Coptic alphabet

The Coptic alphabet is the alphabet used to write the Coptic language of Egypt. It is based on the letters of the Greek alphabet, although it contains six or seven more to be able to write sounds that the Greek language did not have; These letters were taken from the Egyptian demotic script, used in Ancient Egypt along with hieroglyphs and hieratic.

Although this script was introduced as early as the 2nd century BC, it has been generally applied to the writing of the Egyptian language since the 1st century I from our era to the present day. The Coptic alphabet had its peak during the IV century., and is still used among members of the Coptic church, in the writing of liturgical texts. All the Gnostic codices found at Nag Hammadi (Nag Hammadi Manuscripts) were written in Coptic.

History

The Coptic alphabet has a long history, dating back to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, when the Greek language began to be used in official documents, and the Greek alphabet to transcribe demotic texts, trying to capture the demotic pronunciation. During the first two centuries of the Christian Era, there were a number of texts that were written in what scholars call 'Old Coptic': texts in the Egyptian language, written with characters from the Greek alphabet. Some letters, however, were taken from Demotic, to represent specific Coptic sounds.

When Christianity was decreed as the state religion and ancient cults were prohibited in Egypt, knowledge of hieroglyphic writing was lost towards the century IV, as happened shortly after with demotic, a writing system associated with the Christian church emerged. Around the IV century, the Coptic alphabet was standardized, especially for the Sahidic dialect. It is worth mentioning that there are some differences between the Coptic alphabets of the various dialects.

The ancient Nubian alphabet, used to write the ancient Nubian language (not related to the Coptic language) is mainly written with the Greek uncial alphabet, but took Coptic and Meroitic letters of Demotic origin. It is often mistakenly believed that the ancient Nubian used the Coptic alphabet.

List of graphemes

List of graphemes of the Bohairic alphabet: when their Greek origin is evident, they are omitted (for example, Ⲗ (laula) and Ⲑ (theta) come from λ (lambda) and Θ (theta)). The presence of the lunar sigma stands out. Later, the letters from demotic and the two phonological values indicated, as well as the names of the letters, are shown.

Letters are also used – starting from Bohairic –, as in Greek, with the value of numbers (where the presence in the alphabet of a non-literal sign is purely numeral, sou, coming from the Greek digamma, and an abbreviative ligature, the barred rō, with a value of 900, instead of the Greek sampi). The sa'idic ignores such practice and uses whole numbers.

The last seven letters of the alphabet are not of Greek origin but taken from Egyptian demotic. Its origin is well known, since hieroglyphs can in fact be traced back to the Coptic letter through Demotic layouts.

Jeoglyphic		demotic		Coptic
	→		→
	→		→
	→		→
	→		→
	→		→
	→		→
	→		→

Current Coptic letters

In Unicode, most Coptic characters initially shared codes with similar letters of the Greek alphabet, but the separation has been accepted for version 4.1, 2005. The new block of Coptic is in U+2C80... U+2CFF.

For more information about this see:

• Coptic Block in Unicode (PDF)
• Greek block in Unicode (PDF) (which includes seven copy letters derived from demotic and required in any copto system). (in English)

All current phonetic transcriptions follow the uses of the AFI.

Capitals

In the Coptic alphabet, each letter has a capital letter and a lowercase letter, somewhat different in certain very ornamental styles, although the capital letters are nothing more than larger lowercase letters that do not require specific learning. The letter ḫai is probably the only one whose two variants are different regardless of the style: Ϧ in uppercase, ϧ in lowercase. It is not comparable to modern Greek, in which the lower case of Ν is ν, for example.

Name of letters

In this table one of the numerous possible names for each letter appears, roughly they are those given by Plumley's grammar

The names of the letters are not standardized and we find many variants in the texts: minimal (the letter fai can be called fei) or more notable ( he is often designated by the name epˢilon in recent texts). The Hellenization of pronunciation surely played an important role, the same as those linked to the Coptic language: the appearance of an epenthetic vowel at the beginning of a word, in a syllable, which otherwise would begin with two consonants, is visible in cases like kˢi often called ekˢi.

