[jeltz]

Egyptian hierghlyps had phonetic values too so it definitely would be able to express everything spoken Egyptian could.

The main issue with hieroglyphics is that it was a very convoluted system, where symbols meant different things depending on context. A symbol of a bird could be a literal bird, some abstract concept related to that bird or part of the sounds of the word for that bird.

[ted_dunning]

That sounds as difficult as Japanese where a single kanji might be used phonetically based on a Chinese reading (山 = san) or a Japanese reading (山 = yama) or it might be used non-phonetically or it could be some amazingly surprising pun based on any of the above.

Clearly impossible to have a system like that continue. Except for the fact that it does.

[wl]

The polysemic nature of Egyptian hieroglyphic signs is hardly the main issue with learning to read ancient Egyptian. If you're a beginner slogging through elementary translation exercises, the determinatives and phonetic complements help a lot. If you've studied the signs, grammar, and vocabulary you actually need to read texts, you've already gained understanding of the context needed to interpret the function of individual signs.