This document discusses time as a linguistic concept in ancient Egyptian, specifically examining whether there was an interrogative word for "when". It analyzes sources from different time periods and genres. While words existed for other interrogatives like "what", "who", "why", and "where", the analysis found no examples of an interrogative word for "when" in Late Egyptian texts, though Middle Egyptian examples use "at what time". The document concludes there may have been a missing linguistic category for interrogating time in ancient Egyptian language.

1. Maxim Kupreyev
Ägyptologisches Seminar, Freie Universität Berlin
Eine fehlende Kategorie?
Zeitfragen im Neuägyptischen

2. 2Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Literary sources
• Instruction of Amenemope
• pAnastasi I
• Late Egyptian Miscellanies (LEM, school texts)
• Late Egyptian Stories (LES)
• Love Poems (pChester Beatty I (BM 10681), pHarris 500 (BM 10060))
• Ostraka Deir el-Medina 1217 + 1638
• Battle of Kadesh

3. 3Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Non-literary sources
Letters
• pAnastasi VIII
• pAnastasi IX
• pLeiden I 364, 365
• Late Egyptian Miscellanies (LEM)
• pBM 10416
• Late Ramesside Letters (LRL)
• pNorthumberland I
Legal texts
• Tomb Robberies (pAbbot, pBM 10052, 10053, 10054, 10383, pMayer A & B)
• pTurin 2021
• Inscription of Mes
• The Decree of Amonrasonthēr for Neskhons

4. 4Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
General questions
• expect the answer “yes / no”
• mostly introduced by interrogative particles jn (var. nn, nA) and jst (var. js, jsw, jstw,
jswt, js-bn)
<j>n sw m-dj.k <j>n Aow pA j.jrj.f
Do you have it? Or has it become lost? (LRL 15,6)
js-bn wn m-dj.k Ssw onw xr wn m-dj.k Smsw onw sp 2
Isn’t it so that you have a lot of scribes and servants? (LEM 61, 12)

5. 5Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
General questions
Dd.tw n.f ptr.k tAy.w Atp Dd.f bwpwy.j ptr
They said to him, “Did you see what they were carrying?”
He said, “I did not see” (P. BM 10052 14, 16)
Rhetorical: lead the addressee to understand the opposite of the question’s
propositional content
jn j[w] j.dj.j tAy.j Srj.t n pA war n Km.t jmj Sm.t.f n.f an
Is it to this Egyptian fugitive that I should give my daughter? Send him away!
(Doomed Prince 6,10-11)

6. 6Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Special questions
• Ask for particular information
• Contain interrogative pronouns
• Types:
1. Subject and Matter: what? (jx ), which? (jT )
jx pA jr. [tn]
What is it that you are doing?
(Doomed prince 5,14)
jT nTr mj aA +Hwty
Which god is like the great one, Thoth?
(Amenemope 18,2)
Middle Egyptian: pty, m, jSst
Coptic: ou/ a¥ te tme What is the truth? (Till §211)

7. 7Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Special questions
2. Person: who?, whose? (jx, nym)
jx tA nty jy.tj
Who is she who has come?
(Horus and Seth 9,11)
ntk Srj nym
Whose son are you?
(Blinding of Truth 5,3)
Middle Egyptian: jn m /pw
Coptic: p¥hre Nnim Whose son? (Till §210)

8. 8Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Special questions
3. Reason: why?, lit. for what? (r/ Hr + jx )
j.jr.k jr ntk obH r jx Why have you done a silly thing? (LEM 46,13)
4. Manner: how?, lit. like what ?(mj + jx)
jr pr-aA a. w. s. j.jr.f pH pAy tA mj jx zp 2 As for Pharaoh, l.p.h., how shall he reach this
land? (LRL 36, 12)
Middle Egyptian: r m / mj m
Coptic: etbe ou / Na¥ Nxe

9. 9Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Special questions
5. Measure: how many / much?, how long? (jx n N, wr)
tw.tw gbj m jx n HoA.t By what (number of) HoA.t is one short? (Anastasi I, 6,7)
jrj wr z xma.f m 6 wnw.t How many men will demolish it in six hours? (pAnast. I,
17,1)
Middle Egyptian:
pty hAAt r.f m sSr What is (the amount) that will go into it in corn? (RMP PL. N, 43)
wr r wr How much (is it) by how much? (RMP PL. N, 45)
Coptic: ouhr nanobe How plentiful are my sins? (Till §215)

10. 10Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Special questions
5. Place: where?, whither? ((r) tnw, m + jx )
jy.k tnw pA Srj nfr Whence have you come, you good youth?
(Doomed Prince 5, 10-11)
Middle Egyptian: Tn
Coptic: eftwn pouxai Where is your husband? (Till §443)
6. State and condition
xy od.k What is your condition?
tw.k mj jx sp 2 How are you?
xy od.k What is your condition?
jn jw.k m Ss Are you all right?
(P. Northumberland 1, 2-3; 1,11)

11. 11Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Were there questions of time?
HD.n tA jw.j Hr f mj wn bjk
xpr.n nw n sty rA
sAsA.j sw xb.n.j sbty.f
When the day dawned I was on him like
a hawk. When the time of the
“perfuming the mouth” / “bad breath”
came, I overthrew him, I destroyed his
wall.(Carnavon Tablet, 14 = 1st Kamose
Stela)
ptr j.jrj dj.t jn(.tw) n.k tAy.k aA.t m rnp.t 6 Abd 3 Smw sw 25.
See, it was year 6, third month of summer, day 25 that I sent you your donkey
(pTurin 1976, vs. 1-3)

12. 12
Were there questions of time?
wr r pA h(r)w m Dr jw.k n pA nty Jmn jm How many (days) is it to today since
Abd 5 (m) hrw r pAy you came from the place where Amun is?
Five months (in) days till now.
(Wenamun 1,51)
SAa.tw jx jy jw.j dj xAa.tw Until when (lit. what comes) shall I be left
here? (Wenamun 2,66)
r + sDm.t.f (ME)
 r SAa + j.jr.t.f + sDm (LE)
 Sa-tw.f sDm (Demotic)
 ¥a(n)tFswtM (Coptic)
Titel, Datum

13. 13Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Was there an interrogative „when“?
Middle Egyptian:
ms.s jrf zy nw RwDDd.t
ms.s m Abd 1 prt sw 15
At what time will she give birth, Ruddedet?
She will give birth on the fifteenth day
of the first winter month (Westcar 9,15)
Late Egyptian ???
Demotic ????
Coptic: tnau / na¥ nnau
ajis nan je erenai na¥wpe tnau Tell us when this will happen? (Till §441)
na¥ nnau at what time? (Crum 235 (a)

14. 14Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Was there an interrogative „when“?
In the corpus of Late Egyptian texts analyzed:
„when“ – 0
„where“ – 17

15. 15Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Was there an interrogative „when“?

16. 16Time as a linguistic concept: Interrogative „when“ in the Egyptian language, April 10, 2013
Danke!