Coptic language lessons for adults in English with Fr. David Bebawy

[dzheremi]

This is the 'new' or 'Greco-Bohairic' pronunciation (based in the pronunciation reform of Erian Moftah in the time of HH Pope Cyril IV, 1854-1861), so it is ultimately based on the Greek, though there is still some interesting stuff here. This is how you'll hear and use it in most Coptic Orthodox churches, so it's good to know.

I didn't know any of the rules that he talks about for Β, Γ, Δ, etc., for instance. I learned everything by ear, since my own parish was too small for Coptic language classes, and anyway our Fr. Marcus told me he personally thinks that the 'Old Bohairic' pronunciation (a reconstruction of the pre-reform pronunciation, championed by Fr. Shenouda Maher, who did his Ph.D. at Oxford in the 1970s on this topic) is correct, even if it's not the one we personally use in the parish (even though some people did when I was there, presumably because they came from some part of Egypt where they didn't adopt GB).

No matter which pronunciation, it's pretty neat to learn this language.

 

[prodromos]

This is the 'new' or 'Greco-Bohairic' pronunciation (based in the pronunciation reform of Erian Moftah in the time of HH Pope Cyril IV, 1854-1861), so it is ultimately based on the Greek, though there is still some interesting stuff here. This is how you'll hear and use it in most Coptic Orthodox churches, so it's good to know.

I didn't know any of the rules that he talks about for Β, Γ, Δ, etc., for instance. I learned everything by ear, since my own parish was too small for Coptic language classes, and anyway our Fr. Marcus told me he personally thinks that the 'Old Bohairic' pronunciation (a reconstruction of the pre-reform pronunciation, championed by Fr. Shenouda Maher, who did his Ph.D. at Oxford in the 1970s on this topic) is correct, even if it's not the one we personally use in the parish (even though some people did when I was there, presumably because they came from some part of Egypt where they didn't adopt GB).

No matter which pronunciation, it's pretty neat to learn this language.

I think of all those poor students learning Ancient Greek with the Erasmus pronunciation trying to follow the Divine Liturgy.