Battiscombe Gunn's Studies in Egyptian Syntax (1924) is one of
the fundamental works in Egyptian linguistics. The book, which has long
been unobtainable, was published when the author was working for Alan H.
Gardiner, who was preparing his renowned Egyptian Grammar (1st
edition 1927, 3rd edn 1957). Gardiner perceived the significance of
Gunn's work with its major discoveries, and he incorporated a number of
Gunn's ideas in his own grammar. Gunn, however, was a perfectionist who
was reluctant to release his ideas for publications, and the
Studies did not include all the chapters he had written. Among
Gunn's papers, now in the Griffith Institute, Oxford, are further
studies, some that he had made ready for publication and others nearly
complete, that extend his approach and its coverage.
R.S.
Simpson has edited all Gunn's studies that had reached publishable form,
adding half as much again to the material. The present book is an
unaltered reprint of Studies in Egyptian Syntax, followed by the
hitherto unpublished chapters. In his preface to the new material Dr
Simpson outlines his editorial principles, which include updating text
citations to refer to today's editions. As he notes, Gunn's work
continues to be influential, both for his interpretations and for his
insistence on a corpus-based approach. The newly available chapters will
thus inform current debates about the Egyptian language on several
levels.
This book is essential for understanding
developments in the interpretation of Classical and Late Egyptian, as
well as presenting much that is new and highly topical.