Chalan (MH744v)

This black-line drawing of the compound glyph for the personal name Chalan (“Talkative Person”) is attested here as pertaining to a man. It shows what is probably a ceramic bowl with four legs, and it is brimming over with small circles that have a dot in the middle of each one, like beads. Coming from the tribute payer’s mouth are four speech scrolls, two curling upwards and two curling down. These scrolls go up to the bowl. Together, these are semantic indicators of the elements that the verb chalani comprises, which can refer to the sound of breaking ceramics. The verb can also refer, however, to a person who talks more than usual, and that may well be the meaning here.