Coptic pronunciation reform
Encyclopedia
Coptic pronunciation reform since 1850 has resulted in two major shifts in the use of Bohairic, the dialect of Coptic
which is used as the liturgical language of the present-day Coptic Orthodox Church. The two traditions of pronunciation in contemporary use arise from two successive reforms in the 19th and 20th centuries:
(1854–1861), there were discussions between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church about whether to unite, so that one Patriarch would be the head of both Churches in Egypt. The unification did not come about, but one of the proposals made at the time was to make Coptic pronunciation conform more closely to Greek.
The chief architect of this project was Arian G. Moftah, who taught Coptic in the Patriarchal Church at that time. Since the Coptic alphabet
shares many letters with the Greek alphabet
, he assumed that any change of Coptic pronunciation towards Greek would be a positive reform, and would also assist with the expected union between the churches. At the time, popular feeling in Egypt had been stirred up by the French military expedition
(1798-1801), whose scientists remained in Egypt for some years, and many people had come to feel that the European ideas and practices were superior to Egyptian (or Ottoman
) customs. The Greco-Bohairic pronunciation introduced phonemes like dh, p, th and v, in addition to an increase in glottal stops.
The reformed pronunciation was spread by the authority of the Klirikia (Theological Seminary), though not without controversy, and by the 1950s it had become established throughout Egypt, except in a small number of parishes in upper Egypt that refuse to accept any priest from outside the local village. In the course of this campaign of reform, the old Bohairic pronunciation was often inaccurately referred to as Sahidic (the name of another Coptic dialect). However, some European Coptologists commented on the fact that the villagers of Upper Egypt retained a more authentic tradition, and wrote disparagingly about the Greek-influenced pronunciation. Most notably Dr G. Sobhy commented on Greco-Bohairic pronunciation in an article saying that 'All modern books written on Coptic by native authors adopt more or less a mutilated form of Greek pronunciation and apply it entirely to their language. Unfortunately none of our native authors here knows sufficient Greek to realise the outstanding mistakes he is trying to form into rules applicable to the Coptic language'.
, Dr Emile Maher studied the history of Coptic pronunciation and in 1968 announced that he had rediscovered the Old Bohairic pronunciation. After completing a doctorate on the subject at Oxford University, he returned to Egypt hoping to restore the older way of pronouncing Coptic, in place of the reformed pronunciation (sometimes referred to as Greco-Bohairic). The Institute of Coptic Language which studied and promoted the Old Bohairic pronunciation came under strong opposition from some Church leaders, but the Pope continued to support Dr Maher, and ordained him priest (as Father Shenouda) in the 1990s. The Old Bohairic pronunciation is used in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Rochester, New York, in which Father Shenouda Maher now serves.
The Old Bohairic pronunciation is evidence-based, using archived sound recordings and transcriptions of the oral tradition of Zeneya, Dabeyya, and other villages made by various scholars such as Georgy Sobhy, Petraeus, Galtier, Maria Cramer, Rochmonetix, in addition to the works of W.H. Worrell and Vicychl. Maher also consulted documents held in libraries and monasteries throughout Egypt, including Coptic manuscripts written in the Arabic script, such as the Damanhour euchologion, and tenth-century Arabic texts written in Coptic letters, and analysed scribal transcription errors in the manuscripts tradition.
Coptic language
Coptic or Coptic Egyptian is the current stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt until at least the 17th century. Egyptian began to be written using the Greek alphabet in the 1st century...
which is used as the liturgical language of the present-day Coptic Orthodox Church. The two traditions of pronunciation in contemporary use arise from two successive reforms in the 19th and 20th centuries:
- the "reformed pronunciation" or "Greco-Bohairic pronunciation", originally mandated by Pope Cyril IV (1854–1861), models the pronunciation of Coptic letters after their equivalents in Modern Greek.
- the "Old Bohairic pronunciation" aims to reconstruct the pronunciation as it was before this reform.
