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from Part I - Ancient, Classical, and Medieval Periods
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 20 July 2023
This two-part chapter deals with traditions linked to the two main languages of Ancient Mesopotamia, Sumerian and Akkadian (discussed by Woods), and the language of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian-Coptic (by Stauder). In both, the texts giving linguistic information are word lists, lexical and/or grammatical. The scripts (cuneiform in Mesopotamia and hieroglyph in Egypt) were mainly logo-syllabic and required scribal training. Plurilingualism was widespread in Mesopotamia. In Egypt there was written diglossia, the 'traditional Egyptian' being the variety associated with high culture and ritual. Though there is evidence of linguistic awareness, no general linguistic descriptions are present: interest in language was more practical than theoretical.
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