Coptic Scriptorium – Guidelines Overview / Amir Zeldes (revision date: 2021-03-12)

Coptic Scriptorium – Guidelines Overview / Cheat SheetSegmentation
We use Layton’s segmentation: each stressed unit is spelled together, with text split into stress-bearing
bound groups (_), norm units (|), and morphemes (-). Bound groups are units which are uninterruptable(e.g. by ⲇⲉ) and are the maximum domain for phonotactic changes: ϩⲙ|ⲡ|ⲏⲓ is one bound group, otherwise
ⲛ → ⲙ before ⲡ would be word-external assimilation (‘sandhi’).


ⲁ|ϥ|ⲥⲱⲧⲙ_ⲇⲉ_ⲛϭⲓ|ⲡ|ⲣⲱⲙⲉ_ϫⲉ|ⲟⲩⲛⲧⲁ|ⲓ_ⲧⲁ|ⲭⲣⲉⲓⲁ



ⲙⲛ|ⲧⲉⲓ|ⲙⲛⲧ-ⲁⲧ-ⲥⲱⲧⲙ

ϯ|ⲣ-ϩⲟⲧⲉ_ⲁⲛ(ϫⲉ, ⲛϭⲓ are spelled together!)(hyphens are used to separate constituent morphemes)(NB we can insert particles before ⲁⲛ; ⲣ-ϩⲟⲧⲉ is a compound verb)

Coptic pausal marks (⳿) also offer supporting evidence for stress-based bound groups – where they appear,
they generally correspond to the bound group splits assumed here:ⲉⲣⲉ|ⲡⲉⲩ|ϩⲟⲩ _ -ⲙⲣⲉ⳿_ϫⲉ|ⲙⲉ|ⲛ|ϫⲱ_ |ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲛⲉ⳿

Compounds
Compound nouns are segmented into morphs (hyphenated) and identified by potentially having a single
article at most. Compound verbs are identified by having no determiner (article, possessive or numeral) for
the object:ⲡ|ⲙⲁⲓ-ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ

ⲣ-ⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ (no article on object → compound)ⲣ|ⲡ|ⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ



ⲉ|ⲧⲣⲉ|ⲩ|ϩⲟⲧⲡ|ⲥⲛⲁⲩ(number counts as a determiner → separate norm units)ⲁ|ϥ|ⲁϩⲉ|ⲣⲁⲧ|ϥ(possessive counts as a determiner → separate norm units)(ⲙⲁⲓ-ⲛⲟⲩⲧⲉ is a single noun, since only one article is possible)(article on object → separate norm units)

Handling theta/phi
Fused theta/phi is followed by a separator during transcription to indicate the correct number of segments.
Later in spreadsheet mode, the norm and norm_group layers split the hori off:
Orig/transcrition: ⲛ|ⲑ|ⲉ (norms: ⲛ+ⲧ+ϩⲉ)More examplesⲟⲩ|ⲣⲱⲙⲉ_ⲡⲉ(cf. ⲟⲩ|ⲣⲱⲙⲉ_ⲅⲁⲣ_ⲡⲉ)

ⲁ|ⲓ|ⲥⲉⲧⲡ|ⲧⲉ|ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ(for prenominal form, BUT: ⲁ|ⲓ|ⲥⲱⲧⲡ_ⲧⲉ|ⲥϩⲓⲙⲉ)

ⲡ|ⲉⲧ|ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩ|ϥ(normal article, relative converter, etc.)ⲡ|ⲡ-ⲉⲧ-ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩ-ϥ(first article is normal, rest is a noun with morphological structure)1

Coptic Scriptorium – Guidelines Overview / Amir Zeldes (revision date: 2021-03-12)

ⲙⲡ|ⲟⲩ|ϣ|ⲃⲱⲕ(the verb ϣ is considered an independent auxiliary verb)ϥ|ϭⲙϭⲟⲙ(NB quadrilateral verb stems are considered a single unit)ⲕⲁⲧⲁⲃⲁⲗⲗⲉ but ⲕⲁⲧⲁ|ⲫⲩⲥⲓⲛ (Greek verbs are not analyzed; but PREP+N is separate)

MarkupMarkup in XML editor mode includes any structural annotations about the text which do not constitute
Coptic text themselves. All Coptic text should be outside markup tags. Use TEI tags listed here. Markup
totally ignores word segmentation, applying to any range of characters. Running examples look like this:<pb xml:id="EG109"><cb n="1"><lb n="1"><hi rend="ekthetic">ⲁ|</hi>ϥ|ϫ ⲟ|ⲥ_ ϭⲓ</lb>...
Common tags include: (note the use of opening AND closing tags throughout)-<hi rend="ekthetic">...</hi> (or other rendering: tall, red, illuminated...)-<pb xml:id="EG109">..</pb> (page break, i.e. the span of the page)-<cb n="1">..</cb> (column break, i.e. the span of the column)-<lb n="1">..</lb> (line break, i.e. the span of the line)-<note note="barely visible">..</note>

Always surround "attributes" with straight double quotes; never use double quotes in attribute values.

