From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Late Egyptian is the stage of the Egyptian language that began to be written in the New Kingdom around the Amarna period. It is represented by a rich body of religious and secular literature, comprising such famous examples as the Story of Wenamun and the Instructions of Ani. Instructions became a popular literary genre of the New Kingdom, which took the form of advice on proper behavior. It was also the language of Ramesside administration. Late Egyptian is not completely distinct from Middle Egyptian, as many "classicisms" appear in historical and literary documents of this phase. However, the difference between Middle and Late Egyptian is greater than that between Middle and Old Egyptian. It is also a better representative than Middle Egyptian of the spoken language in the New Kingdom and beyond. Hieroglyphic orthography saw an enormous expansion of its graphemic inventory between the Late Dynastic and Ptolemaic periods.