Transliteration and encoding

From now on, words encoded in the Greek alphabet in italics must be read as if they were written in Coptic. Indeed, Unicode does not yet distinguish the two blocks of characters (see below). Words written in Greek in Roman are to be understood as Greek.

For reasons of simplicity, we choose to represent the sēmma (sigma in Greek) by the Latin letter c: in effect, like the Coptic he borrowed the Greek lunar sigma, he does not know the final variant ς. Writing σ at the end of a word would be too strange for the eye accustomed to reading Greek. It is also more prudent to encode the lunar sigma by means of a c rather than by the Greek characters provided in Unicode (ϲ U+03F2), which is not always present in the usual sources.

We choose a transliteration and not a transcription for the Coptic words. This transliteration is bijective: each chosen symbol or symbolic digraph can correspond to a single Coptic letter, and vice versa, hence the notation of the consonants aspirated by a ʰ. Thus, pʰ (φ) cannot be confused with the letter sequence ph (πϩ). Note that ḏ can easily be replaced by a j. The presence of a ḏinkim (see below) is indicated by a superscript ə: ρ̄ is transliterated as ^ə r.

Value of letters

The different sources consulted give very different values for certain letters, depending on where they are situated in a historical perspective (Coptic as it was spoken in the past) or current perspective (as it is now pronounced in religious ceremonies). Furthermore, how do we distinguish the pronunciation of the Sa'ídic (now extinct dialect) from the Bohairic (the only dialect still "living"). Recent texts dedicated to Coptic generally insist more on the current liturgical Bohairic pronunciation. Two works, however, rely on the ancient pronunciation: Ritner's article and Plumley's grammar (cf. bibliography).

On the other hand, according to Emile Maher Ishak (cf. bibliography), the Bohairic pronunciation of the Coptic language would have been approximately similar to that of modern Greek in the middle of the century XIX, in order to allow a merger between the Greek Orthodox Church and that of Egypt, a fusion that ultimately did not take place. This Hellenization movement, under the aegis of Pope Cyril IV and Arian Girgis Moftah, professor of liturgical Coptic, was gradually and globally accepted: today, in few churches, Coptic is read "Greek-style." That is why this pronunciation is considered artificial, and does not apply to all words: in order not to contradict established usage, proper names, for example, are often pronounced "in the old fashioned way." A more hypothetical substituted pronunciation dating from before Hellenization is therefore considered to belong to "Old Bohairic", a pronunciation that - rightly or wrongly - sometimes corresponds to that of Sa'idic.

In the table below the probable value of the Sa'idic (or "ancient Bohairic") is indicated as the first value, substituted from the classical Egyptian of ancient writing practices and the value of Greek letters at the time of adaptation of the alphabet. The second value is that of the current Hellenized Bohairic. The two systems are described.

Aspirated consonants and double consonants

Old pronunciation / Sa’idic

Greek aspirated consonants were initially used as shortcuts that allowed us to notice a stop consonant followed by /h/. Thus, θ corresponded to the consonant sequence τϩ, that is /th/. These letters transcribed two consonants and not just one (in ancient Greek, θ would be /tʰ/). We find, for example, the equivalent spellings θε or τϩε /the/ (and not /tʰe/ since aspirated consonants do not exist in Coptic) for the word «way». The use of these letters in Sa'idic is much more limited than in Bohairic (most of the time we will find words of Greek origin when they do not serve as a shortcut, that is, with double letters); The same can be said of φ and χ, which can be replaced by πϩ and κϩ.

The case is similar with the two Greek double consonants ξ and ψ, which, in ancient texts, almost always serve as a shortcut for κc and πc, without their use being obligatory (unlike the Greek). For example, the number 9 can be written πcιc or ψιc.

