The Rosetta Stone contributed to deciphering hieroglyphs because it included inscriptions in how many scripts?

The Rosetta Stone contributed to deciphering hieroglyphs because it included inscriptions in how many scripts?

• A. Two
• B. Three
• C. One
• D. Four

Answer: (B)

The important idea is that having the same text in multiple scripts provides a bridge to translation. The Rosetta Stone presents the same decree in three scripts: hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek. Scholars could read Greek, which offered a known language that could be connected to the other two scripts. By lining up the Greek with the hieroglyphic and Demotic text, they could determine how signs and words corresponded across languages, gradually revealing how the hieroglyphs sounded and what they meant. That three-script setup is what made deciphering hieroglyphs possible.

The important idea is that having the same text in multiple scripts provides a bridge to translation. The Rosetta Stone presents the same decree in three scripts: hieroglyphic, Demotic, and Greek. Scholars could read Greek, which offered a known language that could be connected to the other two scripts. By lining up the Greek with the hieroglyphic and Demotic text, they could determine how signs and words corresponded across languages, gradually revealing how the hieroglyphs sounded and what they meant. That three-script setup is what made deciphering hieroglyphs possible.