Coptic
The final stage of the Egyptian language, written in a Greek-based alphabet — the liturgical language of Egyptian Christianity and the key to deciphering hieroglyphs.
Overview
Coptic is the latest stage of the ancient Egyptian language, written in the Greek alphabet supplemented by six or seven letters derived from Demotic script for sounds not found in Greek. Unlike earlier Egyptian scripts (hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic), Coptic writes vowels, making it invaluable for reconstructing the pronunciation of earlier Egyptian. Coptic was the everyday language of Egypt until Arabic replaced it after the Arab conquest (641 CE), though it survived as a spoken language in some communities until perhaps the 17th century. It remains the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church.[4]
Dialects
- Sahidic — The standard literary dialect of Upper Egypt; most Coptic texts are in Sahidic
- Bohairic — The dialect of Lower Egypt (the Delta); the current liturgical standard
- Fayyumic, Akhmimic, Lycopolitan — Regional dialects with smaller text corpora[7]
Key Texts
- Nag Hammadi Library — 4th-century collection of Gnostic texts in Coptic (including the Gospel of Thomas)
- Coptic Bible translations — Among the earliest Bible translations
- Shenoute of Atripe — The greatest Coptic literary author (4th–5th century)
- Apophthegmata Patrum — Sayings of the Desert Fathers[7]
Sample Text
Opening of the Gospel of Thomas (Nag Hammadi Codex II, 32.10–12, Sahidic Coptic):[4]
ⲛⲁⲓ ⲛⲉ ⲛϣⲁϫⲉ ⲉⲑⲏⲡ ⲛⲧⲁ ⲓⲥ ⲉⲧⲟⲛϩ ϫⲟⲟⲩ ⲁⲩⲱ ⲁϥⲥϩⲁⲓⲥⲟⲩ ⲛϭⲓ ⲇⲓⲇⲩⲙⲟⲥ ⲓⲟⲩⲇⲁⲥ ⲑⲱⲙⲁⲥ
nai ne nšaje ethēp nta is etonḥ joou auō afsḥaisou nči didymos ioudas thōmas
“These are the secret words which the living Jesus spoke, and Didymus Judas Thomas wrote them down.”
Learning Resources
Textbooks
- Thomas Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic — The standard English-language textbook
- Bentley Layton, A Coptic Grammar — Comprehensive Sahidic grammar
- Plumley, An Introductory Coptic Grammar — Concise alternative
Online Resources
- Coptic Dictionary Online — Searchable Coptic lexicon
- Marcion.de — Interlinear Coptic-English New Testament
- CMCL (Corpus of Manichaean Coptic Literature) — Digital corpus
- Coptic SCRIPTORIUM — Digital research tools for Coptic texts
References
- ↑ *Thomas Lambdin, Introduction to Sahidic Coptic*** — The standard English-language textbook
- ↑ *Bentley Layton, A Coptic Grammar*** — Comprehensive Sahidic grammar
- ↑ *Plumley, An Introductory Coptic Grammar*** — Concise alternative
- ↑ Coptic Dictionary Online — Searchable Coptic lexicon https://coptic-dictionary.org/
- ↑ Marcion.de — Interlinear Coptic-English New Testament https://www.marcion.info/
- ↑ CMCL (Corpus of Manichaean Coptic Literature) — Digital corpus http://www.cmcl.it/
- ↑ Coptic SCRIPTORIUM — Digital research tools for Coptic texts https://copticscriptorium.org/