EGYPTIAN LANGUAGE

extinct language of the Nile valley that constitutes a branch of the Afro-Asiatic (formerly Hamito-Semitic) language family, along with the Semitic, Cushitic, Chadic, and Berber language groups. On the basis of texts in the language, scholars generally divide the history of Egyptian language into five periods: Old Egyptian (from before 3000 to c. 2200 BC), Middle Egyptian (c. 2200c. 1600 BC), Late Egyptian (c. 1550c. 700 BC), Demotic (c. 700 BCc. AD 400), and Coptic (c. 2nd century AD until at least the 17th century). Thus, five literary dialects are differentiated. All these language periods refer to the written language, which often differed greatly from the spoken dialects. Coptic is still in ecclesiastical use (along with Arabic) among the Arabic-speaking Monophysite Christians of Egypt. Igor Mikhailovich Diakonoff Additional reading Elmar Edel, Altgyptische Grammatik (195564); A.H. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 3rd ed. (1957); Walter Till, Koptische Grammatik (Sadischer Dialekt) (1955); Adolf Erman and Hermann Grapow (eds.), Wrterbuch der gyptischen Sprache, 6 vol. (192631, reprinted 1955); Wolja Erichsen, Demotisches Glossar (1954). Igor Mikhailovich Diakonoff