The Reformed Pronunciation (Greco-Bohairic Pronunciation)
During the time of Pope Cyril IVPope Cyril IV of Alexandria
Pope Cyril IV of Alexandria , was the 110th Coptic Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark . He was born David in 1816. Despite his relatively short papacy, he is regarded as the "Father of Reform" of the Coptic Orthodox Church in modern times...
(1854–1861), there were discussions between the Coptic Orthodox Church and the Greek Orthodox Church about whether to unite, so that one Patriarch would be the head of both Churches in Egypt. The unification did not come about, but one of the proposals made at the time was to make Coptic pronunciation conform more closely to Greek.
The chief architect of this project was Arian G. Moftah, who taught Coptic in the Patriarchal Church at that time. Since the Coptic alphabet
Coptic alphabet
The Coptic alphabet is the script used for writing the Coptic language. The repertoire of glyphs is based on the Greek alphabet augmented by letters borrowed from the Demotic and is the first alphabetic script used for the Egyptian language...
shares many letters with the Greek alphabet
Greek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
, he assumed that any change of Coptic pronunciation towards Greek would be a positive reform, and would also assist with the expected union between the churches. At the time, popular feeling in Egypt had been stirred up by the French military expedition
French Revolutionary Wars: Campaigns of 1798
1798 was a relatively quiet period in the French Revolutionary Wars. The major continental powers in the First coalition had made peace with France, leaving France dominant in Europe with only a slow naval war with Great Britain to worry about...
(1798-1801), whose scientists remained in Egypt for some years, and many people had come to feel that the European ideas and practices were superior to Egyptian (or Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
) customs. The Greco-Bohairic pronunciation introduced phonemes like dh, p, th and v, in addition to an increase in glottal stops.
The reformed pronunciation was spread by the authority of the Klirikia (Theological Seminary), though not without controversy, and by the 1950s it had become established throughout Egypt, except in a small number of parishes in upper Egypt that refuse to accept any priest from outside the local village. In the course of this campaign of reform, the old Bohairic pronunciation was often inaccurately referred to as Sahidic (the name of another Coptic dialect). However, some European Coptologists commented on the fact that the villagers of Upper Egypt retained a more authentic tradition, and wrote disparagingly about the Greek-influenced pronunciation. Most notably Dr G. Sobhy commented on Greco-Bohairic pronunciation in an article saying that 'All modern books written on Coptic by native authors adopt more or less a mutilated form of Greek pronunciation and apply it entirely to their language. Unfortunately none of our native authors here knows sufficient Greek to realise the outstanding mistakes he is trying to form into rules applicable to the Coptic language'.
The Old Bohairic Pronunciation
During the 1960s, with the encouragement of Pope Shenouda IIIPope Shenouda III of Alexandria
Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria is the 117th Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria...
, Dr Emile Maher studied the history of Coptic pronunciation and in 1968 announced that he had rediscovered the Old Bohairic pronunciation. After completing a doctorate on the subject at Oxford University, he returned to Egypt hoping to restore the older way of pronouncing Coptic, in place of the reformed pronunciation (sometimes referred to as Greco-Bohairic). The Institute of Coptic Language which studied and promoted the Old Bohairic pronunciation came under strong opposition from some Church leaders, but the Pope continued to support Dr Maher, and ordained him priest (as Father Shenouda) in the 1990s. The Old Bohairic pronunciation is used in the Coptic Orthodox Church of Rochester, New York, in which Father Shenouda Maher now serves.
The Old Bohairic pronunciation is evidence-based, using archived sound recordings and transcriptions of the oral tradition of Zeneya, Dabeyya, and other villages made by various scholars such as Georgy Sobhy, Petraeus, Galtier, Maria Cramer, Rochmonetix, in addition to the works of W.H. Worrell and Vicychl. Maher also consulted documents held in libraries and monasteries throughout Egypt, including Coptic manuscripts written in the Arabic script, such as the Damanhour euchologion, and tenth-century Arabic texts written in Coptic letters, and analysed scribal transcription errors in the manuscripts tradition.