Galatian is an extinct Celtic language once spoken in Galatia in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from the 3rd century BC up to at least the 4th century AD, although ancient sources suggest it was still spoken in the 6th century.[1]
Of the language only a few glosses and brief comments in classical writers and scattered names on inscriptions survive. Altogether they add up to about 120 words, mostly personal names ending in -riks (cf. Gaulish -rix/-reix, Old Irish ri, Gothic language -reiks, Old Frankish rik, Latin rex) "king", some ending in -marus, dative -mari (cf. Gaulish -maros, Old Irish mor, Welsh mawr) "great", and tribal names like Ambitouti (Old Irish imm- "around", Old Irish tuath "tribe"), and a lexical item drunemeton "place of assembly" (cf. Old Irish drui "druid", Old Irish neimed "holy place"). Galatian is a Continental Celtic language contemporary and closely related to the Gaulish language. St. Jerome wrote in a comment to "the epistle of St Paul to the Galatians" that the Galatians spoke the same language as the Treveri (Trier).
[edit] References
- ^ Koch, John T. (2006). "Galatian language". In John T. Koch. Celtic culture: a historical encyclopedia. Volume III: G—L. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 788. ISBN 1-85109-440-7. http://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA788&lpg=PA788. "Late classical sources—if they are to be trusted—suggest that it survived at least into the 6th century AD."
[edit] Sources
- Freeman, Philip (2001). The Galatian Language: A Comprehensive Survey of the Language of the Ancient Celts in Greco-Roman Asia Minor. Lewiston, New York: Mellen Press. ISBN 0-7734-7480-3.
- Weisgerber, L. (1931). Galatische Sprachreste. In Natalicium Johannes Geffcken zum 70. Geburtstag 2. Mai 1931 gewidmet von Freunden, Kollegen und Schülern, 151–75. Heidelberg: Carl Winter.
