A bit about the Coptic language

1. History - What is the Coptic Language?

Introduction

You may be surprised to know, the Coptic language is the same language that the
Ancient Egyptians spoke throughout the ages. Whilst the spoken language has not
changed, the written form has changed significantly. Hieroglyphic was the first
form of writing, in the form of pictures. Those same inscriptions which were used
on obelisk, burial chambers, temples, pyramids and other worshipping places, were
also used to write the ancient holy books.
The image below shows a line of Hieratic form of writing and the second line is Hieroglyphic form of writing.

The Hieroglyphic writing was later simplified to what is known as Hieratic (or
writing of the priests). Hieratic was used in official writings on papyrus.

Again, the hieratic writing evolved to easier and simpler writing called Demotic.
The image below shows the Demotic form of writing.

The Demotic form of writing was used generally in everyday transactions, deeds,
scripts, letters and inscriptions by all people at that time. Finally, the writing
evolved to the Coptic Alphabet, as we know it today, being 32 letters. The last 7
letters taken from the Demotic as is without significant alterations are as follows:-

sfqhj[].
The image below is an extract from book “hanouelle `njw `mberi” by Picenti Rizkalla Gerges – a poem composed by him about a little girl called Teetee.

The Ancient Egyptian language, or what we now call the Coptic language,
remained in use, and was the spoken language of the government and the whole
country throughout the times of the Greek, Roman, and Arab invasions. Further,
all people (regardless of their religion) spoke and used the language. The use of
the Coptic language started to diminish starting from the decree of the Arab ruler
in the year 799 AD Who abolished the use of the language officially then banned
its use even in the streets and homes.

 There exist an unintentional way of rendering the Coptic language extinct

and that is transliteration (for example, writing Coptic language not in
Coptic letters but Arabic or English letter) which should be banned in all
churches and Coptic institutions.

 As a strategy and deliberate policy of invaders and in colonization, native

languages were suppressed in order to undermine a native people’s sense of
nation, community, culture, and therefore identity. The Greeks tried this
though their Hellenizing approach.

 there was/is an agenda to kill the Coptic language

o the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah (996 to 1021 AD) issued
strict orders to Egyptians preventing them from using the Coptic
language at home, at school, in the streets, in mosques and in
churches, with severe punishment to anyone found speaking Coptic.
o Nowadays some people who are against Coptic language use the guise
that speaking in Coptic may endanger national unity – but their real
reason is to reinforce the hidden agenda.

The Copts preserved the language and continued to use it in writings, worship, and
prayer in their churches, and the people kept on speaking the language right
through to the 15th century. Eventually, throughout the years the number of
people using it dwindled, but according to several reliable sources, the Egyptian
(Coptic) language was still in use in certain parts in Upper Egypt up until the 18th
century AD.

Therefore, a more accurate term for this language would be "Egyptian" rather than
"Coptic" language. At the present time, several families in Egypt speak and many
more have started using this language once more in their homes. Hopefully, more
and more families and individuals will be encouraged to do the same.

It is interesting to note that the Egyptian Language we use in liturgy was the
spoken language when the Holy Family visited Egypt. Therefore, our Lord Jesus
Christ not only blessed Egypt through his visit, but also blessed our language by
speaking it during His stay in Egypt.

One of the very interesting facts about this language is that, during the 2nd century,
the Holy Bible was translated in Alexandria from the original Greek text to the
Egyptian language. This was done by scholars who were very proficient and
knowledgeable in both Greek and Egyptian languages.

Consequently, the Coptic (Egyptian) translation of the Holy Bible is considered

one of the most accurate and reliable translations available. As a matter of fact,
whenever the meaning or intent of a certain Bible verse in English or Arabic is
ambiguous or vague, the Coptic text can be looked up to give the true and accurate
meaning.

2. Importance of the Coptic language, importance of keeping Coptic language

and Coptic culture alive.

o identity
o unity
o culture
o language can give a strong sense of belonging
o knowing your roots

Culture is a combination of many things like: the way we live, our behaviour,
beliefs, social interactions; and also things such as food, clothing, art, ideology,
institutions, and, most importantly, language. Transmission of culture and
identity is only possible through the fundamental vehicle of language.

Language is intrinsic to the expression of culture. As a means of

communicating values, beliefs and customs, it has important social function and
fosters feelings of group identity and solidarity which Egyptians so desperately
need.

The loss of language means the loss of culture and identity. Our Coptic
languages express our identity and culture in ways that no foreign language can.
Language is a maker of identity; when languages disappear, cultures die.

 Children benefit from learning to value their roots and their culture.

 Children should be taught that we are all different and the differences must
be accepted and even celebrated and that we ought to be proud of our Coptic
culture and Coptic language and Coptic / ancient Egyptian inheritance –
respecting others begins by respecting ourselves and our heritage.

