COPTIC ALPHABET Meaning and
Definition
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The Coptic alphabet refers to the writing system used by the Coptic language, an Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in Egypt from around the 2nd to the 14th century CE. The Coptic alphabet is derived from the Greek alphabet, with additional letters borrowed from the Demotic script, a previous form of Egyptian writing.
The Coptic alphabet consists of 32 letters, containing both consonants and vowels. The letters are written in a linear fashion, from left to right. Each letter has an uppercase and lowercase form, similar to other alphabets.
The Coptic alphabet is notable for its unique characters and diacritical marks, which are used to denote sounds and accents. These diacritical marks help in differentiating between similar-sounding words. Additionally, the Coptic alphabet is one of the few writing systems that represent vowels using distinct characters.
Due to religious and cultural reasons, the Coptic alphabet is primarily used in the liturgical texts of the Coptic Orthodox Church, which is the dominant Christian denomination in Egypt. It is also utilized in the study of Coptic language and as a symbol of Coptic identity. While the Coptic language is no longer widely spoken, the Coptic alphabet continues to hold significance as an important historical and cultural writing system.
Etymology of COPTIC ALPHABET
The word "Coptic" is derived from the ancient Greek word "Aigyptioi", meaning "Egyptians". The Coptic alphabet is named after the Copts, an ethnoreligious group primarily indigenous to Egypt, who adopted this script to write the Coptic language. The Coptic script itself is a modified form of the ancient Greek alphabet with additional characters taken from the Demotic script, an earlier Egyptian writing system. Thus, the term "Coptic alphabet" refers to the writing system used by the Copts to record their language, incorporating elements of Greek, Demotic, and later Hieratic scripts.
