Editing Coptic language (section)

==== Sahidic ====
[[File:Shred of a pottery vessel inscribed with 5 lines, Coptic Sahidic language. Byzantine period, 6th century CE. From Thebes, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|left|thumb|Pottery shard inscribed with 5 lines in Coptic Sahidic. Byzantine period, 6th century AD. From Thebes, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London]]
Sahidic (also known as Thebaic or Theban) is the dialect in which most known Coptic texts are written, and was the leading dialect in the pre-[[Islam]]ic period. Where it was spoken is a matter of debate; it name which comes from an Arabic term ''Aṣ-ṣa'id'' meaning Upper [Southern] Egypt would imply it was spoken there, but Sahidic's features seem to suggest it was spoken in the north. It is also possible that Sahidic was the urban dialect spoken in the major urban centers of Thebes and Memphis differentiating it from the other rural dialects.{{sfn|Lambdin|1983|pp=vii-viii}} Around 300 it began to be written in literary form, including translations of major portions of the [[Bible]] (see [[Coptic versions of the Bible]]). By the 6th century, a standardised spelling had been attained throughout Egypt. Almost all native authors wrote in this dialect of Coptic. Sahidic was, beginning in the 9th century, challenged by Bohairic, but is attested as late as the 14th.

While texts in other Coptic dialects are primarily translations of Greek literary and religious texts, Sahidic is the only dialect with a considerable body of original literature and non-literary texts. Because Sahidic shares most of its features with other dialects of Coptic with few peculiarities specific to itself, and has an extensive corpus of known texts, it is generally the dialect studied by learners of Coptic, particularly by scholars outside of the Coptic Church.