Hellenized pronunciation

Currently, in the Hellenized Bohairic pronunciation the aspirated consonants are pronounced as simple (θ ok τ, φ then π and χ as κ) either in a way similar to the pronunciation of modern Greek (but adapted to a predominantly Arabic-speaking population).

• θ: after c, Δ, ♫and → /t/, if not → /θ/;
• φ: in a proper name → /f/, if not → /v/;
• χ: in a word copta → /k/, if not (mainly in Greek words) → /x/after α, ? e ω/ ε, MIL, . and ♫ (by imitation of the Greek [ç]).

The use of aspirates as well as double consoants (whose pronunciation presents no problem) is more frequent in Bohairic than in the oldest texts.

Voiced stops and zēta

Old pronunciation / Sa’idic

The Greek letters γ, δ and ζ, pronounced /g/, /d/ and /zː/ in ancient Greek, are part of those that Coptic could well grasp, since they are what they are in question, they are not phonemes from Old Coptic (while the Greek β, which already became /v/ in medieval times, was useful). In ancient texts, there is a great propensity for confusion with more or less equivalent voiceless words: thus, γ alternates with κ or ϭ (which, in Sa'idic, would not be /ʧ/ but probably /q/), δ with ϯ, ζ with c.

As a general rule, these consonants are used mainly (but not exclusively) in loanwords from Greek.

Hellenized pronunciation

The current Bohairic pronunciation is greatly affected by the ancient pronunciation. These letters also appear especially in words borrowed from Greek:

• β: at the end of a word or a proper name → /b/; if not → /v/;
• γ: before ε, ., MIL and ♫ → /g/; γ and χ → /g/ (as in Greek from Antiquity); if not → / tease/;
• δ: in a proper name → /d/; if not → /ð/.

Vowels

Here it is noted that vowel is understood as not being a "graphic" and phonological vowel: in fact, Coptic vowels can also serve to highlight consonants.

Old pronunciation / Sa’idic

It seems that vowel quantity (difference between short vowels and long vowels) is relevant in Old Coptic. The language knows three fundamental phonological timbres, /a/, /e/ and /o/. These are noted with α /a/, ε /e/ and ο /o/ for the short ones, ι /i/ (or η /eː/), η /ē/ and ω /oː/ (or ου /uː/) for the long ones: the timbres do not correspond exactly (probably due to an apophony) and it does not seem that ι is necessarily a long vowel.

The vowel /uː/ as well as the consonant /w/ are regularly written thanks to the digraph ου, since the letter υ alone is reserved for Greek words or as second element of diphthong. For example, νουτε /nuːte/, "god" and ουααβ /waab/, "saint." The vowel /i/ and the consonant /j/ are written different: ι serves for the vowel, ει for the consonant at the beginning of a syllable (sometimes ϊ, most common form in Bohairic), < i>ϊ at the end of a syllable. Like this: ψιc /psis/, «9», ειωϩε (more rare: ϊωϩε) /joːhe/ «field», ηϊ /eːj/, «house».

Hellenized pronunciation

Other details

• letters π and Δ are, in a Greek way, susceptible to be sounded after μ or . → /b/ and /d/;

• the letter behaves like a g French: pronounces “suave” before ε, MIL, . and ♫ → /./ (sometimes performing [8]), "duro"; in another context → /g/.

Diacritics

Ḏinkim

This very common sign (most often transcribed jinkim) indicates that the ringing consonant that carries it is vocalized. In practice, it is pronounced with schwa [ə] or a light [e] (represented here with ^ə in the transliteration). The ḏinkim is drawn differently depending on the dialects: in Sa'idic, it is a macron, a grave accent in Akhmimic and Fayoumic, a grave accent or a subscribed dot in Bohairic. Currently, it is the macron that seems to be preferred in recent editions.