Coptic language connects the Copts with their Ancient Egyptian ancestors
and civilization which goes back to over 5700 years.

The Coptic literature: The Coptic language unlocks the priceless gems found in
all the books written in Coptic, for example, religious texts, the Bible, letters,
stories, receipts, Books of the Coptic Church, legal documents, histories of the
Coptic church, history of the Patriarchs of Alexandria, writings of the Fathers,
lives of the Saints(the Martyrs and the monastic fathers), Church Canon laws
and the liturgies just to mention a few. In addition to their writing in Coptic,
they translated different books from Greek to Coptic and from Coptic to Greek
and Latin.

The term “revival” is a very grim-sounding term which I don’t like using
because it is incorrect to use in relation to the Coptic Language. Revival
means the language is “dead” and a dead language is a language which has
no native speakers, people who grew up speaking the language as children.

But I for one spoke the Coptic language as a child, my brother and sisters
also spoke Coptic. Coptic is our first language as so many others who are
my cousins and their children and their children’s children who speak
Coptic. Also my own children, their first language is Coptic and their second
language is English.

You may call it “endangered” but certainly not dead, hence, I like to say let
us revitalize rather than revive the language.

Let us collectively, inspire and enthuse the younger generations to take an

interest and pride in their ancestral language, and by providing the means for
them to learn it, it is possible to revitalize the language enough for children
to have access to traditional literature, to use it for cultural and religious
purposes and to speak it as a first or second language.

Let’s employ digital multimedia technology, like audio, visual and text-
based resources which is very appealing to most people.

The existence of Coptic speaking people nowadays is the result of few

families and many individuals who kept using the Coptic language in their
homes and with friends.

But to have the revitalization more effective and more widespread is to have
more people to be enthusiastic about the language and their heritage and to
be serious about using the language as much as possible in as many aspects
of their lives as possible.

It is noteworthy that the whole Egyptian nation is already speaking partly in

Coptic. In their everyday language the Egyptians use quite a lot of words
and expressions without the slightest notion that they are saying words of
Coptic/Ancient Egyptian origin.

Egyptian-Arabic has numerous Coptic words; this is why it differs from any
other Arabic speaking country. If the colloquial word is not in the Arabic
dictionary, there is a good chance it’s of Coptic origin.
 3. it is possible to revive the language?

 Here is a list of revived languages

o Ainu, Barnagarla, Belarusian, Chochenyo, Cornish,
o Hawaiian, Hebrew, Kaurna, Latin, Lazuri, Leonese,
o Manx, Maori, Occitan Gascon,
o Palawa kani (Tasmanian language), Sanskrit, Wampanoag

In the case of the Coptic language, revitalization applies here since we still have
people who speak it. As for the above mention languages, they were actually dead
but were revived later.

 The Welsh revitalized their Welsh language and of all the current Welsh
speakers, over 50% are under the age of 30, so it is important to concentrate
on teacher the young people and the children the language.

 The families and individuals who speak Coptic inside or outside Egypt are
living proof that a complete revival/rejuvenation of the language is possible
indeed.

4. How was it possible? And how is it possible now?

 Mr. Picenti Rizkalla Gerges and his Coptic speaking family (family here
refers to all his brothers and sister and their children and their children’s
children etc.) became a living legend, an embodiment of the revival for
others to emulate.

 Picenti Rizkalla Gerges from a very young age had great passion for the
Coptic language. He dedicated his life for the language and spent all his life
studying and researching and raising awareness of the importance of the
language and the use of the language in many aspects of life especially
conversation and literature.
 He taught the language everywhere he could like in schools and associations
and monasteries throughout Egypt, when he saw that there were so many
people interested to learn and expand their knowledge in the language he
dedicated more of his time tirelessly

 To help would-be speakers and readers of the Coptic language Picenti

Rizkalla Gerges compiled a massively comprehensive and complete Arabic
– Coptic Dictionary comprising of about 47,000 words. That was a
continuation of the dictionary that his father Rizkalla Gerges started. Picenti
Rizkalla continued to gather more word and he verified and checked the
whole dictionary from beginning to end three (3) times.

 Picenti Rizkalla Gerges accumulated a list of words which are used in

everyday Egyptian-Arabic language which have Coptic (Ancient Egyptian)
origin. He also authored a book of poems and songs and story books. He
authored and co-authored many books to teach the Coptic language.

