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Coptic - Example 1

Date: Sun, 9 Nov 1997 18:21:35 -0500 (EST)
From: Graham <geoffrey.graham@yale.edu>
To: Ancient Egyptian Language List <AEgyptian-L@rostau.demon.co.uk>
Subject: AEL A Coptic Anecdote

Hi, I said before that I might offer something for those interested in Coptic from time to time. I am not sure exactly how one could go about teaching Coptic on a listserve like this, so I am going to experiment with various things. This time, I am offering a brief anecdote from the Apothegmata Patrum "Tales of the Desert Fathers". It is very short, and possibly a little simplistic. I will try to explain what is going on so that people will have a taste of what the last stage of Egyptian sounded like.

The transcription is based on that system I posted to the list some time back, and which Mark Wilson has so kindly put up on the AEL web page for your reference. Remember that {@} represents nothing more than a supralinear stroke above the following consonant. You will have to insert more of these "schwa"s in other places where the scribe did not write them, but it should be obvious where they go. I will give the entire story and then parse it for you afterwards:

Transliteration:

1      apdiabolosSbtfhnouskEmanaggelosmpouoein
2      afouOnaheouannesnEuauOpecafnafceangpegabriElntautnnooutSarok
3      pecafdenafceanaucentautnnooukSakeouannesnEuanokgarntimpSaan
4      ntofdenteunouafratouOnhebol
(Yes, it's only a four liner! And, Coptic did not put spaces between words.)


Here it goes:
1	a-p-diabolos S@bt-f h@n-ouskhEma @n-aggelos @m-p-ouoein
	"The devil transformed himself in an angelic costume of light."

Notes:
a- 	comes from ancient jrj "make/do".  It is the conjugation base for the
	past tense and serves much like a helping verb to the main verb.

p- 	"the" masculine singular.

diabolos a Greek word, the subject of the sentence.

S@bt	the pre-prepositional form of the verb "transform/change".
       	The verb (S@bt-) of this sentence is conjugated with the
	conjugation base and the noun {diabolos} as its subject.
	(pronounce it "sh@bt")

-f	comes from ancient =f.  It is the third person singular masculine
	suffix pronoun "he/him/his".  Here it is the object of the verb.
	By the time of Coptic, the sDm=f forms were dead, and the verbs
	all came from infinitives, so suffix pronouns are usually their objects.
	(pronounce it -@f)

h@n-	from the preposition Xnw "in/within/inside".

ou-	from w` "one", now it is the indefinite article "a/an".

skhEma	a Greek word, the object of the preposition.

@n-	from earlier m "in/as".  This is the attributive construction.  It
	is how Coptic made adjectival expressions since all adjectives had become
	nouns by this period.

aggelos a Greek word, made into an adjective by the preoposition @n-,
	hence "angelic".

@m-	from earlier n.y "of".  Coptic assimilated the sound of @n- to @m-
	in front of bilabial sounds like /p/.

p-	the (not translated in the English in this case).

ouoein	from earlier wbn "rise/shine", but now it means "light".
	(pronounce it "woyn")

2	af-ouOnah e-oua @n-ne-snEu auO peca-f na-f ce an@g pe gabriEl
	"He appeared to one of the brothers and he said to him; "I am
	Gabriel

	@nt-au t@nnoout Saro-k
	(and) it is unto you that I have been sent."

Notes:

af-	Conjugation base like a- above but with the pronoun =f attached to
	it.  This means that the verb which is coming will be past tense
	and that "he" is the subject.

ouOnah	from earlier wnx "dress up/put on clothes or other attributes",
	now having the meaning of "reveal/appear". (pronounce "wo:nah")

e-	from earlier r "to/toward/at/against".  Preposition.

oua	from earlier w` "one".

@n-	from earlier n.y "of".

ne-	from earlier n3- "the" plural.

snEu	from earlier sn.w "brothers".  "Brothers" here means
	Christian "monks".

auO	from earlier r-w3H.w (don't ask why.  It is weird but true.). It
	came to mean and.

peca	came from p3y-Dd "this thing which is said", and it came to mean
	"said".

-f	"he", in this case it is the subject of the secondary clause.

na-f	from earlier n=f "to him".

ce	from earlier Dd "saying", it is used as a quote mark for what was
	said.

an@g	from earlier jnk "I/it is I".  The main form in Coptic is {anok},
	but this is the pre-nominal form.

pe	from earlier p3y "this", like pw, it came to represent the verb to
	be though it was not a verb but a copula.  It does not originate
	in pw because there are also {te}and {ne} for feminine and plural
	subjects.

gabriEl a name "Gabriel", the angel of the Christian annunciation.

@nt-	from earlier nty "who/which/that", but in this case it marks the
	verb as a second tense or emphasizing form.  The prepositional phrase
	is what is emphasized.

au-	conjugation base a- plus the third person plural pronoun =u
	"they".  By using a generic "they" Coptic expressed the passive.

t@nnoou	from earlier dj-jnj.w "cause to bring/be brought" which came to
	mean "send". (pronounce "t@nnow")

-t	from earlier =j "me", but through a phonetic process which is
	difficult to explain at this juncture.

Saro-	from earlier xr "unto".

-k	from earlier =k "you".

3	peca-f de na-f ce anau ce -nt-au-t@nnoou-k Sa-ke-oua @n-ne-snEu
	"But he said to him: "Look, you you must have been sent unto
	another one of the brothers,

        anok gar @n-ti-@mpSa an
        for, as for me, I am not worthy."

Notes:

peca-f "he said"

de	a Greek particle "but/and".

na-f	"to him".

ce	quote marker.

anau	from earlier j-nw "look/see" in the imperative.

gar	a Greek particle "for".

@n-	from earlier nj "not".  It goes together with {an} at the end of
	the expression, kind of like French with "ne" and "pas".

ti-	present tense conugation base for "I".


@mpSa 	from earlier *jm3x(?) "worthy".

an	end of the negation, from earlier jwn3.

4	@ntof de n-te-unou af-@r-at-ouOnh ebol
	"And, as for him, then he disappeared."

Notes:

@ntof	from earlier ntf "he/it is he".

de	Greek particle "but/and".

n-	from earlier m "in".

te-	"the" feminine.

unou	from earlier wnw.t "time/moment/hour".  The expression {nteunou}
	came to mean "then".

af-	conjugation base for past with "he" as subject.

@r-	from earlier jrj "do/make".

at-	from earlier jwty "without/not".

ouOnh	from ealrier wnx "appear".

ebol	from earlier r-bnr "to the outside".  The combination of
	{r-at-ouOnh-ebol} came to mean "disappear".


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