The determinatives

These signs acted as semantic classifiers. We have already seen that they helped to determine where a word ends. But they had more important use. In semitic languages, the word roots are based on the consonantic skeleton of the word, but the grammatical value of a word depends on the vowels. The same is true in Egyptian, particularly for verbs. Sometimes, specially when the word contains weak consonants, as or , the apparent consonantic skeleton of the verb changes with its uses. But often, no external change allows us to tell one form from another. Then, sometimes, the addition of determinatives helps. For example, the root , , conventionally pronounced ``bak'', is connected with the idea of ``working''. So, with the determinative of actions, , it writes the verb ``to work'': .

With the sign of the man, , it writes the word ``servant'': . The word , with the sign of plural or collective things (three ticks), meant ``work'', ``task''; but with the determinative of abstract things, the papyrus-roll , you get the word , which means ``workmanship''.

Determinatives are also useful for the reader when an unknown word is met. Signs like , found after a strange word, indicates that it's probably the name of a foreign country. The sign represents a range of mountains like the gebels which surround Egypt, and are so associated with the idea of foreign landscape.

Finally, they give us an idea of the notions ancient Egyptians put behind some words: joy, , angriness, , or ...