Reich - A Grammatical Exercise of an Egyptian Schoolboy

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Egypt Exploration Society

A Grammatical Exercise of an Egyptian SchoolboyAuthor(s): Nathaniel ReichSource: The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 10, No. 3/4 (Oct., 1924), pp. 285-288Published by: Egypt Exploration SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3853930

Accessed: 19/09/2009 10:37

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285

A GRAMMATICAL EXERCISE OF ANEGYPTIAN SCHOOLBOYBY DR. NATHANIEL REICH

SOMEyears ago Professor F. L1. Griffith had the goodness to offer me some of hisexcellent collection of ostraca for publication. He presented the whole collection to theAshmolean Museum in Oxford. I want to thank Professor Griffith for his kindness ingiving me the opportunity to publish the following piece of the collection. It is Ptolemaicin date and is a grammatical exercise of an ancient Egyptian schoolboy and therefore ofparticular interest. The ostracon is 14 cm. long and 10 cm. broad, and the writing consistsof two columns. The column A on the right side conjugates the verb p-e-z-f which ispreserved in the Coptic so-called "nominal verb " ncesq "quoth he," "says" in regard toan action perfecturn like "inquit" (cf. STERN,Kopt. Grammn., 311). It goes back to theLate Egypt. jkq .. PI .dd-for, as moreusually written, x -pi dd-f= "(that is) what he said," which is the younger equivalent of the old ' dd.tn(SETHE,Nominalsatz im Aeg. und Kopt., ? 40).The column B on the left side conjugates the same verb in the form p-e.z-w n-fnezxanaq "they said to him," "one said to him" or also "they called him (by thename of)."The order of the conjugation in the singular is that to which we are used: 1st person,2nd person, 3rd person (masc. and fern.),but the plural has in both columns the order3rd, 1st and 2nd person. I believe that this order is due merely to the accident that theboy made the mistake in the column A and was, therefore, forced to keep the same orderin the column B for the corresponding forms.

By the same accident the pupil omitted, probably, in the singular the 2nd person ofthe feminine in the column A and omitted it for the reason given above in the column Btoo. The forms for these omitted lines would be something like this in Demotic writing:

< ^ l "ierogl.ranscription:

- k Lor k 1 ',Phonetic transcription: p-e.z-t, Copt.: nse = "thou (woman)ColumnA. saidst."

"^ v L9 nQ s= j/ s ef ft ? (-ASI _ f 1 gi&I Hierogl.ranscr.:[ S2,C or l6,Phonetic transcription: p-e.z-w n-t, Copt.: ne'sva ne = "they*clk said to thee (woman)," "one said to thee (woman)" or "theyColumnB. called thee (woman, by the name of...)."Such paradigms are already known to us. One has been published by Brugsch (Demo-tische Paradigmata, Zeitschr. f. dg. Spr., 16/1 ff.), the other by Hess (Zum demotischenLexicon, Zeitschr.f. dg. Spr., 28/1).


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286 NATHANIEL REICHThe following acsimile s my own,madeby tracingfromthe originalsomeyearsago.

ColumnB.


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A GRAMMATICAL XERCISEOF AN EGYPTIANSCHOOLBOY 287The text reads as follows:

COLUMNA.Hieroglyphic transcription.Singular.

1st person2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.

Plural.3rd person1st person2nd person

Phonetic -transcription.Singular.1st person

2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.Plural.3rd person1st person2nd person

p-e.z-yp-e.z-kp-e.z-fp-e.z-sp-e-z-wp-e.z-n[p]-e.z-tn

Coptic.Singular.1st person

2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.Plural.3rd person1st person2nd person

ne[sxnf[cwtTifule"U17n

Translation.Singular.1st person2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.Plural.

3rd person1st person2nd person

I saidthou (man) saidsthe saidshe said

they saidwe saidyou said


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NATHANIEL REICH

COLUMN .Hieroglyphic transcription.

Singular.1st person2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.

Plural.3rd person1st person2nd person

Phonetic transcription.Singular.1st person2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.Plural.


p-e.z-w n-yp-e-z-w n-kp-e.z-w n-fp-e.z-w n-sp-e.z-w n-wp-e.z-w n-np-e.z-w n-tn

Singular.1st person2nd person, mase.3rd person, mase.3rd person, fern.Plural.3rd person1st person2nd person

UCIMT n,l

ncuesv na&nezx T nasn

neC'sx ncTnne-x^v n^nWn^^T iiHfi

Singular.1st person2nd person, masc.3rd person, masc.3rd person, fern.Plural.


Translation.they said to me (or: one said to me)they said to thee (man)they said to himthey said to her

they said to themthey said to usthey said to you

288

AAAA&AA

/VWW~

ANVVV%

it5r/W. .A

AI~

/vvvvN/NVV\

lit

Coptic.

I L a u r Y

8kl^6 ," I , - ' . 1

a u q 'l~9~6~

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Reich - A Grammatical Exercise of an Egyptian Schoolboy