posted Coptic Language’s Last Survivors The Daily Star Egypt October 20, 2006
CAIRO: Considered an extinct language, the Coptic language is believed to exist only in the liturgical language of the Coptic Church in Egypt. The ancient language that lost in prominence thanks largely to the Arab incursion into Egypt over 1300 years ago remains the spoken language of the church and only two families in Egypt.
Coptic is a combination of the ancient Egyptian languages Demotic, Hieroglyphic and Hieratic, and was the language used by the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt following the spread of Greek culture throughout much of the Near East. In essence, it is the language of the ancient Egyptians themselves.
Mona Zaki is one of only a handful of people that continue to use the language in everyday conversation. She speaks a colloquial form of Coptic with her parents and a few relatives that dates back 2,000 years.
“In many ways it helps strengthen my faith,” Zaki said. “It has really helped when I go to church because they still use a form of Coptic for many services.” Her dialect, however, differs slightly from the standard Coptic that is used for study and church services.
She does not speak Coptic with her children.
“I felt that Coptic was a worthless language to have my children speak, therefore I did not do so when they were young,” said Zaki.
Coptic is the language of the first Christian church in history, and when the members of the two families that speak the colloquial form of Coptic die, it will be the first language of the early Christian churches to become extinct.
Among those early languages, Aramaic was thought to be extinct until recent history proved otherwise. The language is still spoken in parts of southern Turkey and northwest Syria. Zaki feels it would be a great loss to Coptic Christianity and the world if the Coptic language is totally lost.
“I hope that the world will come to realize the importance of Coptic in Christian doctrine,” Zaki said. “Egypt is the first home for a Christian church and that makes Coptic truly the first language of Christianity in a sense.”
“It is sad to think that the language will truly be dead in the next 100 years. They are already classifying Coptic as a dead language in most encyclopedias,” Zaki said. Neither parents used Coptic with their children.
This is similar to the historical decline of the Coptic language. With the Arab conquest, Arabic began to be the language spoken in everyday life. After a period of religious turmoil in Egypt, Coptic leaders decided to use Arabic as their main means of conversation in order to show the Arab rulers that they were not conspirators of the European Crusaders.
It is a sad fact that the language will soon go the way of Latin.
Copt itself means Egypt. The word Egypt comes from the Greek aiguptios and the Arabic qupt – both of those words were derived from the Coptic language that was spoken when each community ascended upon Egypt.
Coptic is the closest descendant to the spoken language of the ancient Egyptians. Combining the Greek alphabet with Demotic, Coptic is a unique conglomeration of languages. Despite this fact, Coptic has no official status in Egypt. The form spoken in church services differs from Zaki’s. Coptic is a combination of the ancient Egyptian languages Demotic, Hieratic and Hieroglyphic. It was the latest evolution of the Egyptian language.
“My parents passed the language down to me like their parents did before them.
Unfortunately for Copts throughout Egypt, this process was broken over the years,” she said. “I guess I have continued the destruction of the language in many ways by me not passing it along to my children
“My parents felt it was an important part of our heritage and spoke to me in Coptic since I can remember,”
Zaki revealed. “Why I didn’t pass on the language to my children, I don’t know.” Zaki says that she often receives strange looks when she is overheard speaking Coptic on her mobile phone. “People look at me as if I am an alien and I don’t belong. I guess that is what my ancestors had to deal with,although violently in some instances,” she said,which is the main reason that Zaki chose not to speak Coptic with her children.
“I didn’t want my kids to have to experience the exclusion that Coptic had with me when I was younger,” she revealed. “I can remember my friends making fun of me when I talked to my parents
But it is vital to her cultural understanding of being a Copt in a country dominated by Islam. “It gives me the strength to practice my faith despite all the hardship that being Christian in an Islamic country has,” Zaki said.
Some scholars have theorized that some remote villagers in the Delta region of Egypt or in the south of the country may still speak forms of the Coptic language. Because many Egyptians live in small villages away from government control and active study by anthropologists, it is theorized that Coptic will persist despite official numbers.
“It would be nice to have more people speaking Coptic,” Zaki admitted. “It would mean that our culture and way of life will continue in the years to come.”
That is unlikely considering the evidence. As it is already considered a dead language akin to Latin, it seems implausible that undiscovered speakers of Coptic will be discovered.
Hundreds of languages are lost each year as the remaining speakers pass away.
