The Decipherment of Meroitic | Claude Rilly, Sorbonne

The Decipherment of Meroitic
Claude Rilly, Sorbonne University
We are excited to welcome Claude Rilly, one of the world’s foremost scholars in Meroitic Writing for a lecture that approaches the translation of this ancient language from Sudan. Meroitic was the language spoken in ancient times in the land of Kush, north of present-day Sudan. During the last phase of this civilization, strongly influenced by Pharaonic Egypt and known as the "Kingdom of Meroe" (270 BC/330 AD), an alphasyllabic script was created to transcribe the language. Around two thousand texts, often long and varied, are known to date. Meroitic disappeared in the early Middle Ages without leaving any descendants. The script was deciphered in 1911, but after a century of research, the language has yet to be fully translated. Recent progress has been made, largely thanks to the identification of its linguistic family. In the near future, we can hope to finally understand the texts of the oldest written language in sub-Saharan Africa.

[@davidc1878]

3:54 The lecture finally starts.

[@HassanCodA-Xod8hm]

🤭

[@jamesraymond1158]

The lecture begins at 5:40

[@scienceoctal7524]

Good work, Dr. Claude.

[@BeeNotDismayed]

6:10 Reminds me of the quest in Warcraft Orcs v Humans where you have to fetch Uther and bring him back through a gauntlet of towers along the river

[@tanianotarius6638]

thank you! very interesting!

[@Wien1938]

That was really interesting.

[@frankpopolano6004]

Excellent.

[@lievenmoelants]

but remarkable how such an eminent linguist has such a strange way of pronouncing english. very french indeed.😊

[@michelg.rabbat2267]

Cher Monsieur Claude Reilly. This is Michel Gamil Rabbat Egyptian American ..my mother was from WadiHalfa and my wife Hoda from Port Sudan.Culturally in Zanzibar the tribe there wags its tongue and ululate just like Egyptian women

[@HassanCodA-Xod8hm]

Brilliant Thank You. 💘 I Iove learning new things. 💕

[@veronicalogotheti1162]

Thank you

[@michelg.rabbat2267]

FR MG RABBAT....Egyptian American prof. El Biz proved that during the Savanna pluvial rains on the N.Arabian shield in Midiañ caused gold rich detritus while the heavy downpours made the 4th river of Biblical. Eden to flow east to join the Euphrates and empty info the Persian gulf near UR in Kuwait..this. area was called Kush same for the Nile Kush of. pre_Kemt Egypt

[@skdoremi6666]

The whole lecture talk about the ORIGIN and meaning of Sudanese language....and all u can remember is so eone telling you about the word kush used by arabs and Persians? U sure don't know how languages work.....kush in persia probably originate from the Hindu valley......which can mean water, drug.....and for arabs it also probably has the same origins.....if u pronounce the K....if its kh than its different....u have to understand that words in different part of the world can sound the same but have completely different meaning ir uses...kush as its pronounced can mean a bed in French....😒you are welcomed.