Aquitanian language

Aquitanian
Aquitanian
Native to	France, Spain
Region	West of the Pyrenees
Extinct	by the Early Middle Ages; (except in the Northern Basque Country)
Language family	Vasconic
Language codes
ISO 639-2	und
ISO 639-3	xaq

The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, the region later known as Gascony) before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages.

Archaeological, toponymical and historical evidence strongly suggest that it was a Vasconic language or group of languages that represent a precursor of the Basque language.^[1] The most important of this is a series of votive and funerary texts in Latin which contain about four hundred personal names and seventy names of gods.

History

Aquitanian and its descendant, Basque, are commonly thought to be a remnant of the languages spoken in Western Europe before the arrival of Indo-European speakers who were possibly Neolithic colonists (5th millennium BC) or Celts (c. 1300 BCE).

Aquitanian origins may possibly be traced more or less directly to the Chalcolithic culture of Artenac.

For other more marginal theories see Basque language:Hypotheses on connections with other languages.

Persons' names and gods' names

Almost all the Aquitanian inscriptions had been found at the north of the Pyrenees in the territory that Greek and Roman sources assign to Aquitanians.

Anthroponyms: Belexeia, Lavrco, Borsei, Andereseni, Nescato, Cissonbonnis, Sembecconi, Gerexo, Bihossi, Talsconis, Halscotarris, etc.
Theonyms: BAIGORIXO, ILVNNO, ARIXONI, ARTAHE, ILVRBERRIXO, ASTOILVNO, HARAVSONI, LEHERENNO, etc.

But some also had been found at the south of the Pyrenees in the territory that Greek and Roman sources assign to Vascones:

Anthroponyms: VMMESAHAR, EDERETTA, SERHVHORIS, DVSANHARIS, ABISVNHAR, etc.
Theonyms: LARRAHE, LOXAE / LOSAE, LACVBEGI, SELATSE / STELAITSE, HELASSE, ERRENSAE.

Relations with other languages

Most Aquitanian onomastic elements are clearly identifiable from a Basque perspective, matching closely the forms reconstructed by the Vascologist Koldo (Luis) Mitxelena for Proto-Basque:

Aquitanian	Proto-Basque	Basque	Basque meaning
ADIN	*adiN	adin	age, jugdement
ANDERE, ER(H)E	*andere	andre	lady, woman
ANDOS(S), ANDOX	*andoś		lord
ARIX	*aris	aritz	oak
ARTAHE, ARTEHE	*artehe	arte	holm oak
ATTA	*aTa	aita	father
BELEX	?*beLe	bele	crow
BELS	*bels	beltz	black
BIHOX, BIHOS	*bihos	bihotz	heart
BON, -PON	*boN	on	good
BORS	*bors	bortz	five
CIS(S)ON, GISON	*gisoN	gizon	man
-C(C)O	*-Ko	-ko	diminutive suffix
CORRI, GORRI	*goRi	gorri	red
HALS-	*hals	haltza	alder
HAN(N)A	?*aNane	anaia	brother
HAR-, -AR	*aR	ar	male
HARS-	*hars	hartz	bear
HERAVS-	*herauś	herauts	boar
IL(L)VN, ILVR	*iLun	il(h)un	dark
LEHER	*leheR	leher	pine
NESCATO	*neśka	neska, neskato	girl, young woman
OMBE, VMME	*unbe	ume	child
OXSON, OSSON	*otso	otso	wolf
SAHAR	*sahaR	zahar	old
SEMBE	*senbe	seme	son
SENI	*śeni	sein	boy
-TEN	*-teN	-ten	diminutive suffix (fossilized)
-T(T)O	*-To	-t(t)o	diminutive suffix
-X(S)O	*-tso	-txo,-txu	diminutive suffix

The vascologist Joaquín Gorrotxategi, who has made several works about Aquitanian^[2], and Mitxelena have pointed the similarities of some Iberian onomastic elements with Aquitanian. In particular, Mitxelena spoke about an onomastic pool^[3] from which both Aquitanian and Iberian would have drawn:

Iberian	Aquitanian
atin	ADIN
ata	ATTA
baiser	BAESE-, BAIS-
beleś	BELEX
bels	BELS
boś	BOX
lauŕ	LAVR
talsku	TALSCO^[4] / HALSCO
taŕ	T(H)AR ^[5] / HAR
tautin	TAVTINN / HAVTEN
tetel	TETEL ^[6]
uŕke	VRCHA ^[6]

Geographical extent

In red the pre-Indo-European tribes that might have spoken Aquitanian, Basque or other maybe related languages in the 1st century

Since ancient times there are clues that indicate the relationship between Southwestern France and the Basques. During the Roman conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, Aquitania was the territory between Garonne and the Pyrenees. Inhabited by tribes of horsemen, Caesar said that they were very distinct in customs and language from the Celts of Gaul. During the Middle Ages, this territory was named Gascony, a name derived from Vasconia, and cognate with the word Basque.

There are many clues that indicate that Aquitanian was spoken in the Pyrenees, at least as far east as Val d'Aran. The placenames that end in -os, -osse, -ons, -ost and -oz are considered to be of Aquitanian origin.

To the south of the Pyrenees, the picture is less clear, as the historical record is scant. The Caristii, Varduli and Autrigones, who occupied the greater part of the region that is now the Western Basque Country have been claimed as either Basques or Celtic depending on who you read. Archaeological findings in Iruña-Veleia in 2006 initially claimed as evidence in this debate were subsequently dismissed as fake.^[7]

Cantabrians are also mentioned as relatives of Aquitanians, as they sent troops to fight on their side against the Romans.

The Vascones, who occupied modern Navarra are usually identified with the Basques (Vascos in Spanish), their name being one of the most important proofs. In 1960, a stele with Aquitanian names was found in Lerga, which could reinforce the idea that Basques and Aquitanians were related.

External links

Aquitanian Language by Jesús Rodríguez Ramos

References

^ Trask, L. The History of Basque Routledge: 1997 ISBN 0-415-13116-2
^ Gorrochategi (1984, 1993)
^ Michelena (1977), pp. 547-548: "[...] cada vez soy más escéptico en cuanto a un parentesco lingüístico ibero-vasco. En el terreno de la onomástica, y en particular de la antroponimia, hay, sin embargo, coincidencias innegables entre ibérico y aquitano y, por consiguiente, entre ibérico y vasco. Como ya he señalado en otros lugares, parece haber habido una especie de pool onomástico, del que varias lenguas, desde el aquitano hasta el idioma de las inscripciones hispánicas en escritura meridional, podían tomar componentes de nombre propios."
^ Trask (1997), p. 182
^ Trask (2008) thinks this could be related to the Basque ethnonym suffix -(t)ar, but this is unlikely because the personal names where it appears (sometimes as the first element, as in TARBELES) don't look at all like ethnonyms.
^ ^a ^b For Gorrochategui(1984), the personal name VRCHATETELLI (#381) is "clearly Iberian."
^ Tremlett, Giles (November 24 2008). "Finds that made Basques proud are fake, say experts". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[Trask-1] Trask, L. The History of Basque Routledge: 1997 ISBN 0-415-13116-2

[2] Gorrochategi (1984, 1993)

[3] Michelena (1977), pp. 547-548: "[...] cada vez soy más escéptico en cuanto a un parentesco lingüístico ibero-vasco. En el terreno de la onomástica, y en particular de la antroponimia, hay, sin embargo, coincidencias innegables entre ibérico y aquitano y, por consiguiente, entre ibérico y vasco. Como ya he señalado en otros lugares, parece haber habido una especie de pool onomástico, del que varias lenguas, desde el aquitano hasta el idioma de las inscripciones hispánicas en escritura meridional, podían tomar componentes de nombre propios."

[4] Trask (1997), p. 182

[5] Trask (2008) thinks this could be related to the Basque ethnonym suffix -(t)ar, but this is unlikely because the personal names where it appears (sometimes as the first element, as in TARBELES) don't look at all like ethnonyms.

[Gorrotxategi-6] For Gorrochategui(1984), the personal name VRCHATETELLI (#381) is "clearly Iberian."

[7] Tremlett, Giles (November 24 2008). "Finds that made Basques proud are fake, say experts". The Guardian. Retrieved 2008-12-02. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]