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Supercar Member # 6477
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quote:Originally posted by Myra Wysinger:
Some scholars have theorized that some remote villagers in the Delta region of Egypt or in the south of the country may still speak forms of the Coptic language. Because many Egyptians live in small villages away from government control and active study by anthropologists, it is theorized that Coptic will persist despite official numbers.
“It would be nice to have more people speaking Coptic,” Zaki admitted. “It would mean that our culture and way of life will continue in the years to come.”
That is unlikely considering the evidence. As it is already considered a dead language akin to Latin, it seems implausible that undiscovered speakers of Coptic will be discovered.
From the article, the answer lies herein:
Because many Egyptians live in small villages away from government control and active study by anthropologists, it is theorized that Coptic will persist despite official numbers.
...i.e. anthropologists becoming "active" in the study of these holdouts.
Myra Wysinger Member # 10126
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Christianity was introduced to the Copts by Saint Mark (accompanied by his uncle St. Barnabas) in Alexandria shortly after the ascension of Christ.
Copts of all denominations face human and civil rights abuses by the Egyptian government and extremist groups. Christians complain that they suffer job discrimination, particularly in the high ranks of the civil service where positions such as general, provincial governor and faculty head are almost invariably held by Muslims. [Muslims Attack Coptic Church in Egypt
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Doug M Member # 7650
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quote:Originally posted by Myra Wysinger: Christianity was introduced to the Copts by Saint Mark (accompanied by his uncle St. Barnabas) in Alexandria shortly after the ascension of Christ.
Copts of all denominations face human and civil rights abuses by the Egyptian government and extremist groups. Christians complain that they suffer job discrimination, particularly in the high ranks of the civil service where positions such as general, provincial governor and faculty head are almost invariably held by Muslims. [Muslims Attack Coptic Church in Egypt
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Actually the STORY of St. Mark bringing Christianity to Egypt is a STORY. Christianity was DEVELOPED in Egypt by the Greeks and Romans and a STORY was made up to explain its "introduction" to Egypt. This is why the first Christian Church in the world is in Egypt. By all rights it SHOULD be in Jerusalem. Why would you travel hundreds of miles FROM the site of the ascenscion to start the FIRST Church of Christ?
rasol Member # 4592
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quote:Christianity was DEVELOPED in Egypt by the Greeks and Romans and a STORY was made up to explain its "introduction" to Egypt.
I agree with this. We need to be careful with 'face value' citings of Christian stories.
Myra Wysinger Member # 10126
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The Coptic Church is based upon the teachings of St Mark, who brought Christianity to Egypt in around 50 AD.
St Mark was one of the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the gospel of St Mark is the oldest canonical gospel.
The Egyptians embraced the new faith, and Christianity quickly spread throughout Egypt within half a century of St Mark's arrival in Alexandria. Some similarities in beliefs helped Christianity to be accepted by Egyptians, including the beliefs that the Egyptian god Osiris was both human and god, the resurrection of Osiris, and the godly triad of Osiris, Isis, and Horus.
There are many sites throughout Egypt at which the holy family are said to have taken shelter and sought refuge during the three years that they spent in Egypt after fleeing from Judea and King Herod. Many ancient churches have been built upon these sites. [Source]
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Hikuptah Member # 11131
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Myra i have a few coptic friends who still speak the coptic language as there mother tongue there are not that many but most of them are in Qena and the south among the saeedi fellahin egyptians. I actually can read and write coptic as well as aramaic i find some words to be loan words from aramaic as well as u can find ethiopic words both in Syriac and Coptic.
Myra Wysinger Member # 10126
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Matthew 2:13-23
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt,
15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt
20 and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead."
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.
22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets: "He will be called a Nazarene."
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Djehuti Member # 6698
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If Coptic is used as a liturgical language and many words and expressions still exist in modern Sa'idic Arabic, then how could it truly be considered a 'dead' language??
Masonic Rebel Member # 9549
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quote: Myra i have a few coptic friends who still speak the coptic language as there mother tongue there are not that many but most of them are in Qena and the south among the saeedi fellahin egyptians. I actually can read and write coptic as well as aramaic i find some words to be loan words from aramaic as well as u can find ethiopic words both in Syriac and Coptic
This is Great news, keep the key to the Mysteries alive I would like to learn more about the Coptic Christians and their teaching someday.
