Re: Mitzrayim (was: New To List)

Wesley Parish scripsit:

> That would make /m-/ a nominal prefix in Hebrew.  I've only learnt that that
> far in Arabic, and haven't got anywhere near that in Aramaic/Syriac.  Does it
> give that meaning in Ancient Egyptian?
As I said at the beginning of this thread, the Egyptian word for
Egypt was /x-m-/, where - refers to the unknown vowel, or "Khem"
in transliteration.  In this system, the vowel letters a, i, o, and u
represent 'alef, /j/, `ayin, and /w/ respectively, and e is inserted into
otherwise unpronounceable (to Europeans!) consonant clusters but does
not represent anything in the original.  Thus the name /n-f-r-t-y-t-y-/
becomes "Nefertiti".

Everyone knows this system is broken, but at least it allows a
conventional pronunciation of words and names that would otherwise
remain unsayable for lack of information about their vowels.  For actual
transcription purposes, a true transliteration system, called the "Manuel
de Codage system" is used -- but the pronunciation is still according
to the older system, so "nfrtyty" is still pronounced "Nefertiti".

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
To say that Bilbo's breath was taken away is no description at all.  There
are no words left to express his staggerment, since Men changed the language
that they learned of elves in the days when all the world was wonderful.
        --_The Hobbit_