Part of speech tagging
In spreadsheet mode, tags are given to each norm unit (but not to morphs, or bound groups). Compounds
receive a single tag; for full guidelines see the documentation.

Content words (tags in N*, V*, ADV)-

N for nouns, NPROP for proper names. Note that there are no adjective tags – these are interpreted
as nouns (ϣⲏⲙ) or verboids (ⲛⲁⲛⲟⲩ):o--ⲓⲏⲥⲟⲩⲥ/NPROP ⲡ/ART ⲙⲁⲓⲣⲱⲙⲉ/NV for verbs, with VIMP for unique morphological imperative forms and VBD for verboids:oⲛⲉ/ART ⲥⲛⲏⲩ/N ⲣⲙⲉⲉⲩⲉ/Vo

ⲁⲣⲓ/V ⲧ/ART ⲁⲅⲁⲡⲏ/Noⲡⲉϫⲉ/VBD ⲡ/ART ϩⲗⲗⲟ/N

ADV for proper adverbs: ⲙⲙⲁⲩ/ADV , ⲕⲁⲗⲱⲥ/ADV (cf. PTC below for particles)2

Coptic Scriptorium – Guidelines Overview / Amir Zeldes (revision date: 2021-03-12)

Auxiliaries and converters (tags in A*, C*, FUT)
ACOND

Aux., conditional

ⲉⲣϣⲁⲛ

ⲡ(ⲉ)

ALIM

Aux., limitative (‘until’)ϣⲁⲛⲧ(ⲉ)Aux., ‘not yet’ⲡⲁⲧ(ⲉ)

ACONJ

Aux., conjunctive(ⲧⲉ)

Aux., aoristϣⲁ, ϣⲁⲣⲉ

AFUTCONJ Aux., future conjunctive

ⲧⲁⲣ(ⲉ)ANEGAOR Aux., negated aorist

ⲙⲉ(ⲣⲉ)

ACAUS

Aux., causative

ⲧⲣⲉAOPT

Aux., optative

ⲉ[ϥ]ⲉ, ⲉⲣⲉ

CCIRC

Conv., circumstantial

ⲉ(ⲣⲉ)

ANEGOPT

Aux., neg. optativeⲛⲉ

CFOCConv., focalizing

ⲉ(ⲣⲉ)/(ⲉ)ⲛⲧ

AJUS

Aux., jussiveⲙⲁⲣ(ⲉ)

CREL

Conv., relative

ⲉⲧ(ⲧ)/ⲉⲛⲧANEGJUS

Aux., negated jussive

ⲡ ⲧⲣⲉ

CPRET

Conv., preteriteⲛⲉ(ⲣⲉ)APREC

Aux., precursiveⲧⲉⲣ(ⲉ)

FUT

Future marker

ⲛⲁ

APST

Aux., past

ANEGPST

Aux., negated past

ANYAAORⲁPronouns
Tags distinguish personal subject (PPERS), object (PPERO) and independent pronouns (PPERI), as wellas possessives (PPOS):ϯ/PPERS ⲥⲟⲟⲩⲛ/Vⲛⲧⲟⲕ/PPERIⲁ/APST ⲓ/PPERS ⲥⲟⲧⲡ/V ⲥ/PPEROⲡⲁ/PPOS ⲏⲓ/N

Demonstratives are tagged PDEM, and interrogatives are PINT:ⲛⲧⲕ/PPERI ⲛⲓⲙ/PINT

ⲡⲉⲓ/PDEM ⲏⲓ/N

Other function words
Tag

Name

ART

ArticleExamplesⲡ(ⲉ), ⲧ(ⲉ), ⲛ(ⲉ), ϩⲉⲛ, ⲕⲉ

CONJ

Conjunctionⲁⲩⲱ, ⲏ, ⲙⲏ, ⲕⲁⲓ, ⲉⲓⲧⲉ, ...