It’s a shame because of politics and out of ignorance that some are trying to destroy the Coptic language
Sad
Israel Member # 11221
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I have a question for Ausar, Jehuti, Rasol, Super, Myra, Takrur, Hikuptah, and whomever else I am forgetting to mention: Is learning the Coptic language one of the primary keys to understanding the Hieroglyphic language(i.e. the Mdu Neter)? If so, perhaps I should learn it.............I knew that it was in some ways connected to Ancient Egypt, but I always thought that it was simply a language of liturgy in the Coptic Church. This article has opened my mind............Salaam
Hikuptah Member # 11131
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I have a document that i made that can help u learn Coptic Hebrew Arabic Ethiopic using each of the other alphabets like for instance i can teach a Ethiopian how to learn Hebrew using the Ethiopic alphabet i can teach a Arab how to use the Arabic alphabet to learn Ethiopic and the same for Coptic and Syriac. In Eritrea Coptic is being Revived many of the Eritrean Monks in Eritrea speak Coptic to eachother and are teaching the youths and deacons the language. Coptic sounds very Ancient Egyptians but there is alot of Semitic and Cushitic elements in it from my point of View.
ausar Member # 1797
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Israel asked:
quote:I have a question for Ausar, Jehuti, Rasol, Super, Myra, Takrur, Hikuptah, and whomever else I am forgetting to mention: Is learning the Coptic language one of the primary keys to understanding the Hieroglyphic language(i.e. the Mdu Neter)? If so, perhaps I should learn it.............I knew that it was in some ways connected to Ancient Egypt, but I always thought that it was simply a language of liturgy in the Coptic Church. This article has opened my mind............Salaam
Coptic is according to linguist the last phase of the ancient Egyptian language. The language is broken down into various regional dialects from Lower to Middle to Upper Egypt. Most of the language used in liturgy tends to be Boharic[Delta Egyptian] Coptic. Sahidic is more pure with less Greek words.
The man who deciphered the mdu Ntr,Champollion[sp], claims to have used Coptic as one of the base to translate the mdu ntr.
Personally, I believe that the Arabic speech of rural southern Egyptians could also be utilized to find ancient Egyptian survivals.
Coptic is useful but the spoken variant is more colloquial than pure,and even the pure Coptic contains lots of Greek words.
ausar Member # 1797
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Hikuptah said:
quote:In Eritrea Coptic is being Revived many of the Eritrean Monks in Eritrea speak Coptic to eachother and are teaching the youths and deacons the language. Coptic sounds very Ancient Egyptians but there is alot of Semitic and Cushitic elements in it from my point of View
Eritreans are members of the Tawedo Orthodox church and speak Ge'ez in their liturgy not Coptic. The Tawedo church is no longer part of the Coptic Orthodox and know represents itself independently from the Coptic patriarch. Previously, leadership in the Tawedo Orthodox was chosen from Coptic Christians in Egypt.
I believe Yom can either refute or validate the following information on the Eritrean church.
Hikuptah Member # 11131
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Actually Ausar Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1991 and since then the have been the Eritrean Coptic Church there Leaders are trained and learned in Egypt and the head of the ERitrean Coptic church is in Egypt.
ausar Member # 1797
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I don't know where you get your information but according to this website granted autocephaly in 1993. Even when Ethiopia and Ertreia were part of the Coptic Church they never used the Coptic liturgy!!!!! Eritrieans use their own Tigray or Ge'ez for liturgy.
Members of the Eritrean Orthodox Church are sometimes described as Coptic Christians because the hierarchy of that church was formerly subject to that of the Tawahido Church of Ethiopia which was in turn formerly (before 1950) subject to the Coptic Pope. But the word Coptic means Egyptian or indigenous (pre-Arab) Egyptian, and so is a misnomer. The Eritrean and Ethiopian Orthodox churches are still in full communionwith the Coptic Church in Egypt. In 1993 the Eritrean Orthodox Church was granted autocephaly and in 1998 the Archbishopric of Asmara the young nation's capital, was elevated to the rank of patriarchate of Eritrea, within the Coptic church.
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Ausar, can you give us an example of Coptic left over words in Sa'idic Arabic?
ausar Member # 1797
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I am no linguist nor have I studied Coptic to the point where I understand it completely. Here is a short essay written by a Coptic linguist/scholar about the influence of Coptic on Egyptian Arabic dialects. I am sure there are also pure ancient Egyptian words found in Egyptian Arabic such as Sitt used for a a women.
Many of the funerary songs by females in Upper Egypt don't sound like Arabic. Upper Egyptian Arabic is more probably more pure due to Upper Egypt's isolation from foreign influence.
