Talking Pyramids

Professor Richard Steiner’s interpretation of Semitic passages in Egyptian texts, and the subsequent press release around the world prompted a response from Professor Dr. Thomas Schneider, Chair in Egyptology, Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Egyptology at the University of Wales Swansea, UK.

Schneider objected to Steiner’s proposition and suggested that Steiner was not familiar with the most recent Egyptological treatment of the spells in question. He explained that it was wrong of Steiner to assume that all the lexemes he claimed appeared in the spells had actually existed within a single dialect around 2500 BC.

Schneider then listed the sound correspondences postulated by Steiner that would in many instances be impossible in the Egyptian transcription systems of the 2nd millennium. Further more, he added that these sound correspondences seemed to be outright impossible for the 3rd millennium.

These objections from Schneider infuriated Steiner, resulting in a rebuttal in which he suggested that Schneider had not even read the lecture in its entirety, basing his whole criticism on a two-page hand out that accompanied the lecture . Steiner’s addendum takes each of Schneider’s objections and “sets the record straight” in forensic detail.

You can read the saga in detail via the Related links below.

“This finding should be of great interest to cultural historians. Linguists, too, will be interested in these texts….they provide the first direct evidence for the pronunciation of Egyptian in this early period.” - Professor Steiner.

Related links:
Richard T. Steiner’s Paper (in Hebrew)
Objections by Thomas Schneider
Addendum by Richard T. Steiner

Yeshiva University News
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Tags: language, pyramid texts, Unas

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