguistica Camito-Semitica, Firenze, 16–19 aprile 1974. Firenze: Istituto di Linguistica e di Lingue Orientali, Università di Firenze, 125–131.Google Scholar
Ember, A. 1913. ‘Semito-Egyptian words. New series’. Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache, 51: 110–121.Google Scholar
Ember, A. 1930. Egypto-Semitic studies. Leipzig: The Alexander Cohut Memorial Foundation.Google Scholar
FD = Faulkner, R. O. 1962. A concise dictionary of Middle Egyptian. Oxford: Clarendon Press.Google Scholar
Fleming, H. C. 1976. ‘Omotic overview’. The non-Semitic languages of Ethiopa. East Lansing: Michigan State University, 299–323.Google Scholar
Fleming, H. C. 1990. ‘Omotica, Afrasiana and more: Ethiopia as the ever-flowing vase’. Mother Tongue, 12: 22–30.Google Scholar
Foulkes, H. D. 1915. Angass manual: grammar, vocabulary’. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner and Co.Google Scholar
Fronzaroli, P. 1965. ‘Studi sul lessico comune semitico. III. I fenomeni naturali’. Rendiconti delle Sedute dell'Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. Classe di scienze morali, storiche e fililogiche. Ser. VIII, vol. XX, fasc. 3–4: 135–150.Google Scholar
Galand, L. 1990. ‘Du nom au verb d'état. Le témoignage du berbère’, in: Mukarovsky, H. G. (ed.): Proceedings of the Fifth International Hamito-Semitic Congress. Vienna: Afro-Pub, 123–138.Google Scholar
GB = Gesenius, W. 1915. Hebräisches und aramäisches Handwörterbuch über das Alte Testament. Berlin, Göttingen and Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag.Google Scholar
GHWb = Hannig, R. 1995. Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch (2800–950 v. Chr.). Mainz: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.Google Scholar
Gray, L. H. 1933. ‘Notes étymologique sur les “verbes faibles” en hébreu biblique’. Archiv Orientálni, 5: 124–130.Google Scholar
Hayward, D.1994.The velar stem alternation in Omotic.Paper presented at the 3rd International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic Languages(Berlin, 1994).Google Scholar
Heine, B. 1973. ‘Vokabulare ostafrikanischer Restsprachen. Teil I’. Afrika und Übersee, 56: 276–283.Google Scholar
Hodge, C. T. 1968. ‘Some Afroasiatic etymologies’. Anthropological Linguistics, 10/3: 19–29.Google Scholar
Hodge, C. T. 1990. ‘The role of Egyptian within Afroasiatic’, in Baldi, Ph. (ed.): Linguistic change and reconstruction methodology. Berlin and New York: Mouton, 639–659.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoffmann, C. F. 1955. ‘Zur Sprache der Cibak’, in Lukas, J. (ed.): Afrikanistische Studien. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 118–143.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holma, H. 1919. Zur semitisch-hamitischen Sprachwissenschaf’. Zeitschrift für Assyriologie, 32: 34–47.Google Scholar
HSED = Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1995. Hamito-Semitic etymological dictionary. Leiden: E. J. Brill.Google Scholar
Hudson, G. 1989. Highland East Cushitic dictionary. Hamburg: Buske.Google Scholar
IEW = Pokorny, J. 1959. Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. Band I. Bern-Munich: Francke Verlag.Google Scholar
Illič-Svityč, V. M. 1965. ‘Materialy k sravnital'nomu slovarju nostratičeskih jazykov’. Étimologija, 321–373.Google Scholar
Illič-Svityč, V. M. 1971. Opyt sravnenija nostratičeskih jazykov. Vvedenie. Sravnitel'nyj slovar’ (b–K'). Moscow: Nauka.Google Scholar
Jungraithmayr, H. 1963. ‘Die Sprache des Sura (Maghavul) in Nordnigerien’. Afrika und Übersee, 47: 8–89, 204–20.Google Scholar
