Gallaecian language

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The Nicer Clutosi stele inscription.

Northwestern Hispano-Celtic or Gallaecian is an extinct language of the Celtic family, along with Celtiberian[1][2] one of the Hispano-Celtic group. It was spoken by the Gallaeci at the beginning of the first millennium CE in the north-western quarter of the Iberian Peninsula, in an area lying between the west and north Atlantic coasts and a line running north-south and linking Oviedo and Mérida.[3][4]

Contents

Overview [edit]

As with the Illyrian and Ligurian languages, the surviving corpus of Gallaecian is composed of isolated words and short sentences contained in local Latin inscriptions or glossed by classical authors, together with a number of names – anthroponyms, ethnonyms, theonyms, toponyms – contained in inscriptions, or surviving as the names of places, rivers or mountains. In addition, many isolated words of Celtic origin preserved in the present-day Romance languages of north-west Spain are likely to have been inherited from ancient Gallaecian.[5]

Classical authors Pomponius Mela and Pliny the Elder wrote of the Celtic populations of Gallaecia, a description they did not use for the neighbouring Lusitanians, however several modern scholars have postulated Lusitanian/Western Hispano-Celtic as a single archaic Celtic language but others point to major unresolved problems for this hypothesis, such as the mutually incompatible phonetic features, most notably the proposed preservation of *p and the inconsistent outcome of the vocalic liquid consonants.[6][7][8][9][10]

Some of the main characteristic of this language, shared with Celtiberian and the other Celtic languages were:

  • PIE *-ps-, *-ks- > *-χs- > -s-: place name AVILIOBRIS from *Awilyobriχs 'Windy Hill(fort)',[11][12] modern place name Osmo (Cenlle, Osamo 928 AD) from *Uχsamo- 'the highest one'.[13]
  • Loss of PIE *p > *φ > 0:[14][15] place names C(ASTELLO) OLCA from *φolkā- 'Overturned', C(ASTELLO) ERITAECO from *φerito- 'surrounded, enclosed', Vagabrobendam from *uφo-gabro-bendā;[16] personal name ARCELTIUS, from *φari-kelt-y-os; place name C(ASTELLO) ERCORIOBRI, from *φeri-kor-y-o-brig-s 'Overshooting Hill-Fort'; place name C(ASTELLO) LETIOBRI,[17] from *φle-tyo- 'wide', or *φlei-to- 'grey';[18] place name Iria Flavia, from *φīweryā- (nominative *φīwerī) 'fertile' (feminine form);[19] place name ONTONIA, from *φont-on- 'path';[20] personal name LATRONIUS,[21] to *φlā-tro- 'place; trousers'; personal name ROTAMUS, to *φro-tamo- 'foremost';[22] modern place names Bama (Touro, Vama 912) to *uφamā-[23] 'the lowest one, the bottom' (feminine form), Iñobre (Rianxo) to *φenyo-brig-s[24] 'Hill(fort) by the water', Bendrade (Oza dos Ríos) to *Vindo-φrātem 'White fortress', and Baiordo (Coristanco) to *Bagyo-φritu-, where the second element is proto-Celtic for 'ford'.[25]
  • Vocalization of inter-consonantic sonants: *n̥, *m̥ > an, am; *r̥, *l̥ > ri, li:[26] place name Brigantia from *Brg-nt-y-ā 'The towering one, the high one'; place names NEMETOBRIGA, COELIOBRIGA, TALABRIGA with second element *brigā 'high place',[27] and AVILIOBRIS, MIOBRI, AGUBRI with second element *bris < *brixs < *brigs.[28]
  • Reduction of diphthong *ei > ē: theonym DEVORI, from *dēworīgē < *deiwo-rēg-ei 'To the king of the gods'.[29]
  • Lenition of *m in the group *-mnV- > -unV-:[30][31] ARIOUNIS MINCOSEGAECIS, dative form from *ar-yo-mno- *menekko-seg-āk-yo- 'To the (deities of the) fields of the many crops'.[32]
  • Assimilation *p .. kʷ > *kʷ .. kʷ: tribe name Querquerni from *perkʷ- 'oak, tree'.[33] Although this name has also been interpreted as Lusitanian by B. M. Prósper,[34] she proposed recently for that language a *p .. kʷ > *kʷ .. kʷ > *p .. p assimilation.[35]
  • Reduction of diphthong *ew > ow, and eventually ō:[36] personal names TOUTONUS / TOTONUS; personal names CLOUTIUS, but VESUCLOTI 'having good fame' < *Wesu-kleutos or *Wesu-kleut-yos.[37] In Celtiberian the forms toutinikum/totinikum, from *teut- > *tout- 'nation, tribe', show the same process.[38]
  • Superlatives in -is(s)amo:[39] place names BERISAMO < *Bergisamo- 'The highest one',[40] SESMACA < *Segisamā-kā 'The strongest one, the most victorious one'.[41] The same etymology has been proposed for the modern place names Sésamo (Culleredo) and Sísamo (Carballo), from *Segisamo-.[42]

