Editing Egyptian language (section)

===Old Egyptian===
[[File:Peribsen2.JPG|thumb|right|Seal impression from the tomb of [[Seth-Peribsen]], containing the oldest known complete sentence in Egyptian]]

The term "Archaic Egyptian" is sometimes reserved for the earliest use of hieroglyphs, from the late fourth through the early third millennia BC. At the earliest stage, around 3300 BC,{{sfn|Mattessich|2002}} hieroglyphs were not a fully developed [[writing system]], being at a transitional stage of [[proto-writing]]; over the time leading up to the 27th century BC, grammatical features such as [[Nisba (suffix)|nisba]] formation can be seen to occur.{{sfn|Mattessich|2002}}{{sfn|Allen|2013|p=2f.}}

Old Egyptian is dated from the oldest known complete sentence, including a [[finite verb]], which has been found. Discovered in the tomb of [[Seth-Peribsen]] (dated {{Circa|2690 BC}}), the seal impression reads:

{{clear}}
:{| cellpadding=5
|-
| <hiero>d:D n:f</hiero> || <hiero>N19:n</hiero> || <hiero>G38:f</hiero> || <hiero>M23*L2:t*t</hiero> || <hiero>O1:F34 s:n</hiero>
|-
|{{wikt-lang|egy|dmḏj|d(m)ḏ.n}}{{wikt-lang|egy|.f}} || {{wikt-lang|egy|tꜣwj|tꜣ-wj}} {{wikt-lang|egy|n}} || {{wikt-lang|egy|zꜣ}}{{wikt-lang|egy|.f}} || {{wikt-lang|egy|nswt-bjtj|nsw.t-bj.t(j)}} || {{wikt-lang|egy|pr}}-{{wikt-lang|egy|jb}}''.sn(j)''
|-
|unite.{{gcl|PRF}}.he<ref>{{cite journal |last=Werning |first=Daniel A. |year=2008 |title=Aspect vs. Relative Tense, and the Typological Classification of the Ancient Egyptian {{Transliteration|egy|sḏm.n⸗f}} |journal=Lingua Aegyptia |volume=16 |page=289}}</ref>  || land.two for || son.his || [[He of the Sedge and Bee|sedge-bee]] || house-[[Ancient Egyptian conception of the soul#Ib (heart)|heart]].their
|-
|colspan=6 | "He has united [[Upper and Lower Egypt|the Two Lands]] for his son, [[nsw-bjt|Dual King]] [[Seth-Peribsen|Peribsen]]."<ref name="c">{{Harvcoltxt|Allen|2013|p=2}} citing [[Jochem Kahl]], Markus Bretschneider, ''Frühägyptisches Wörterbuch'', Part 1 (2002), p. 229.</ref>
|}

Extensive texts appear from about 2600 BC.{{sfn|Allen|2013|p=2f.}} An early example is the [[Diary of Merer]]. The [[Pyramid Texts]] are the largest body of literature written in this phase of the language. One of its distinguishing characteristics is the tripling of [[ideogram]]s, phonograms, and [[determinative]]s to indicate the plural. Overall, it does not differ significantly from Middle Egyptian, the classical stage of the language, though it is based on a different dialect.

In the period of the 3rd dynasty ({{Circa|2650|2575 BC}}), many of the principles of hieroglyphic writing were regularized. From that time on, until the script was supplanted by an early version of Coptic (about the third and fourth centuries), the system remained virtually unchanged. Even the number of signs used remained constant at about 700 for more than 2,000 years.<ref>{{cite web |title=Hieroglyph {{!}} writing character |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/265009/hieroglyph |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=5 December 2018 |language=en}}</ref>