Middle Egyptian IThe Alphabet and Transliteration

Typing Transliteration (the Manuel de Codage)

On a keyboard, Egyptologists type A i y a w b p f m n r h H x X z s S q k g t T d D.

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Typing ꜣ, ḥ or ṯ is slow on most keyboards. In the 1980s Egyptologists agreed on a plain-keyboard system called the Manuel de Codage (MdC). It is used in dictionaries, databases and hieroglyph software, and you can use it in every answer box on this site. (It builds on the alphabet from Transliteration and Its Order.)

Key idea

MdC typing: ꜣ A, j i, y y, ꜥ a, ḥ H, ḫ x, ẖ X, š S, ṯ T, ḏ D. Every other letter is typed as itself. Capitals carry meaning.
The letters that change, and some that look alike.
LetterMdCLetterMdCLetterMdC
ꜣAḥHšS
jiḫxṯT
ꜥaẖXḏD
hhsstt
zzqqdd

So ḥtp is typed Htp, nṯr nTr, ꜥnḫ anx, mꜣꜥt mAat and ḏḥwtj DHwtj. The answer boxes show you the proper letters as you type.

ḥtp-dj-nsw, typed Htp-di-nsw.

Same system, sign codes too

The same Manuel de Codage also writes hieroglyphs by their Gardiner codes, joined by signs that show the layout: - for the next group, : for a stack (top over bottom) and * for signs side by side. The offering formula above is M23:X1*N35-R4:X1*Q3-X8. You will not need to type codes in this course, but you will see them in sign lists.

Why it works

Why letters like A and a, H and h? MdC had to fit 25 Egyptian consonants onto keys that every typewriter had. It uses lowercase for the plain letters and capitals for the marked ones that look most like them: H for ḥ, S for š, T for ṯ, D for ḏ. A and a stand for ꜣ and ꜥ, x and X for ḫ and ẖ.

Common mistake

Typing capitals at random, such as Ntr for nṯr. In MdC h and H are different letters (h and ḥ), and so are a and A (ꜥ and ꜣ), s and S, t and T, d and D. Capitalize only where MdC means it. Check: read your typing back letter by letter; does each capital stand for a marked letter?

Worked example: Type it

How do you type ḫpr in MdC?
  1. ḫ is x.
  2. p and r are themselves.

Answer: xpr

Worked example: Read it

What is MdC Dd?
  1. D is ḏ.
  2. d is d.

Answer: ḏd “say”

On a phone or tablet you can also use the keypad row of special letters under each answer box: ꜣ j ꜥ ḥ ḫ ẖ z š q ṯ ḏ, plus the dot and hyphen.

Practice

Pass with 3 right answers, the last 2 in a row. Each right answer earns 1 XP.

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Builds on

Leads to

This is one of the top rungs of Middle Egyptian I.

Sources and further reading

@teddyrookbook GitHub