Score

Other signs

Ḫai

Fonema /x/ does not exist in sa’ídico. The letter aiai It is not used in that dialect. The usual way, It's bohair-like. It's stuck in akminmic. ; this second graph that does not come from demotic but a hori Bark.

Sou

This "letra", , it is only used in numbering (as value 6), cause that explains that here it is represented with its subscribed bar. Clearly remove the Say, its ancient graph in Greek,,, letter that, already in Greek, has no literal value (as when it was confused with stigma).

Abbreviations and ligatures

The similarity of the Greek, which it copied, the Coptic developed many ligatures and abbreviation signs. Most notable are the following compound characters and abbreviative ligatures:

Sign		and
Transcript...	cταυροc statures	χρονοc μαρτυρων khronos marturōn	▪ Psis ♫nše	ωιc čōis
Sentenced	«Cruz»	"Time of martyrs" (era of Diocletian)	900	«Lord»

The other abbreviations distinguish above all the Greek and Semitic biblical proper names: they are contracted and represented by two or three letters of the word, letters that appear more than the times indicated. Thus, χ̅c̅ represents Χριcτοc, Christ. The uses are similar to those followed in Greek manuscripts.

Didactic signs

This sign, a double hyphen, serves, in didactic works, to indicate that a word is in the pronominal state (followed by a pronominal suffix). The simple hyphen serves to indicate the state of the verb or preposition (when the form is followed by a nominal complement). The absolute form, in the opposite case, is presented without the hyphen. When the editorial typography adapts to the style of Coptic letters, this double hyphen has more inclined bars. In fact, it is possible to replace it with the = sign (which we will do here). Unicode plans to assign a symbol to it.

You can thus know, in grammars and dictionaries, that such a preposition or such a verb must be followed by a nominal complement, which otherwise must be followed by a personal suffix:

• κοτ= kot= «build» → pronominal status (example: κοτ=̄̄ kot=^♫f “build it”, as in “buught built”;

• κετ- ket-: «build» → state built (as in κετ-π Cristian ket-pēï“build [a] house”).

In a dictionary, we could see the following indications:

ε- e-, ερο= ♪preposition, “for”.

It would comply, then, we understand that the preposition that means "for, to" has the form ε e when it has a noun as its regime, the form ερο ero when it is a personal suffix: επηϊ epēï «to the house», εροϥ erof «for him».

These uses are identical to those we find in Egyptology (see Transcription of the hieroglyphics for more details).

Sense of writing

Although the Egyptian demotic script was written from right to left, Coptic, in imitation of Greek, is written exclusively from left to right.

Unicode

Originally Unicode (until version 4.1) did not distinguish Greek letters from Coptic letters, considering that Coptic is only a graphic and "stylistic" variant of Greek. This led to multiple requests for the two spellings to be separated ("deunified"). However, Coptic has 7 letters of demotic origin that do not exist in Greek: Ϣϣ šai, Ϥϥ fai, Ϧϧ ḫai, Ϩϩ hori, Ϫϫ ḏanḏia, Ϭϭ čima, Ϯϯ ti. Due to the inclusion of these letters, in Unicode the block where Greek is located takes the name "Greek and Coptic." Those 14 characters are marked in green in the table below:

Deunification was finally accepted and in 2005 with version 4.1 a new block for the Coptic alphabet appeared that ranged from U+2C80 to U+2CFF. To differentiate these letters from those of the Greek alphabet, most fonts give them a particular style of Byzantine calligraphy. As a side effect of the original unification and subsequent disunification, the letters of demotic origin have not been able, however, to be placed in the new block of characters, since normally existing characters cannot be moved.

Coptic numerals

Coptic numerals are a numbering system similar in function to Greek numerals used in the Boharitic dialect of Coptic, the liturgical language of Christian Egyptians. The block contains figures for ones (1-9), tens (10-90), hundreds (100-900) and the multiplication by thousand mark. The latter can be repeated to multiply by a million, similar to the Arabic tanween al-kasra.