Since the hieroglyphic system does not account for vowels, each phonogram type represents consonants. To further explicate, unilaterals are derived from words with one consonant rendering them closest to alphabetic letters. They facilitate the correct reading of ideograms by signaling individual consonants. The use of twenty-four unilaterals spanned the entire phonetic range of the language. Bilaterals and trilaterals represented consonantal combinations of two and three sounds respectively.
Determinatives are another language component.
Determinatives also signify qualities or functions and express emphasis. For instance, a crocodile signified evil and was used to signify evil in other representations. Another example is the use of the hawk ideogram. Being that the hawk is the swiftest winged creature, its pictorial was used for everything in which swiftness was appropriate. During the Twelfth Dynasty, the language underwent standardization for the seven hundred plus signs in use.