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The words that are common in Egyptian ARabic to the coptic is not like very deep its like the similarites between Hebrew Arabic and Ethiopic more like loan words for instance in Hebrew the word for Holy is Kodosh/Kedosh in Arabic it is Quds and in ethiopic it is Kedus the same as the word blood in Arabic hebrew and ethiopic and syriac/aramaic it is Dom or Dum. U will find loan words that are similar in Egyptian arabic and Coptic Sahidic.
Israel Member # 11221
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Ausar,
I don't think that Hikuptah is totally wrong. Cause, the Erterian Orthodox Church was ordained through the Egyptian Coptic Church. So therefore, it isn't impossible that some monks would use Coptic language in their spiritual practice. For instance, alot of those Ethiopian monks, like monks everywhere in Christendom, look up to St. Anthony and the monks of the Egyptian deserts. Hence, it would be advantagous for them to learn Coptic, wouldn't it? Salaam.
Hikuptah Member # 11131
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What Brother Ausar is forgetting is that Ethiopia seperated from the Coptic church during Haile Selassie but the Eritrean Church went back to the Coptic See of Alexandria after ERitrea became its own Independant country. Every Eritrean Priest is Consecrated in Egypt and the Egyptian Pope Shenouda appoints ERitrea's Coptic leader the close relations between Coptic Egypt and Ethiopia goes back a few thousand years.
ausar Member # 1797
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Neither Ethiopia nor Eritrea use Coptic in their liturgies to my knowleage. If you have a reference or information that contridicts me then please post it. Eritrea was apart of the Tawedo Ethiopian Orthodox but decided to stay with the Coptic Orthodox. In 1993 Eritrea was granted autocephaly from the Tawedo and Asmara was recognized as a Patriarch.
Israel, the Life of Anthony was written in Coptic but different Christians have it translated to their native languages. Ethiopians have it in their own language.
Djehuti Member # 6698
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I will look more into these.
Israel Member # 11221
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Yes Ausar,
you are right. The Ethiopians, and other Christian groups, translated the "Life of Anthony" into their own languages. I think that there is some confusion about what Hikuptah meant when he spoke about the use of Coptic language by the Eriterian monks. I have visited an Eriterian Church, so I know that they use GEEZ as the lang. of liturgy. However, since the Coptic Church ordained the Eriterian Orthodox Church, I don't see why it is problematic to believe that some Eriterian monks use the Coptic language. That doesn't necessarily imply that they are using the language in their liturgy, right? Salaam
ausar Member # 1797
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Coptic is a liturgical language that is not spoken in everyday conversations. Some Eritrean monks might know Coptic but I seriously doubt they speak the language to each other. Perhaps, they might read Coptic written in the Greek alpahbet but its not spoken. Which is why I found the term Coptic revival confusing because Eritreans never used Coptic in their liturgy.
I understand a few Coptic families in Egypt speak it to each other but its in colloquial form and probably heavily mixed with Egyptian Colloquial Arabic. Coptic itself is heavily mixed with Greek. The Boharic dialect is mostly used in liturgy.
Israel Member # 11221
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I concur Ausar. When I said that the Eriterian monks might be using the Coptic language, I didn't necessarily specify that it was conversational Coptic that they were using. Perhaps some of them learned some Coptic and hence translate works from Coptic into their language(just as you stated). But the fact is that I don't yet know if this is true or not. I was simply giving Hikuptah the benefit of the doubt. Salaam
Hikuptah Member # 11131
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Coptic is a liturgical language but there are many Ethiopian Coptic scholars who can read speak and write Coptic just like they can read and write Geez which is a dead language Did u know that Abba Basilios who was a egyptian use to speak Amharic and Geez. Most of eritreas Coptic leaders know Coptic they are taught coptic in Egypt. There are loan words that coptic and Geez have incommon. Ausar one Question before the Birth of Muhammed what were they speaking in Egypt and how did they communicate with there Sister church in Ethiopia.
ausar Member # 1797
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Abba Basilios according to my web search was an Ethiopian not an Egyptian. I don't doubt that some Ethiopians and Eritreans know Coptic but I seriously doubt they speak it to each other. Maybe the clergy speak it but not the common people. Not even Ge'ez is spoken colloquial.
How the Ethiopian and Egyptian church communicated was through a intermediary. Since the inception of the Tawedo Orthodox all the leaders have been Egyptians untill they were granted autocephaly.
You may not know but there is some bitter resentment in the Tawedo over the church in Jerusalem. Both the Coptic and Ethiopians got into a fist fight over who would control it.
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