Tuesday, April 12, 2016

boats sailing on water

When you face a painting for the first time your eyes take it all in at once and the painting says something directly right off at first glance with no studying at all. Hieroglyphics are like paintings this way.



Some things jump out at you and begin telling their story at a glance with no organization. These are the symbols that leap out at me, other people may have other symbols jump out at them. They may see the words "empty" and "riverbank" and "walking" and "searching" but those words do not leap out at me.


The textbook for first and second semester Spanish had an essay midway through the book about Christopher Columbus. I recall thinking at first leafing through the book, if all I can manage is this simple essay midway then my goal will be satisfied for the course. I really only want to know what all those las and les and los things stand for anyway. Likewise, my goal for these hieroglyphs is to be able to see what is going on, and that's all. I don' t care about being a linguist or about proper grammar or what tense, mood or specific verb conjugation or any of that. All I want is to be able to recognize what they are talking about. 

This is something river Egypt, most likely Nile, water, walking on two feet, boats, that sail, pathway and becoming. All that at a glance. No effort at all in attempting to decipher, just recognize the symbols under discussion that's all. I'm satisfied without looking further. I learned what I came for. 

I have been enjoying watching the class handle these these things with tremendous satisfaction. 

Digging into the specifics, observing their struggles, their teacher interprets the strings thusly:

The rivers will have run dry (those of Egypt) so they can be crossed on foot. You (or one) will seek water out for ships to sail it, but its course will have become a river bank.

The students interpret the strings like this:

* The rivers of Egypt have gone dry so that the water can be crossed on foot.
One will search for water for the boats in order to sail (on) it,
its course having become a sand-bank.

(there is no mention of sand)

The river channels of Egypt are empty so that the waters are crossed on foot. One will search for (enough) water for boats to sail on (it), his route having become the river bank. 

The Nile of Egypt has been empty, one will ferry across the water on two feet, and one will seek out water for ship in order to sail it, its course has turned into river bank. 

The empty river of Egypt can be crossed on two feet
One will seek water in order to sail boats on it
It’s course has become a riverbank

* The rivers of Egypt are empty one can cross the water by foot
one seeks out deep water for boats to sail on it
its course has become a sand bank 

The empty river of Egypt--it can be crossed on foot.
one searches for water (and) for a ships to sail it.
It's way has become as a riverbank

“The river of Egypt has dried up, and the water can be crossed on foot
“… one is to seek out water for the ships to be able to sail …”“… since its course has become (merely) a bank.”

The empty river of Egypt is crossed on foot,
One searches for water for boats in order to sail on it
Its course has become as a riverbank

The Nile of Egypt is empty and the water is crossed on foot
One seeks out water for ships to travel it, because its course
has become the river bank.

The river of Egypt is empty; one crosses the water on foot. One will
search for water for ships for him to sail on and his course changes
to/winds up on the bank.

* The rivers of Egypt will turn dry, so that the water can be crossed on foot
One will search for water for ships to sail on it
(but) its course has become a river bank


6 comments:

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Hieroglyphics

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I'm guessing.

deborah said...

This has cheered me up immensely. Is there a hieroglyph for riverbank?

I like the ones that say empty river. Which is yours?

MamaM said...

Almost as confounding as a cat with a fishy tale hovering over moving waters.

Chip Ahoy said...

The students are interested in mastering transliteration. They're sounding out the bits that do not jump out at them. They're sounding them into Egyptian words.

So, none mention the first two symbols are not vocalized. It's like a musical clef. For linguists the first two symbols say, "the following is stative."

Well, la de f'n dah.

It does give a clue how the rest will be read. Egyptian stative does not have past/present/future but English does. My interpretation would be free of any of that.

I cannot translate the first two symbols, "the following is stative" because Egyptians would not be thinking like that. I"m force to translate it it, "Well, here's the deal." or in Walter Brennan Voice "No brag, just fact" or "Hey, get this" or "So this happens" or "Heads up!" It's just a notation, "3-w" sounds like "eh-ew", "Seriously…, some story.

The waterways of Egypt are empty such as one ferries across by two feet. You must look for water to sail your boats. The riverbanks have become a road.

That's how I fill it in. (reversing portions "A standard road is become of the riverbanks.)

deborah said...

Ah. Much nicer than most. Still a little formal. May I? Thanks!

The waterways of Egypt are empty and you must ferry across on foot. You must look for water to sail your boats, for the rivers have become roads.