Jungraithmayr, H. 1970. Die Ron-Sprachen. Tschadohamitische Studien in Nordnigerien. Glückstadt: Verlag J. J. Augustin.Google Scholar
Jungraithmayr, H. and Ibriszimow, D.. 1994. Chadic lexical roots. Vol. I–II Berlin: Dietrich Reimer Verlag.Google Scholar
KEWA = Mayrhofer, M. 1956–1976. Kurzgefaßtes etymologisches Wörterbuch des Altindischen. Band I–III. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Verlag.Google Scholar
KHW = Westendorf, W. 1977. Koptisches Handwörterbuch. Heidelberg: Carl Winter Universitätsverlag.Google Scholar
Laoust, E. 1931. Siwa. I. Son parlier. Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux.Google Scholar
Leslau, W. 1988a. ‘Observations on Sasse's vocabulary of Burji’. Afrika und Übersee, 71: 177–203.Google Scholar
Leslau, W. 1988b. Analysis of the Geՙez vocabulary: Geՙez and Cushitic’. Rassegna di Studi Etiopici, 32: 59–109.Google Scholar
Lipiński, E. 1997. Semitic languages. Outline of a comparative grammar. Leuven: Uitgeverij Peeters en Departement Oosterse Studies.Google Scholar
Loprieno, A. 1995. Ancient Egyptian. A linguistic introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lukas, J. 1964. ‘Das Hitkalanci, eine Sprache um Gavoza (Nordostnigerien)’. Afrika und Übersee, 48: 81–114.Google Scholar
MacDonald, J. 1963–1965. New thoughts on the bilateral origin for the Semitic verb. The Annual of Leeds University Oriental Society, 5: 63–85.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1983. ‘Ob odnom obščeafrazijskom zemledel'ĉeskom termine. Novye lingvistiĉeskie dannye o proishoždenii zemledelija’. Vestnik Drevnej Istorii, 4: 97–106.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1984. ‘Sovremennoe sravnitel'no-istoričeskoe afrazijskoe jazykoznanie: čto ono možet dat' istoričeskoj nauke?’ In Lingvisti českaja rekonstrukcija i drevnejšaja istorija Vostoka. Čast' 3. Moscow: Nauka, 3–26.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. and Šnirel'man, V. A.. 1984. ‘K probleme lokalizacii drevnejših afrazijcev (opyt lingvoarheologičeskoj rekonstrukcii)’, in Lingvisti českaja rekonstrukcija i drevnejšaja istorija Vostoka. Tezisy i doklady konferencii. Čast' 2. Lingvisti českaja i istori českaja rekonstrukcii (problemy interdisciplinarnyh issledovanij). Moscow: Nauka, 35–53.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1988. ‘Tamâhaq Tuaregs in the Canary Islands (linguistic evidence)’. Aula Orientalis 6: 195–209.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju., Pejros, I. I. and Šnirel'man, V. A.. 1988. ‘Metodičeskie problemy lingvoarheologičeskih rekonstrukcij étnogeneza’. Sovetskaja Étnografija, 1989. 4: 24–38.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. ‘Ešče raz o proishoždenni zemledelija po dannym praafrazijskoj (prasemitohamitskoj lingvističeskoj rekonstrukcii’. Vestnik Drevnej Istorii, 1: 128–131.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1990. ‘First approach to comparative-historical phonology of Afrasian (consonantism)’, in Mukarovsky, H. G. (ed.): Proceedings of the Fifth International Hamito-Semitic Congress. Band I. Vienna: Afro-Pub, 45–72.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1991a. Livijsko-guančskie jazyki. I. Obščie svedenija’, in Solncev, V. M. (ed.): Jazyki Azii i Afriki. IV. Afrazijskie jazyki. Kniga 2. Moscow: Glavnaja Redakcija Vostočnoj Literatury, 148–162.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1991b. ‘Guančskie jazyki. Fonetika’, in Solncev, V. M. (ed.): Jazyki Azii i Afriki. IV. Afrazijskie jazyki. Kniga 2. Moscow: Glavnaja Redakcija Vostočnoj Literatury, 163–173.Google Scholar