 I recall some of the methods he used to teach us (the family- particularly the
children) new words or phrases:
o Post signs everywhere in the house which says: “SPEAK YOUR
LANGUAGE, THE COPTIC LANGUAGE”. The signs posted were to
encourage visitors and friends and relatives to try to speak the
language especially when they are in these Coptic speaking houses.
o He would teach us new words and test us later on who learnt it or who
remembers the words and there would be monetary rewards and or
declare who of the children were good boys and girls.
o Members of the household were encouraged to speaking only in
Coptic – as long as you are inside the house you have to speak Coptic.
I recall our next door neighbors were not Copts, they had 2 young
girls who loved to talk to my female cousins from the balcony, but the
balcony is still part of the house so the neighboring girls ended up
learning and speaking Coptic. When these girls grew up and got
married they in turn taught their husbands Coptic language so when
they wished to speak with their husbands no one else would
 understand what they are saying. You know Coptic language is the
spoken language of the Ancient Egyptians it is for the Egyptians
regardless of their religion or denomination.
o I also recall that whenever he call us on the telephone he would check
and show approval or disapproval for whoever picks up the phone and
say “hello” or say “name” (pronounce “namay” meaning hello in
Coptic).
o Every week or two my uncle (Picenti Rizkalla) would gather us (all
the children – about a dozen) and tell us a story, whether a story he
made up or a story about a saint or character from the Bible.
o When we migrated to Australia with my parents my uncle use to
regularly correspond with us by way of letters and aerograms in
Coptic and he would write the meaning in Arabic to some of the
words that he suspects might be new to our vocabulary.

 Keeping our culture and language alive at home will reinforce in our
children a sense of identity and build their self-esteem.

 Ways to keep the language alive:

o read the bible in Coptic
o read literatures and history and stories of the saints written in Coptic
o speak to friends in few words and Phrases and gradually that will
grow into full on conversation.
o write to yourself and write to your friends
o texting your family and friends is a new, cool and effective way to
keep the language alive amongst young people say 15-25 years old or
older.

 To make the revitalization/revival to work and at a faster pace it is important

to:
o Get the family and the community support
o Target children and young people
o Renew culture pride in the language
o Use multimedia and videos to teach the language
 o Coptic language should be compulsory subject for all students from
kindergarten to year 12 (high school) in the Coptic schools which is
possible to implement outside of Egypt.

 (keeping your language alive – start with the children)

o talk to your child in the language and make up stories like (bedtime
stories)
o Enjoy your language, it is important for your social and cultural
identity,
o Sing hymns and songs. This helps to develop children’s early skills
o Don’t be frightened to use your language in public
o Make sure your child knows the different names of languages he/she
speaks
o Help your child to feel proud of their language/s. This will help them
develop a strong cultural identity
o If your child prefers to use English words, you can still respond and
repeat back what they said in your own language.

5. Teaching children a second language

The best time to teach your children a second language is the same time they’re
learning their first one.

Kids at this age are developing language skills rapidly, and they quickly absorb
whatever they hear. They can learn to understand new words in two different
languages at an incredibly fast rate. And you don't need to enroll your child in
formal language classes to hear her repeat words and songs in a new tongue --
just listen in when they’re watching television shows like Dora the Explorer,
Go, Diego, Go! and Sesame Street, which teach basic Spanish words to the
preschool set.

Research has shown that bilinguals tend to be more creative thinkers than those
who speak one language, and one study suggests that their brain functions may
stay sharper as they age.
Here's how to get your child to begin learning:-

 Start now. Two- and 3-year-olds are not only increasing their vocabularies,
they're starting to recognize the speech patterns they've been hearing since
birth. The earlier you introduce a second language, the easier it will be for
your child to pick up its unique sounds. The ability to hear different phonetic
pronunciations is sharpest before age 3, and we lose the capacity to hear and
produce certain sounds if we aren't exposed to them early on, So just hearing
or learning a few words in a second language will give your child essential
tools for appreciating it now and learning to speak it later.

 Create a casual learning environment. The best way for a child to learn to
understand a new language is to hear people speaking it, if the child is
exposed to conversations, he'll begin to pick up the sounds and the natural
accent. Two- and 3-year-olds love to mimic what they hear, and soon they'll
begin to understand the meanings of short words and phrases.

I encourage people to try and few words and phrase and greetings in Coptic
just to start with then vocabulary will increase.

 Teach a word at a time. You can introduce bilingual basics by pointing out
to your children that objects can have two names -- one in each language
say, Coptic and English or Coptic and Arabic. The children know they mean
the same thing. As your children learn new words, tell them what words are
called in the second language too.

I, for example, point out certain words and sentences to my children as we

are celebrating the holy Mass, whether during singing of the hymns or
liturgical prayers so they can see and learn and understand our living
language in church and at home and even outside of these two spheres.

 Have reasonable expectations. Of course, children won't learn to speak

Coptic language fluently from hearing words or singing hymns. But simply
being exposed to a language will help them understand phrases when they
hear them. So even though you probably won't be having a full on Coptic
conversation with your children very soon, if you say "nane` ejwrh" every
night at bedtime, they'll figure out what you mean.
Written by: Ounas Gerges
Senior lecturer in Coptic language,
Pope Shenouda III,
Coptic Theological College
Sydney, Australia.