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Copts have historically spoken the Coptic language, a direct descendant of the Demotic Egyptian that was spoken in late antiquity. Following the Muslim conquest, the treatment of the Coptic Christians who refused to convert ranged from relative tolerance to open persecution.
The Coptic language is a universal language used in Coptic churches in every country. It descends from Ancient Egyptian and uses the Coptic alphabet , a script descended from the Greek alphabet with added characters derived from the Demotic script .
Coptic has no native speakers today, [6] although it remains in daily use as the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church and of the Coptic Catholic Church. [5] Innovations in grammar and phonology and the influx of Greek loanwords distinguish Coptic from earlier periods of the Egyptian language.
The Coptic alphabet was based on the Greek alphabet, of which 24 letters were used, along with 7 letters borrowed from the Demotic script (Ϣ, Ϥ, Ϧ, Ϩ, Ϫ, Ϭ, Ϯ). Five letters were used only in words of Greek origin. However, the Coptic language does not distinguish between d and t. This is evident in transcriptions of terms such as ...
There have been many Coptic versions of the Bible, including some of the earliest translations into any language. Several different versions were made in the ancient world, with different editions of the Old and New Testament in five of the dialects of Coptic : Bohairic (northern), Fayyumic , Sahidic (southern), Akhmimic and Mesokemic (middle).
The lingua franca of the Western world in the early centuries of Christianity was the Koine Greek, and the Liturgy of Saint Mark was in such a language. The translation of this liturgy into Coptic , used by most of the Coptic population at that time, is attributed to Saint Cyril of Alexandria in the first half of the 5th century.
Coptic literature is the body of writings in the Coptic language of Egypt, the last stage of the indigenous Egyptian language. It is written in the Coptic alphabet . The study of the Coptic language and literature is called Coptology .
The Coptic Catholic Church does not have Coptic monasteries. Instead the Church has religious congregations such as the three communities for women: the Sisters of the Sacred Heart , the Coptic Sisters of Jesus and Mary (both based in Egypt ) and the Egyptian Province of the Little Sisters of Jesus .