Showing Dialogue in Coptic & Translations

[Adam]

1. Does the Coptic language have the equivalent of quotation marks to show someone is speaking?

For example:
Nancy went to the store and asked the clerk, "Where do you keep the bread?"


2. Would it be possible to translate something written in modern English or Arabic to Coptic?  Is the Coptic lexicon large enough to be able to translate more complicated, modern ideas?  Are there any established protocols for approaching words that didn't exist at the time Coptic died out as a spoken language?  (For example, if someone wanted to write or say "computer" in Coptic, how would they go about creating such a word?)

[ophadece]

Hi Adam,
The Coptic system of writing doesn't include quotation marks. Indeed not until very recently it has become more legible, separating words from the next and so on.
the second issue is unfortunately quite complex and not completely agreed to. Some would prefer borrowing expressions from the Greek language. Others would choose the closest word used for similar objects. Others still would make up new words usually compound nouns
Oujai

[Admin]

the word ϫⲉ comes before any saying. used instead of queotes in English.

[bashandy]

I guess admin responded sufficienty to the quotation " questions.
Todate there is no committee in charge of modern terminology.

• The first attempt at modernising Coptic was done by Claudius Labib who coined some words for bicycle, train etc. as well, he was against the usage of Greek words in Coptic so he used Coptic to express even established loan Greek words in Coptic. This was followed by his disciple Pisenti Rizalla, both succeeded to form families that speak Coptic.
• Dr Kamal Farid Ishaaq: coined a few new words, and also borrowed from Greek language. He discussed how he coined words, in one of the conferences, probably available on Coptic Treasures. He had a Ph.D Thesis to be submitted to the Higher Institude of Coptic Studies, Egypt.
• Dr Emile Maher Ishak: coined other few words, for his curricula, some of them are straightforward, some were borrowed from Greek language. They are well studies
• RemEnKimi group, produced some words causally with conversation.
• Pisakho offered a few words on his website
• Dr Nabil Sabry Isaac is concerned with neologisms in Coptic.

I find the words coined By Dr Emile Maher Ishak the best studied and most comprehensive work available to rely on and extend from.