Militarev, A. Ju. 1991c. ‘Istoričeskaja fonetika i leksika livijsko՚ guančskih jazykov’. In Solncer, V. M. (ed.): Jazyki Azii i Afriki. IV. Kniga 2. Moscow: Glavnaja Redakcija Vostočnoj Literatury, 238–267.Google Scholar
Moscati, S., Spitaler, A., Ullendorff, E. and von Soden, W.. 1964. An introduction to the comparative grammar of the Semitic languages: phonology and morphology. (Second edition). Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.Google Scholar
Mouchet, J. 1950. ‘Vocabulaires comparatifs de quinze parlers du Nord-Cameroun’. Bulletin de la Société d'Études Camerounaises, 41–42: 5–74.Google Scholar
Mukarovsky, H. G. 1987. Mande-Chadic common stock. Vienna: Afro-Pub.Google Scholar
Mukarovsky, H. G. 1989. On the relations of Cushitic, Omotic and Chadic languages. Handout for the II. International Symposium on Cushitic and Omotic Languages (Turin, November 1989).Google Scholar
Newman, P. 1977. ‘Chadic classification and reconstructions’. Afroasiatic Linguistics, 5/1: 1–42.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1988. ‘K rekonstrukcii praafrazijskogo vokalizma. 1–2’. Voprosy Jazykaznanija, 5: 66–83.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1990. ‘K rekonstrukcii praafrazijskogo vokalizma. 3–4’. Voprosy Jazykoznanija, 2: 75–90.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1992a. ‘Cushitic, Chadic, and Egyptian: lexical relations’, in Shevoroshkin, V. (ed.): Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind. Bochum: Brockmeyer, 167–180.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1992b. ‘On Chadic-Egyptian lexical relations’, in Shevoroshkin, V. (ed.): Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind. Bochum: Brockmeyer, 181–203.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. and Stolbova, O. V.. 1992. ‘Position of Cushitic (preliminary report)’, in Shevoroshkin, V. (ed.): Nostratic, Dene-Caucasian, Austric and Amerind. Bochum: Brockmeyer, 204–224.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. 1993 ‘Mir semito-hamitov’. Principy sostavlenija étimologi českih i istori českih slovarej raznyh semej. Tezisy dokladov konferencii 8–9 nojabrja 1993 g. Moscow: Institut Jazykoznanija Rossijskoj Akademii Nauk, 37–44.Google Scholar
Orel, V. É. 1994. Reconstructing the homeland of Proto-Afroasiatic.Paper read at the third World Archaeological Congress(New Delhi,December 1994).Google Scholar
Osing, J. 1976. Die Nominalbildung des Ägyptischen. I–II. Manz/Rhein: Verlag Philipp von Zabern.Google Scholar
Paradisi, U. 1960. ‘Il berbero di Augila’. Rivista degli Studi Orientali, 35/3–4: 157–177.Google Scholar
Porhomovskij, V. Ja. 1972. Istori českij konsonantizm jazykov kotoko. Moscow: Institut Jazykoznanija Akademii Nauk SSSR.Google Scholar
Rabin, Ch. 1975. ‘Lexicostatistics and the internal divisions of Semitic’, in Bynon, J. and Bynon, Th. (ed.): Hamito-Semitica. The Hague: Mouton, 85–102.Google Scholar
Rössler, O. 1971. ‘Das Ägyptische als semitische Sprache’, in Christentum am Roten Meer. Band I. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 263–325.Google Scholar
Rössler, O. 1983. ‘Äthiopisch und Hamitisch’. In Segert, S. and Bodrogligeti, A. J. E. (ed.): Ethiopian studies dedicated to Wolf Leslau. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 330–336.Google Scholar
Skinner, N. 1977. ‘North Bauchi Chadic languages: common roots’. Afroasiatic Linguistics, 4/1: 1–49.Google Scholar
