The Egyptian language, which formed a separate branch among the family of Afro-Asiatic languages, was among the first written languages, and is known from the hieroglyphic inscriptions preserved on monuments and sheets of papyrus. The Coptic language, the last stage of Egyptian, is today the liturgical language of the Coptic Orthodox Church. Hieroglyphs were written on people's front doors, so that the news of the pharaoh would travel to everyone.