Coptic Language for Youth & Adults - Lesson 01

Introduction to

COPTIC LANGUAGE

ebolhiten

Rafyk Nacyf

WHAT IS COPTIC? What does ‘Copt/Coptic’ mean?

▪ The word ‘Copt’ is derived from the Arabic ‘Qibt’ which is a short form of the Greek word ‘Aigyptius’ which means Egyptian.

▪ When the Arabs conquered Egypt in the 7th century A.D., they called the native Egyptian people -who were mostly Christian back then- ‘Qibt’.

▪ Though the word literary meant Egyptian, it is now widely used to represent Egyptian Christians.

Aigyptus

Hut-Ka-Ptah

Aigyptius

Αίγυπτος/Αιγύπτιος

House of God Ptah

Egypt

Egyptian

Egypt Qibt ‫قبط‬ Egyptian/Christian

Copt

WHAT IS COPTIC? Coptic Language ▪ Coptic language is the last phase in the development of the ancient Egyptian language.

▪ To better understand the development of the Ancient Egyptian language, we have to differentiate between two terms; language and script.

▪ Historically, all languages started first as spoken then a writing system was developed to write them down.

▪ Ancient Egyptian language was first written in Hieroglyphs, Hieratic then Demotic.

▪ A simplified alphabet of 32 letters was used; 25 from contemporary Greek and 7 from Demotic.

▪ This writing system is what we call ‘Coptic’.

Language (Spoken)

Egyptian Language Hieroglyphs

Hieratic

Demotic

Script (Writing System)

Coptic

WHAT IS COPTIC? Coptic Language ▪ Is it something unique to Coptic language being written in a script of another language?

▪ In fact, it is very common for several languages to use the same script or writing system.

Latin Alphabet

Arabic Alphabet

Greek Alphabet

A, B, C

‫ ج‬،‫ ب‬،‫أ‬

A, B, G

English

Arabic

Greek

French

Urdu

Russian

German

Persian

Coptic

Italian Spanish

THE STORY OF COPTIC Early Development â–Ş The first attempts to write Egyptian words in Greek letters happened probably as early as the third century B.C. during the Ptolemaic era. â–Ş The next stage -known as Old Coptic- happened during Roman times, from the 3rd to 2nd century B.C., where Greek letters were accompanied by several demotic signs to depict Egyptian names.

Hieroglyphic Hieratic Demotic Proto-Coptic Greek letters only

Old Coptic

3rd 2nd

Several Demotic symbols are added to the Greek

B.C. A.D.

THE STORY OF COPTIC Early Development ▪ The Coptic Church had a great role in standardizing the Coptic writing system as we know it today.

▪ Coptic was mainly the language of rural folk, whereas Egyptian cultured elite – including many known church fathers and patriarchs- used Greek.

▪ With the spread of Christianity in Egypt, the Church thought it was necessary to translate the scripture as well as parts of the liturgy into Coptic.

Hieroglyphic Hieratic Demotic Proto-Coptic Greek letters only

Old Coptic

3rd 2nd

Several Demotic symbols are added to the Greek

Christianity preached in Egypt

B.C. A.D.

2nd Coptic Greek letters plus 7 letters from Demotic

THE STORY OF COPTIC Times of Strength ▪ The period from the 3rd to 7th Centuries is considered the peak of Coptic culture and literature.

▪ The most important work was the translation of the books of the Holy Bible to Coptic.

▪ The Old Testament was translated from the Septuagint; the Greek version that was previously translated in Egypt.

▪ The Coptic Version of the New Testament is one of the most important translations due to its accuracy and early date.

Christianity preached in Egypt

B.C. A.D.

2nd Coptic Greek letters plus 7 letters from Demotic

Coptic Version of the Bible Coptic Hymns & Liturgies

Monastic Rules Stories of Saints Arabs Conquered Egypt

7th

THE STORY OF COPTIC Times of Strength â–Ş Liturgies, church fathers writings and homilies were translated to Coptic. Many Coptic hymns were composed at this time too. â–Ş Monastic rules and traditions, specially those composed by the famous St. Pachomious & St. Shenoute and their disciples, were also composed at that time.

