The Egyptian languages are a branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family that were spoken in ancient Egypt. They evolved over thousands of years, with the earliest form known as Old Egyptian, used in hieroglyphs and religious texts. Later forms include Middle Egyptian, which became the literary standard, and Late Egyptian, spoken during the New Kingdom period. By the time of the Greco-Roman period, the Egyptian language had further evolved into Coptic, which incorporated Greek letters and was used by early Christians in Egypt. Today, Coptic is primarily a liturgical language, while the ancient forms are studied by linguists and historians to understand Egypt's rich cultural heritage.