Some characteristics of this language not shared by Celtiberian:

  • In contact with *e or *i, intervocalic *-g- > 0:[36] theonym DEVORI from *dēworīgē 'To the king of the gods'; adjective derived of a place name SESMACAE < *Segisamā-kā; personal names MEIDUENUS < *Medu-genos 'Born of mead', CATUENUS < *Katu-genos 'Born of the fight';[43] inscription NIMIDI FIDUENEARUM HIC < *widu-gen-yā.[39] But Celtiberian place name SEGISAMA and personal name mezukenos show preservation of /g/.[44]
  • *-lw-, *-rw- > -lβ-, -rβ- (as in Goidelic):[14] MARTI TARBUCELI < *tarwo-okel- 'To Mars of the Hill of the Bull', but Celtiberian TARVODURESCA.
  • Late preservation of the group *(-)φl- > (-)βl-, only later > (-)l-:[45][46] place names BLETISAM(AM), BLETIS(AMA), modern Ledesma (Boqueixón) < *φletisamā; BLANIOBRENSI,[47] medieval Laniobre < *φlān-yo-bri.[48] But Celtiberian place name Letaisama.[49]
  • *wl- is maintained:[50] VLANA < *wl̥Hn-eh₂, while Celtiberian has l-: launi < *wl̥H-mn-ih₂ (?).
  • Sometimes *wo- > wa-:[51] VACORIA < *(d)wo-koryo- 'who has two armies', VAGABROBENDAM < *uφo-gabro-.
  • Dative plural ending -bo < *bʰo, while Celtiberian had -bos:[46] LUGOUBU/LUCUBO 'To (the three gods) Lug'.

Gallaecian appears to be a Q-Celtic language, as evidenced by the following occurrences in local inscriptions: ARQVI, ARCVIVS, ARQVIENOBO, ARQVIENI[S], ARQVIVS, all probably from IE Paleo-Hispanic *arkʷios 'archer, bowman', retaining proto-Celtic *kʷ.[52] It is also noteworthy the ethnonyms Equaesi ( < PIE *ek̂wos 'horse'), a people from southern Gallaecia,[53] and the Querquerni ( < *perkʷ- 'oak'). Nevertheless, two modern toponyms have been interpreted as showing kw / kʷ > p:[54] Pantiñobre (Arzúa, composite of *kʷantin-yo- '(of the) valley' and *brixs 'hill(fort)') and Pezobre (Santiso, from *kweityo-bris).

  • Some local Roman inscriptions incorporating autochthonous names, appellatives, and phrases

  • Anthropomorphic stele with Latin inscription, and local anthroponyms: LATRONIUS CELTIATI F(ilius) H(ic) S(itus) E(st)

  • Stele with Latin inscription: APANA AMBOLLI F(ilia) CELTICA SVPERTAM(arica) [Castello] MIOBRI AN(norum) XXV H(ic) S(itus) E(st) APANVS FR(ater) F(aciendum) C(uravit).

  • Votive inscription to Lug: LUCOUBU ARQUIEN(obu) SILONIUS SILO EX VOTO

  • Votive inscription to the local deity Coso: COSOU DAVINIAGO Q(uintus) V() C() EX VOTO

  • Inscriptions in Braga, Portugal: [Ce]LICUS FRONTO ARCOBRIGENSIS AMBIMOGIDUS FECIT; and TONGOE NABIAGOI CELICUS FECIT FRONT[o]