COP

Copulaⲡⲉ/ⲧⲉ/ⲛⲉEXIST

Existential/possessive

ⲟⲩⲛ/ⲙⲛ

FM

Foreign materialⲡⲁⲣⲁ ⲧⲟⲩⲧⲟIMOD

Inflected modifierⲧⲏⲣ[ϥ], ϩⲱⲱ[ⲧ], …

NEG

Negationⲛ, ⲁⲛ, ⲧⲙ[ⲥⲱⲧⲙ]NUM

Numeralⲟⲩⲁ, ⲥⲛⲁⲩ, …

PREP

Preposition

ⲉⲧⲃⲉ, ϩ , ⲛ, ⲙⲟ[ϥ], …

PTC

Particleⲇⲉ, ϭⲓ, ϫⲉ, …

PUNCTPunctuation.,·…

UNKNOWN Unknown morph, lacuna

ⲃ_ _ _, _ _ⲟⲥ, _ _ _, …
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Coptic Scriptorium – Guidelines Overview / Amir Zeldes (revision date: 2021-03-12)

Portmanteau tags
Unsegmentable, fused forms, receive portmanteau tags, separated by underscore:ϩⲱ

IMOD_PPERO (=ϩⲱⲱ+ⲁⲛⲟⲕ)ⲉⲣⲟ

PREP_PPERO (=ⲉ + ⲛⲧⲟ, 2nd person singular feminine)ⲁ/APST ⲕ/PPRERS ⲛⲧ/V_PPERO (“you have brought me”)

Lemmatization
The guiding principle is to lemmatize to the most independent form possible, while ignoring number, but
not gender or person (see details). Thus pronouns are lemmatized to the independent form:
PersonLemmaPronoun forms

1st sg.

ⲁⲛⲟⲕⲁⲛⲟⲕ, ⲁⲛⲅ, ϯ, ⲓ, ⲛⲧ, ⲧ, ⲁ

2nd sg. masc.

ⲛⲧⲟⲕⲛⲧⲟⲕ, ⲛⲧⲕ, ⲕ, ⲅ, ⲧⲕ

2nd sg. fem.

ⲛⲧⲟⲛⲧⲟ, ⲛⲧⲉ, ⲧⲉ, ⲧⲣ, ⲣ, ⲉ

3rd sg. masc.

ⲛⲧⲟϥⲛⲧⲟϥ, ϥ3rd sg. fem.

ⲛⲧⲟⲥⲛⲧⲟⲥ, ⲥ1st pl.

ⲁⲛⲟⲛⲁⲛⲟⲛ, ⲁⲛ, ⲛ, ⲧⲛ, ⲥⲛ

2nd pl.

ⲛⲧⲱⲧⲛⲛⲧⲱⲧⲛ, ⲛⲧⲉⲧⲛ, ⲧⲛ, ⲧⲏⲩⲧⲛ

3rd pl.

ⲛⲧⲟⲟⲩⲛⲧⲟⲟⲩ, ⲩ, ⲟⲩ, ⲥⲉ, ⲥⲟⲩNouns are lemmatized to the independent form, if it exists, otherwise to the prenominal, or if it is notattested, to the presuffixal. Plurals are lemmatized to singular, but feminine forms receive their own lemma,and the same applies to Greek neuters:-ⲥⲛⲏⲩ → ⲥⲟⲛ-ϩⲛⲁ⸗ → ϩⲛⲉ (prenominal form exists)-ϣⲏⲣⲉ → ϣⲏⲣⲉ, ϣⲉⲉⲣⲉ → ϣⲉⲉⲣⲉ-ⲛⲁⲓⲁⲧ⸗ → ⲛⲁⲓⲁⲧ (only presuffixal form)-

ⲧⲟⲟⲧ[ⲥ] → ⲧⲱⲣⲉ (has independent form)-ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲥ→ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲥ, ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ→ⲡⲟⲛⲏⲣⲟⲛ

Verbs are lemmatized to independent forms and verboids to the prenominal form:-

ⲥⲱⲧⲡ, ⲥⲟⲧⲡ, ⲥⲉⲧⲡ → ⲥⲱⲧⲡ-ⲡⲉϫⲁ, ⲡⲉϫⲉ → ⲡⲉϫⲉPrepositions, converters and auxiliaries to prenominal forms:-

ⲉⲣⲟ[ϥ] → ⲉ, ⲛϩⲏⲧ[ϥ] → ϩⲛ-ⲙⲉ[ϥ], ⲙⲉⲣⲉ → ⲙⲉⲣⲉ-ⲉ, ⲉⲣⲉ → ⲉⲣⲉ-Note past relative: ⲉⲛⲧ[ⲁ] → ⲉⲧⲉⲣⲉ-ⲉⲧ, ⲉⲧⲉ, ⲉⲧⲉⲣⲉ → ⲉⲧⲉⲣⲉ

-But past focalizer: (ⲉ)ⲛⲧ[ⲁ] → ⲉⲣⲉPortmanteau tokens receive portmanteau lemmas (word/pos/lemma):-

ⲉⲣⲟ/PREP_PPERO/ⲉⲣⲉ_ⲛⲧⲟ-ϩⲱ/IMOD_PPERO/ϩⲱⲱ_ⲁⲛⲟⲕAlso see online guidelines on diplomatic transcription, entity tagging, and syntactic analysis
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