Questions about Coptic language
Short answers, pulled from the story.
What is the Coptic language and when was it spoken?
Coptic is the most recent stage of the Egyptian language, spoken starting from the 3rd century AD in Roman Egypt. It was the primary spoken language of Egypt until sometime between the 10th and 12th centuries, survived as a minority spoken language until at least the 17th century, and may have persisted in isolated pockets in Upper Egypt as late as the 19th century. Today it has no native speakers but remains in daily use as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox and Coptic Catholic churches.
What alphabet does the Coptic language use?
Coptic uses a writing system almost entirely derived from the Greek alphabet, supplemented by a number of letters borrowed from Demotic Egyptian script. The number and form of these additional letters varies by dialect. The system fully indicates vowel sounds, making Coptic a valuable source for scholars studying how Later Egyptian was actually pronounced.
What are the major dialects of Coptic?
The major Coptic dialects are Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Fayyumic, Lycopolitan, and Oxyrhynchite. Sahidic was the dominant literary dialect before the Islamic period and is the dialect most studied by learners today. Bohairic, the dialect of Lower Egypt, replaced Sahidic as the liturgical language of the Coptic Church sometime in the 11th century and remains the dialect used in modern church services and revitalisation efforts.
Why did the Coptic language decline after the Arab conquest of Egypt?
The decline of Coptic accelerated after the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century. The Umayyad caliph Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan decreed that Arabic replace Koine Greek as the sole administrative language. The Fatimid caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah later issued strict orders completely prohibiting use of Coptic in schools, public streets, and even within family homes, with those who disobeyed liable to have their tongues removed. Coptic was displaced as the majority spoken language between the 10th and 12th centuries, and the last known literary work in Coptic dates to the late 14th century.
What English words come from the Coptic language?
The English word adobe traces to Coptic tōōbe meaning brick, which passed through Andalusi Arabic and then Catalan into Spanish as adobe before entering American English. The English word barge derives from the Coptic baare, meaning small boat. The word adobe entered American English from Spanish, while oasis came into Greek and European languages from Egyptian or Demotic, not directly from Coptic.
Is there a modern Coptic language revival movement?
A modern Coptic language revival began in the second half of the 20th century under Pope Cyril VI of Alexandria, who launched a Church-sponsored national movement. New grammars and a more comprehensive dictionary were published, and the Institute of Coptic Studies was founded. Revitalisation efforts continue today, drawing interest from Copts and linguists in and outside Egypt. Early 20th-century revival attempts had not succeeded.