Grammaire égyptienne

(literally: 'Egyptian Grammar') is a grammar reference book by the French Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion, published posthumously in France in 1836. Its full title, the ''Grammaire égyptienne ou Principes généraux de l'écriture sacrée égyptienne appliqué à la présentation de la langue parlée'' means ''Egyptian Grammar or General Principles of Egyptian Sacred Writing Applied to the Presentation of the Spoken Language''.

Origins

Upon his return from Egypt to France on 5 March 1830, after almost twenty months of absence, Champollion immediately gave priority to the clarification of his ''Grammaire''. Like the record cards of or the plates of , the ''Grammaire'' contains numerous records and drawings reproduced in Egypt, by Champollion himself and his assistants; but he died in 1832 without being able to publish it. It was his brother, Jacques-Joseph Champollion, who would handle its publication in 1836. Marcellin Jobard, a lithographer from Brussels, whom claimed to have advised Champollion the use of lithography for the printing of the ''Grammaire égyptienne''. The printing combines lithography and typography, with lithographic stone transfer methods improved by Jules Feuquières, used by 's lithographic workshop in Paris, which was responsible for the lithographic printing process of the ''Grammaire''.

''Grammaire'' points out that the Egyptian hieroglyphs are a complex system, writing figurative, symbolic, and phonetic all at once. This work went hand in hand with the ''Dictionnaire égyptien en écriture hiéroglyphique'', another work by Champollion which was also published posthumously by his brother in 1841. The aim of ''Dictionnaire égyptien'' was to create a complete method of learning hieroglyphic writing. Émile Prisse d'Avennes, a French engineer, became Egyptologist after studying ''Grammaire égyptienne''.

Hieroglyphics

''Grammaire égyptienne'' contains many hieroglyphs in a rather particular style.

Editions

There are many editions of this work, notably:
* ''Grammaire égyptienne ou Principes généraux de l'écriture sacrée égyptienne appliqué à la présentation de la langue parlée'', Firmin-Didot Frères, 1836
* ''Principes généraux de l'écriture sacrée Égyptienne'', Institut d'Orient, 1984,
* ''Grammaire égyptienne'', Solin, 1997,
* ''Grammaire égyptienne'', Actes Sud, 1998, 555 pages,

Bibliography

* Marie-Christine Claes, "Autour de la Grammaire égyptienne de Champollion : Marcellin Jobard, Charles Motte et Jules Feuquières, utilisateurs de la lithographie pour l'impression des hiéroglyphes", from ''Bulletin des Musées royaux d'Art et d'Histoire'', Brussels, volume 82, 2011 013 pp. 55–99.

Gallery

File:Grammaire Egyptienne by Jean Francois Champollion, 1836 - National Cryptologic Museum - DSC07733.JPG, ''Grammaire égyptienne'', chapter V
File:Grammaire égyptienne, chap. I, p. 8.jpg, ''Grammaire égyptienne'', chapter Ⅰ, p. 8
File:Grammaire égyptienne, chap. I, p. 9.jpg, ''Grammaire égyptienne'', chapter Ⅰ, p. 9
File:Opening of Champollion, p. 2.jpg, Reproduction of hieroglyphs from the ''Grammaire''
File:Opening of Champollion, p. 7.jpg, Reproduction of hieroglyphs from the ''Grammaire''
File:L'écriture, p. 121.jpg, Champollion's handwritten page in the ''Grammaire''

References

External links

''Grammaire égyptienne'' Online (1836 edition)
{{in lang, fr

1836 books
Grammar books
Egyptology books
Egyptian hieroglyphs