Christianity preached in Egypt

B.C. A.D.

2nd Coptic Greek letters plus 7 letters from Demotic

Coptic Version of the Bible Coptic Hymns & Liturgies

Monastic Rules Stories of Saints Arabs Conquered Egypt

7th

THE STORY OF COPTIC Times of Weakness ▪ With the Arab conquest of Egypt in the 7th century A.D., Arabic started to gradually replace Coptic among Egyptians.

▪ Several factors resulted in the gradual disappearance of the Coptic language such as: ▪ The government decision to use Arabic as the only language of the administration.

▪ The gradual conversion of Copts to Islam as a result of successive waves of financial pressures and religious persecution.

7th

Arabs Conquered Egypt Decision to use Arabic as the language of administration

14th

17th Coptic Disappeared as a daily language

THE STORY OF COPTIC Times of Weakness ▪ In the 12th century A.D., Pope Gabriel II introduced Arabic language in churches for the first time.

▪ However, during the 13th & 14th centuries, some of the most important works in Coptic language were composed: The Scala; which consisted of Coptic vocabulary rendered into Arabic, and The Introductions; which are grammatical rules of the Coptic language written in Arabic.

▪ Coptic as a spoken language persisted in numerus regions of Upper Egypt until the beginning of the 17th century.

7th

Arabs Conquered Egypt

Arabic is used in churches for the first time Scala & Introductions are composed

14th

17th Coptic Disappeared as a daily language

THE STORY OF COPTIC Modern Revival ▪ A modern revival in the study of the Coptic language started

by Western scholars in Europe.

▪ Several works in the field of Coptic language & its texts were written in Europe starting in the 17th century, with a Coptic grammar book by Athanasius Kircher.

▪ In Egypt, Pope Cyril IV (1854-1861) sponsored the study of Coptic language in schools, and insisted on the use of Coptic in churches as the official liturgical language.

▪ Today, Coptic studies –also known as Coptology- is available in most major universities all over the world.

17th Coptic Disappeared as a daily language

Western interest in Coptic language Pope Cyril IV starts a Coptic revival

Interest in Coptology continues

19th

21th

WHY WE LEARN COPTIC? Part of our Identity ▪ Language is the vessel of culture, it is used to represent all aspects of cultural identity; art, literature, hymns, prayers, traditions… etc.

▪ The Coptic church decided to preserve the Coptic language and keep it alive as an important aspect of our identity as Copts.

▪ We can see similar examples in other communities as well...

WHY WE LEARN COPTIC? Part of our Identity ▪ Language is the vessel of culture, it is used to represent all aspects of cultural identity; art, literature, hymns, prayers, traditions… etc.

▪ The Coptic church decided to preserve the Coptic language and keep it alive as an important aspect of our identity as Copts.

▪ We can see similar examples in other communities as well...

Connect to our Heritage ▪ The Egyptian language is one of the oldest languages in the world with a history of over 4000 years, which is quite an exceptional phenomenon in linguistics.

▪ Learning Coptic -which we already hear at church- will allow us to connect to our rich heritage.

WHY WE LEARN COPTIC? Part of our Identity ▪ Language is the vessel of culture, it takes part in all aspects of cultural identity; art, literature, hymns, prayers, traditions… etc.

▪ The Coptic church decided to preserve the Coptic language and keep it alive as an important aspect of our identity as Copts.

▪ We can see similar examples in other communities as well...

Connect to our Heritage ▪ The Egyptian language is one of the oldest languages in the world with a history of over 4000 years, which is quite an exceptional phenomenon in linguistics.

▪ Learning Coptic -which we already hear at church- will allow us to connect to our rich heritage.

Musical Beauty ▪ We can all agree that music does not only communicate simple messages but also emotions and feelings.

▪ One can tell a message in words, but if composed as a poem with a tune, the message carries another dimension.

WHY WE LEARN COPTIC?