  • Galician Latin inscription: VECIUS VEROBLII F(ilius) PRICE[ps ...] CIT(...) C(ASTELLO) CIRCINE AN(norum) LX [...]O VECI F(ilius) PRINCEPS CO[...]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Prósper, Blanca María (2002). Lenguas y religiones prerromanas del occidente de la península ibérica. Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca. pp. 422–427. ISBN 84-7800-818-7. 
  2. ^ Prósper, B.M. (2005). Estudios sobre la fonética y la morfología de la lengua celtibérica in Vascos, celtas e indoeuropeos. Genes y lenguas (coauthored with Villar, Francisco). Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, pp. 333-350. ISBN 84-7800-530-7.
  3. ^ Jordán Colera 2007: 750
  4. ^ Koch, John T. (2006). Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 481. 
  5. ^ Galician words such as crica ('vulva, ribbon'), from proto-Celtic *kīkwā ('furrow'), laxe ('stone slab') from proto-Celtic *φlagēnā ('broad spearhead'), leira ('patch, field') from proto-Celtic *φlāryo- ('floor'), and alboio ('shed, pen') from proto-Celtic *φare-bowyo- ('around-cows').
  6. ^ Among them the Praestamarci, Supertamarci, Nerii, Artabri, and in general all people living by the seashore except for the Grovi of southern Galicia and northern Portugal: 'Totam Celtici colunt, sed a Durio ad flexum Grovi, fluuntque per eos Avo, Celadus, Nebis, Minius et cui oblivionis cognomen est Limia. Flexus ipse Lambriacam urbem amplexus recipit fluvios Laeron et Ullam. Partem quae prominet Praesamarchi habitant, perque eos Tamaris et Sars flumina non longe orta decurrunt, Tamaris secundum Ebora portum, Sars iuxta turrem Augusti titulo memorabilem. Cetera super Tamarici Nerique incolunt in eo tractu ultimi. Hactenus enim ad occidentem versa litora pertinent. Deinde ad septentriones toto latere terra convertitur a Celtico promunturio ad Pyrenaeum usque. Perpetua eius ora, nisi ubi modici recessus ac parva promunturia sunt, ad Cantabros paene recta est. In ea primum Artabri sunt etiamnum Celticae gentis, deinde Astyres.', Pomponius Mela, Chorographia, III.7-9.
  7. ^ cf. Wodtko 2010: 361-362
  8. ^ Prósper 2002: 422 and 430
  9. ^ Prósper 2005: 336-338
  10. ^ Prósper 2012: 53-55
  11. ^ Curchin 2008: 117
  12. ^ Prósper 2002: 357-358
  13. ^ Prósper 2005: 282
  14. ^ a b Prósper 2005: 336
  15. ^ Prósper 2002: 422
  16. ^ Prósper 2012: 50
  17. ^ Curchin 2008: 123
  18. ^ Prósper 2005: 269
  19. ^ Delamarre 2012: 165
  20. ^ Delamarre 2012: 2011
  21. ^ Vallejo 2005: 326
  22. ^ Koch 2011:34
  23. ^ Cf. Koch 2011: 76
  24. ^ Prósper 2002: 377
  25. ^ Carlos Búa (2007) O Thesaurus Paleocallaecus, p 38-39, in Kremer, Dieter (ed.) (2007). Onomástica galega : con especial consideración da situación prerromana : actas do primeiro Coloquio de Trier 19 e 20 de maio de 2006. Santiago de Compostela: Universidade de Santiago de Compostela. ISBN 978-84-9750-794-3. 
  26. ^ Prósper 2005: 342.
  27. ^ Luján 2006: 727-729
  28. ^ Prósper 2002: 357-382
  29. ^ Prósper 2005: 338; Jordán Cólera 2007: 754.
  30. ^ Prósper 2002: 425-426.
  31. ^ Prósper 2005: 336.
  32. ^ Prósper 2002: 205-215.
  33. ^ Luján 2006: 724
  34. ^ Prósper 2002: 397
  35. ^ Prósper, B. M.; Francisco Villar (2009). "NUEVA INSCRIPCIÓN LUSITANA PROCEDENTE DE PORTALEGRE". EMERITA, Revista de Lingüística y Filología Clásica (EM). LXXVII (1): 1–32. Retrieved 11 June 2012. 
  36. ^ a b Prósper 2002: 423.
  37. ^ Prósper 2002: 211
  38. ^ Jordán Cólera 2007: 755
  39. ^ a b Wodtko 2010: 356
  40. ^ Prósper 2005: 266, 278
  41. ^ Prósper 2002: 423
  42. ^ Prósper 2005: 282.
  43. ^ Prósper 2005: 266
  44. ^ Jordán Cólera 2007: 763-764.
  45. ^ Prósper 2002: 422, 427
  46. ^ a b Prósper 2005: 345
  47. ^ Sometimes it has been read ELANIOBRENSI
  48. ^ Luján 2006: 727
  49. ^ Jordán Cólera 2007: 757.
  50. ^ Prósper 2002: 426
  51. ^ Prósper 2005: 346
  52. ^ Koch, John T (2011). Tartessian 2: The Inscription of Mesas do Castelinho ro and the Verbal Complex. Preliminaries to Historical Phonology. Oxbow Books, Oxford, UK. pp. 53–54,144–145. ISBN 978-1-907029-07-3. 
  53. ^ Cf. Vallejo 2005: 321, who wrongly assign them to the Astures.
  54. ^ Prósper 2002: 422, 378-379

Bibliography [edit]
Continental Celtic
Insular Celtic
Uncertain
Mixed
Celtic-speaking areas
Immersive education
Italics indicate extinct languages
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