Hieroglyphs on your iPhone: Aaou Dictionary Application

Jean-François Dumon and Alamanga have developed 'Aaou', an application for iPhone and iPodTouch which allows a quick translation of hieroglyphs. The iPhone app over 10,000 words or symbols to - depending on your iPhone settings - French or English. the translation in French / English of more than 10200 words and symbols and offers the possiblity of transliteration. 'Aaou' also allows you access through an index, to the uni/bi/triliterals as well as to an aide memory on the common hieroglyphs. The Aaou Hieroglyph Dictionary is priced at 4.99 euro and - of course - available via the iTunes app store.

For those of you who speak French, a short video presentation of the application can be found on Dumon's homepage. This seems like a splendid idea for a 'basic' translation tool that you easily carry along - be it to Egypt or to a museum. Has anybody tested it yet? Or should I purchase the app, jump on the tube to the British Museum and start - attempting at - translating the Rosetta stone? I would be out of the office for quite a while... . Guess I better stick to my 'improve the 2MP camera' apps (some of those listed here).

PS. If you can chose - $3.99 for a 'conversational Klingon' (dictionary, phrasebook and pronounciation guide) iPhone app  or 4.99 Euros for the Aaou Hieroglyph Dictionary - which one would you pick? Bennu? ;)

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About The Author

Ann Wuyts

Ann 'Vint' Wuyts is looking after the Heritage Key community and avatar health & entertainment. She is slightly fascinated by everything to do with 3D technology and what's commonly defined as 'Web 2.0'. When she grows up, Ann - eventually - wants to be a mummy.
Favourite game: Buzzword Bingo / Favourite book: 56 different ways to draw Mummies / Favourite toy: her DSLR / Worst fears: MySpace & Google data-world-domination / Favourite website: Heritage Key & Flickr.

Last three pieces by this author: Ancient Egyptian Artefact, Returned by Met Museum, to be Reunited with Statue at Karnak, Restoring The Avenue of Sphinxes and Protecting it for the Future, Remake of Epic 'Clash of the Titans' will be in 3D

Interesting Articles And Blog Posts

Egyptian Language and Writing

Egyptian hieroglyphs – streams of sometimes heavily stylised pictograms and letters, carved into stone or drawn onto papyrus parchment – are instantly recognisable relics of one of the world’s oldest and most famous ancient civilizations. But what on earth do they mean?

Egyptian Scribes and Writing

Being able to read and write was essential for anyone wishing to have a career in the Egyptian civil service. Not much is known about Egyptian schools. Some temples ran schools but many boys seem to have studied with local scribes (trained writers).

Interesting Publications

Fun With Hieroglyphs

British Museum Press (2008)

by Catharine Roehrig

Learning Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs by Janice Kamrin

Harry N. Abrams (2004)

by Janice Kamrin