Skinner, N. 1992. ‘Body parts in Hausa—comparative data’. Komparative Afrikanistik. Vienna: Afro-Pub, 345–357.Google Scholar
Starostin, S. A., Dybo, V. A., Dybo, A. V., Helimsky, E. A., Militarev, A. Ju., Mudrak, O. A. and Starostin, G. S.. 1995. Basic Nostratic-Afrasian-Sino-Caucasian lexical correspondences. Unpublished manuscript. Preliminary version printed out on 2 October 1995. Moscow.Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1986. ‘Rekonstrukcija konsonantnoj sistemy zapadnočadskih jazykov’, in Pis'mennye pamjatniki i problemy istorii kul'tury narodov Vostoka. XIX godičnaja naučnaja sessija LO IV AN SSSR. Moscow: Nauka, 80–115.Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1987. ‘Sravnitel'no-istoričeskaja fonetika i slovar' zapadno-čadskih jazykov’, in Porhomovskij, V. Ja. (ed.): Afrikanskoe istori českoe jazykoznanie. Problemy rekonstrukcii. Moscow: Nauka, 30–268.Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1991. Chadic laterals and their correspondences in Semitic and Egyptian. Paper presented at the international symposium ‘Studia Chadica et Hamitosemitica’ (Frankfurt am Main, 6–8 May 1991) on the occasion of the 60th birthday of Herrmann Jungraithmayr.Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1994. Chadic reflexes of Egyptian zš, sš, šz.Handout of the paper presented at the Sixth International Hamito-Semitic Congress(Moscow,April 1994).Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1995. Studia Chadica et Hamito-Semitica, in Ibriszimov, D. and Leger, R. (ed.): ‘Lateral sibilants in Chadic (reconstruction) and their correspondences in Semitic and Egyptian’. Frankfurt am Main: Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, 568–64.Google Scholar
Stolbova, O. V. 1996. Studies in Chadic comparative phonology. Moscow: Diaphragma Publishers.Google Scholar
Takács, G. 1998a. Preliminary report on the etymological dictionary of Egyptian’. Studia Etymologica Cracoviensia, 3: 163–164.Google Scholar
Takács, G. 1998b. The Afro-Asiatic background of Angas, Sura, and Mupun phonology and lexicon. Unpublished manuscript. Székesfehérvár.Google Scholar
Takács, G. 1999a. ‘Sibilant and velar consonants of South Cushitic and their regular correspondences in Egyptian and other Afro-Asiatic branches’, in Lamberti, M. and Tonelli, L. (ed.): Afroasiatica Tergestina. Padova: Unipress, 393–426.Google Scholar
Takács, G. 1999b. Etymological dictionary of Egyptian. Volume One: A phonological introduction. Leiden: E. J. Brill.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vergote, J. 1945. Phonétique historique de l'égyptien. Paris: Le Muséon.Google Scholar
Vycichl, W. 1958. ‘Grundlagen der ägyptisch-semitischen Wortvergleichung’, in: Mitteilungen des Deutschen Archäologischen Instituts Abteilung Kairo, 16: 367–405.Google Scholar
Ward, W. A. 1961. ‘Some Egypto-Semitic etymologies’. Orientalia, NS 31: 397–412.Google Scholar
Ward, W. 1968. ‘Notes on some Egypto-Semitic roots’. Zeitschrift für Ägyptische Sprache, 95: 65–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wb = Erman, A. and Grapow, H.. 1957–1971. Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache. I–V. (Second edition.) Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.Google Scholar
Wölfel, D. 1955. ‘Eurafrikanische Wortschichten als Kulturschichten.’ In: Acta Salamanlicensia. Filosofia y letras, 9/1.Google Scholar
Zaborski, A. 1971. Biconsonantal verbal roots in Semitic’ Zeszyly Naukowe Universytetu Jagiellońskiego. Prace jȩzykoznawcze, 5: 51–98.Google Scholar