Pwar and I were not discouraging the OP from learning French. In fact, I would encourage him to do so. French and German are required languages for any research in the field. Arabic, however, is an exceedingly useful language to have in addition to French and German. </p>
<p>A typical Egyptologist knows all phases of the Egyptian language (Old Egyptian, Middle Egyptian, and Late Egyptian in both hieroglyphic and hieratic scripts; Demotic; Coptic), another ancient Near Eastern language (e.g. Hebrew, Hittite, Akkadian), French, German, and Arabic. Keep in mind that this is just the typical scholar- most know even more languages. </p>
<p>
That's the standard Eurocentric view, but it's nonsense nonetheless. Arabic scholars were doing Egyptological research centuries before European scholars even visited Egypt.</p>
<p>ccTransfer,
If the degree requirements don't talk about French or German, it's probably because they don't expect undergrads to read original scholarly materials written in those languages. Nevertheless, why not start learning either French or German?
I can't tell you about the specifics on college admissions. (I am a computer science professional.) Take relevant courses that your school offers and ace them, and try to get glowing recommendations from faculty members who got to know you. If your application demonstrates your passion and that you actually have a clue, (Having watched Hawass blabber on Discovery Channel is not it. lol) you have a shot at Brown and other terrific schools.</p>
<p>pwar,
I recall reading that limited reconstructions were possible based on rare phonetic transcriptions found on cuneiform tablets.
nfr sounded like /nafir/, nfr.t (the feminine form) was like /nafra/. or something like that. If a further progress has been made, it would be an interesting read. Thank you.</p>
<p>One more thing. For me, the most difficult part of learning the Egyptian language was not the hieroglyphs, but was its complete lack of tenses and the complex system of "aspects." If Arabic or (any semitic) language is like that, its speakers would have a tremendous advantage.</p>
A handful of scholars (Stuart Smith at UCSB, Antonio Loprieno at Basel, the late John Callendar at UCLA, et al) have attempted with limited success to reconstruct pronunciation by comparing Coptic with cuneiform documents. The difficulty with this approach is that foreigners were unfamiliar with Egyptian names and often wrote them incorrectly. You can see this in the Bible, for example, where Shoshenq is rendered Shishak.</p>
<p>Well, you can't rely on the ancients for faithful rendering of foreign words. I would think the most reliable sources are the cuneiform tablets written by the Egyptians themselves. I guess you just have to keep searching...</p>
<p>My daughter wants to do an egyptology major as well. She is currently at Brown university with their pre-college summer program taking two classes. Both are focused on this major. I don’t know know if that would be an option for you but this is an excellent way for her to test the waters and see if that is the right area of study for her.</p>
<p>Ooh, interesting choice. Very few ppl apply to ivies in classics, and generally, almost all who do are accepted. You should definitely take classes (online probably) that teach Egyptian history, and a hieroglyphics course would be extremely beneficial. Without even seeing your application to Brown, I would say you have a good shot (if your academics are even just average out of the pool). Also, I’d look at Yale if you have a good application. I’m not sure if they have this major, but they allow you to design your own major in some cases, and this would be one such case. Cool choice! :D</p>
<p>Anyone interested in Archaeology or Egyptology should really look at University of Chicago. My son has been involved in both and is majoring in Near Eastern Languages etc and has worked at the Oriental Institute in summers. Originally he applied to Brown, Carleton, Penn, Johns Hopkins, BU, and Yale-got into all except Yale, but Chicago was always his first choice.</p>
<p>I really don’t think you need to do all that specific language prep.(my son did Latin and classics), unless you are genuinely interested in doing it in your spare time. What you should do is investigate ways of doing hands-on volunteer work at museums or any digs–it certainly doesn’t have to be a dig in Egypt. There are many digs going on in the US and Europe and you can find the info online via sites like Archaeological Institute of America. KMT: a Modern Journal of Ancient Egypt will also give you lots of info online and in their magazine.</p>
<p>My son was interested in this subject since he was a little boy, and just naturally gathered up info about it because he loved it. Definitely ask to speak with someone in the Dept., when you visit the university or college.</p>
<p>Also, I forgot in that list Washington U, St. Louis. Archaeology is often subsumed under an Anthropology Dept label or a Near Eastern Lang and Culture label, so look carefully at the courses offered.</p>