Lusitanian language
| Lusitanian | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | Beira Alta, Beira Baixa and Alto Alentejo Portugal and adjacent areas of Extramadura Spain |
| Region | Inland central-west Iberian Peninsula |
| Extinct | 2nd century AD |
| Language family | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xls |
Lusitanian (so named after the Lusitani or Lusitanians) was a paleohispanic language that apparently belonged to the Indo-European family. Its relationship to the Celtic languages of the Iberian Peninsula, either as a member, a cousin (in a branch termed "Para-Celtic"), or as a different branch of Indo-European, is debated.[1][2] It is known from only five inscriptions, dated from ca. 1 CE, and numerous names of places (toponyms) and of gods (theonyms). The language was spoken in the territory inhabited by Lusitanian tribes, from Douro to the Tagus rivers, territory that nowadays belongs mainly to Portugal, but also to Spain.
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[edit]
Lusitanian appears to have been an Indo-European language which was quite different from the Celtiberian languages spoken in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It appears to have been more archaic.
Anderson (1985) and Untermann (1987) classify Lusitanian as a Celtic language.[3][4] This is based largely on numerous apparently Celtic personal, deity, and place names.[5][6] However, Lusitanian preserves the Proto-Indo-European initial *p-, as in Lusitanian porcom “pig”, whereas proto-Celtic lost that initial *p- at a much earlier date than that from which Lusitanian is attested; compare the Latin word for "father" pater with the Irish word athair and the Latin word for "full" plenus with Welsh llawn and Irish lán.
Villar and Pedrero (2001) connect Lusitanian with the Italic languages. This is based on parallels in the names of deities and some lexical items, such as Umbrian gomia, Lusitanian comaiam, as well as some grammatical elements.[7] Prósper (2003) sees Lusitanian as predating the introduction of Celtic, and retaining Old European elements of Indo-European.[8]
[edit] Geographical distribution
Inscriptions have been found in Arroyo de la Luz (in Cáceres), Cabeço das Fragas (in Guarda) and in Moledo (Viseu) and most recently in Ribeira da Venda. Taking into account Lusitanian theonyms, anthroponyms and toponyms, the Lusitanian sphere would include modern northeastern Portugal and adjacent areas in Spain, with the centre in Serra da Estrela.
[edit] Writing system
The most famous inscriptions are those from Cabeço das Fráguas and Lamas de Moledo in Portugal and Arroyo de la Luz in Spain. Ribeira da Venda is the most recently discovered (2008). All the known inscriptions are written in the Latin alphabet.
| Lamas de Moledo: | Cabeço das Fráguas: | Arroyo de la Luz (I & II): | Arroyo de la Luz (III): | Ribeira da Venda: |
|
RUFUS ET |
OILAM TREBOPALA A sheep [lamb?] for Trebopala |
AMBATVS |
ISACCID·RVETI · |
[- - - - - -] XX•OILAM•ERBAM |
[edit] See also
- Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
- List of Celtic place names in Portugal
- Celtiberian language
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b Kruta, Venceslas (1991). The Celts. Thames and Hudson. pp. 55.
- ^ a b Stifter, David (2006). Senggoidelc (Old Irish for Beginners). Syracuse University Press. pp. 3, 7. ISBN 0-8156-3072-7. http://books.google.com.au/books?id=CqOZYQAx_xIC&pg=PA3&lpg=PA3&dq=para-celtic+stifter&source=bl&ots=7EvIFk26X-&sig=5SG378gI1Gs566hPIq19i7BM9eo&hl=en&ei=dwZBTM-MCo6YvAPitqjUDA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CBwQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Anderson, J. M. 1985. «Pre-Roman Indo-European languages of the Hispanic Peninsula», Revue des Études Anciennes 87, 1985, pp. 319–326.
- ^ Untermann, J. 1987. «Lusitanisch, Keltiberisch, Keltisch», in: J. Gorrochategui, J. L. Melena & J. Santos (eds.), Studia Palaeohispanica. Actas del IV Coloquio sobre Lenguas y Culturas Paleohispánicas (Vitoria/Gasteiz, 6-10 mayo 1985). (= Veleia 2-3, 1985–1986), Vitoria-Gasteiz ,1987, pp. 57–76.
- ^ Pedreño, Juan Carlos Olivares (2005). "Celtic Gods of the Iberian Peninsula". http://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi/volumes/vol6/6_12/olivares_6_12.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ a b Quintela, Marco V. García (2005). "Celtic Elements in Northwestern Spain in Pre-Roman times". Center for Celtic Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. http://www4.uwm.edu/celtic/ekeltoi/volumes/vol6/6_10/garcia_quintela_6_10.html. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
- ^ Indoeuropeos y no Indoeuropeos en la Hispania Prerromana, Salamanca: Universidad, 2000
- ^ The inscription of Cabeço das Fráguas revisited. Lusitanian and Alteuropäisch populations in the West of the Iberian Peninsula Transactions of the Philological Society vol. 97 (2003)
- ^ Hübner, E. (ed.) Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum vol. II, Supplementum. Berlin: G. Reimer (1892)
- ^ Untermann, J. Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum (1980–97)
- ^ Villar, F. and Pedrero, R. La nueva inscripción lusitana: Arroyo de la Luz III (2001)
- ^ André Carneiro, José d’Encarnação, Jorge de Oliveira, Cláudia Teixeira «Uma Inscrição Votiva em Língua Lusitana», Palaeohispanica; 8 (2008) (Portuguese)
[edit] Further reading
- Gorrochategui, Joaquín (1987): «En torno a la clasificación del lusitano», Actas del IV coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas paleohispanicas, pp. 2–3.
- Untermann, Jürgen (1997): «Lusitanisch, keltiberisch, keltisch», Veleia 2-3, pp. 57–76.
- Untermann, Jürgen (1997): Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum. IV Die tartessischen, keltiberischen und lusitanischen Inschriften, Wiesbaden.
- Villar, Francisco (1996): Los indoeuropeos y los orígenes de Europa, Madrid.
- Villar, Francisco; Pedrero Rosa (2001): «La nueva inscripción lusitana: Arroyo de la Luz III», Religión, lengua y cultura prerromanas de Hispania, pp. 663–698.
