DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1167#0061
Quecke 1984b). Only a few general remarks concerning Sahidic and Bohairic literary
manuscripts follow:
• The digraph €1 is not employed in Bohairic (i.e.: 61 in Bohairic always renders a
phonemic sequence).
• In Sahidic, I is preferred after consonants, although £1 can occur as well. After
vowels, both I and £1 are frequent. Ernstedt (1986: 72) suggests that the amount of
free space in the line plays a role here.
• In both Sahidic and Bohairic, OV is the only way to express /u/ or /w/ in most envi-
ronments. After \ and G (in Sahidic also after H), however, a single V often appears.
• A preceding word or morpheme boundary may favor using a digraph. In Sahidic, for
example, single I or V is never used word-initially. Cf. also § 6.4.7.1.
• Additionally, the choice may be influenced by phonological criteria. In Bohairic, for
example, OTT after \ and £ seems to occur preferably in the onset of a stressed
syllable, e.g. \OV® /a'wo/ "pledge", but *evi /'mewi/ "to think". In Sahidic, some
scribes attempt to make a difference between (O)'B'ei /wi/ and 0?TI /uj/: (WCINC
/'wina/ "to pass by", &TCIN /a'win/ "cargo", KOtfl ~ KOTCI /'kuj/ "little", TOTIO ~
TWeiO /tup/ "to repay".
2.7.5 The superlinear stroke in Sahidic-Coptic writing
Coptic texts can contain several types of diacritic signs (on Coptic diacritics in general
US' § 6.4.3). In the following, I discuss the superlinear stroke. This sign is typical for
Sahidic and is the most frequently used diacritic of this dialect. By contrast, Bohairic has
no superlinear stroke. Instead it uses the so-called "djinkim", a superposed point or small
vertikal stroke. The "djinkim" seems to have a quite different function^ and, according
to Kasser (197a), is historically unrelated to the Sahidic stroke. There are also specific
diacritics in other dialects.49
The Sahidic superlinear stroke is a horizontal stroke which is written above the line and
not clearly attached to a single letter. The stroke may be superposed on one letter, be
written above the line somewhere between two letters, or may be so long as to cover the
length of up to four letters. (On the various possibilities for position and length of the
stroke cf. Kasser 1965/66: ioof. and Polotsky 1957b: 223f.). Although there has been
some discussion about this sign, its function is still rather unclear. Research is hindered
by the fact that Coptic diacritics are often rendered inaccurately in text editions. This
may be due to a lack of interest in rendering signs whose function is so little known, or
else typographical obstacles may not allow the text editor to indicate their exact
position and form. The major Coptic dictionaries do not render diacritics at all.
48 On the "djinkim" see Polotsky (1946-47), Kasser (1991c and 1994a), Depuydt (1998:
359-362).
49 Cf. e.g. Kasser (1976-78) for diacritics in Mesokemic.
61
manuscripts follow:
• The digraph €1 is not employed in Bohairic (i.e.: 61 in Bohairic always renders a
phonemic sequence).
• In Sahidic, I is preferred after consonants, although £1 can occur as well. After
vowels, both I and £1 are frequent. Ernstedt (1986: 72) suggests that the amount of
free space in the line plays a role here.
• In both Sahidic and Bohairic, OV is the only way to express /u/ or /w/ in most envi-
ronments. After \ and G (in Sahidic also after H), however, a single V often appears.
• A preceding word or morpheme boundary may favor using a digraph. In Sahidic, for
example, single I or V is never used word-initially. Cf. also § 6.4.7.1.
• Additionally, the choice may be influenced by phonological criteria. In Bohairic, for
example, OTT after \ and £ seems to occur preferably in the onset of a stressed
syllable, e.g. \OV® /a'wo/ "pledge", but *evi /'mewi/ "to think". In Sahidic, some
scribes attempt to make a difference between (O)'B'ei /wi/ and 0?TI /uj/: (WCINC
/'wina/ "to pass by", &TCIN /a'win/ "cargo", KOtfl ~ KOTCI /'kuj/ "little", TOTIO ~
TWeiO /tup/ "to repay".
2.7.5 The superlinear stroke in Sahidic-Coptic writing
Coptic texts can contain several types of diacritic signs (on Coptic diacritics in general
US' § 6.4.3). In the following, I discuss the superlinear stroke. This sign is typical for
Sahidic and is the most frequently used diacritic of this dialect. By contrast, Bohairic has
no superlinear stroke. Instead it uses the so-called "djinkim", a superposed point or small
vertikal stroke. The "djinkim" seems to have a quite different function^ and, according
to Kasser (197a), is historically unrelated to the Sahidic stroke. There are also specific
diacritics in other dialects.49
The Sahidic superlinear stroke is a horizontal stroke which is written above the line and
not clearly attached to a single letter. The stroke may be superposed on one letter, be
written above the line somewhere between two letters, or may be so long as to cover the
length of up to four letters. (On the various possibilities for position and length of the
stroke cf. Kasser 1965/66: ioof. and Polotsky 1957b: 223f.). Although there has been
some discussion about this sign, its function is still rather unclear. Research is hindered
by the fact that Coptic diacritics are often rendered inaccurately in text editions. This
may be due to a lack of interest in rendering signs whose function is so little known, or
else typographical obstacles may not allow the text editor to indicate their exact
position and form. The major Coptic dictionaries do not render diacritics at all.
48 On the "djinkim" see Polotsky (1946-47), Kasser (1991c and 1994a), Depuydt (1998:
359-362).
49 Cf. e.g. Kasser (1976-78) for diacritics in Mesokemic.
61