Literary: c. 3rd – c. 14th century AD (Roman Egypt)[1]
Spoken: c. 3rd – c. 17th or 19th century AD[2][nb 1]
Liturgical: c. 3rd century AD – present[2]
Language family
Afro-Asiatic
Egyptian
Coptic
Early forms
Archaic Egyptian
Old Egyptian
Middle Egyptian
Late Egyptian
Demotic
Dialects
Bohairic
Sahidic
Akhmimic
Lycopolitan
Fayyumic
Oxyrhynchite
Writing system
Coptic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-2
cop
ISO 639-3
cop
Glottolog
copt1239
Coptic is an extinct language according to the classification system of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
[3]
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Coptic (Bohairic Coptic: ϯⲙⲉⲧⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, Timetremǹkhēmi) is a group of closely related Egyptian dialects,[2] representing the most recent developments of the Egyptian language,[2][4] and historically spoken by the Copts, starting from the third century AD in Roman Egypt.[1] Coptic was supplanted by Arabic as the primary spoken language of Egypt following the Arab conquest of Egypt and was slowly replaced over the centuries. Coptic has no native speakers today,[5] although it remains in daily use as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church and of the Coptic Catholic Church.[4] Innovations in grammar and phonology and the influx of Greek loanwords distinguish Coptic from earlier periods of the Egyptian language. It is written with the Coptic alphabet, a modified form of the Greek alphabet with several additional letters borrowed from the Demotic Egyptian script.[4]
The major Coptic dialects are Sahidic, Bohairic, Akhmimic, Fayyumic, Lycopolitan, and Oxyrhynchite. Sahidic Coptic was spoken between the cities of Asyut and Oxyrhynchus[6] and flourished as a literary language across Egypt in the period c. 325 – c. 800 AD.[4] Bohairic, the language of the Nile Delta, gained prominence in the 9th century and is the dialect used by the Coptic Church.[2] Despite being closely related, Coptic dialects differ from one another in terms of their phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary.
^ abRichter 2009, p. 404.
^ abcdeAllen 2020b, p. 1.
^Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (Report) (3rd ed.). UNESCO. 2010. p. 12.
^ abcdLayton 2007, p. 1.
^"Coptic". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2022-05-17.
^Blasco Torres, Ana Isabel (2017). Representing Foreign Sounds: Greek Transcriptions of Egyptian Anthroponyms from 800 BC to 800 AD. University of Salamanca. p. 613. doi:10.14201/gredos.135722. ...four main dialects were spoken in Graeco-Roman Egypt: Bohairic in the Delta, Fayumic in the Fayum, Sahidic between approximately Oxyrhynchus and Lykopolis and Akhmimic between Panopolis and Elephantine.
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Coptic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Coptic letters. Coptic (Bohairic Coptic:...
Coptic letters. The Coptic script is the script used for writing the Copticlanguage, the latest stage of Egyptian. The repertoire of glyphs is based on...
Coptic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Coptic letters. The Egyptian language or...
contains Coptic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Coptic letters. The Coptic Orthodox...
mythology Coptic art Coptic Catholic Church Coptic diaspora Coptic identity CopticlanguageCoptic literature Copto-Arabic literature Coptic Museum Coptic Orthodox...
also in Sudan and Libya Copticlanguage, a Northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century Coptic script, the script used...
pope (Coptic: Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ, romanized: Papa; Arabic: البابا, romanized: al-Bābā, lit. 'father'), also known as the Bishop of Alexandria or the Coptic pope, is...
which is the vernacular language.Literary Arabic is the official language and the most widely written. The Copticlanguage is used primarily by Egyptian...
Alexandrian Rite Eastern Catholic liturgies, the Coptic Catholic Church uses the Coptic Rite and the Copticlanguage (derived from Ancient Egyptian) in its liturgy;...
Christian minority in Egypt, in which Muslim adherents form the majority. Coptic Christians lost their majority status in Egypt after the 14th century and...
native Egyptian names. These can be either traced back to pre-Coptic stage of the language, attested in Hieroglyphic, Hieratic or Demotic texts (i.e. ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ...
letters. There have been many Coptic versions of the Bible, including some of the earliest translations into any language. Several different versions were...
Bohairic is a dialect of the Copticlanguage, the latest stage of the Egyptian language. Bohairic is attested from the eighth century CE, and has been...
contains Coptic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Coptic letters. The Coptic calendar...
Coptic literature is the body of writings in the Copticlanguage of Egypt, the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language. It is written in the Coptic...
Αἴγυπτος, “Egyptian”). The Coptic Rite traditionally uses the Copticlanguage and Greek. Arabic and a number of other modern languages (including English) are...
Old Coptic is the earliest stage of Coptic writing, a form of late Egyptian written in Coptic script, a variant of the Greek alphabet. It "is an analytical...
Coptic toponym τὰ Τρία Κάστρα ta tria kastra and ⲡϣⲟⲙⲧ ⲛ̀ⲕⲁⲥⲧⲣⲟⲛ pshomt enkastron respectively, which both mean "three castles".) The Sahidic Coptic name...
Coptic Americans (Coptic: ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲁⲙⲉⲣⲓⲕⲏ niremenkāmi enamerika) are American citizens of Coptic descent or persons of Coptic descent residing in...
The Coptic cross is any of a number of Christian cross variants associated in some way with Coptic Christians. The typical form of the "Coptic cross" used...
Asyut (Arabic: أسيوط Asyūṭ pronounced [ʔɑsˈjuːtˤ], from Coptic: ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ, ⲥⲓⲱⲟⲩⲧ Siōwt [sɪˈjo(ː)wt]) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt...
century. Coptic The Copticlanguage is spoken as a Liturgical Language by the Coptic community in Libya. English is a notable foreign language in business...
The Coptic diaspora (Coptic: ϯⲇⲓⲁⲥⲡⲟⲣⲁ `ⲛⲣⲉⲙⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ) consists of Copts who live outside of their primary area of residence within parts of present-day Egypt...
pronunciation of Bohairic, the dialect of Coptic used as the language of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Since Coptic had ceased to be spoken as a mother-tongue by this...
deeds or his life and death, referred to as a sayings gospel. The Coptic-language text, the second of seven contained in what modern-day scholars have...
spoken Coptic. Local chroniclers mention the continued use of Coptic as a spoken language until the 17th century by peasant women in Upper Egypt. Coptic is...
Coptic nationalism refers to the nationalism of the Copts (Coptic: ⲚⲓⲢⲉⲙ̀ⲛⲭⲏⲙⲓ ̀ⲛ̀Ⲭⲣⲏⲥⲧⲓ̀ⲁⲛⲟⲥ Niremenkīmi Enkhristianos, Arabic: أقباط Aqbat), a Christian...
Middle Persian (court language of the Sassanid Empire, 3rd to 7th centuries) Classical Coptic (language of Egypt and the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria...
rites: the Coptic Rite and the Ge'ez Rite[citation needed]. The Coptic Rite is native to Egypt and traditionally uses the Copticlanguage with a few phrases...
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