Automatic Detection of Coptic Text Reuse: Applying Coptic Wordnet to Intertextuality Studies in Selected Coptic Monastic Writings

This study explores the application of Coptic Wordnet to intertextuality studies in Coptic literature, focusing on works of the 4th/5th century Egyptian abbots Shenoute and Besa, and on the Bible in Coptic. Using the semantic relations captured in Coptic Wordnet, we enhance the automatic detection of text reuse, including quotations, allusions, and paraphrases. Our findings demonstrate that incorporating Coptic Wordnet data enables the identification of previously undetected intertextual relationships, providing a more comprehensive understanding of the interconnected nature of Coptic texts. This research highlights the potential of wordnets in tracing the traveling of words, phrases, and concepts from authoritative texts into the wider language, offering new insights into the linguistic and conceptual landscape of Copticspeaking Egyptian Christianity in Late Antiquity.