Proto-Celtic language
The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the reconstructed ancestor language of all the known Celtic languages. Its lexis can be confidently reconstructed on the basis of the comparative method of historical linguistics. Proto-Celtic is a branch of the Western Indo-European languages, with the other branches Italic languages, Germanic languages and the Balto-Slavic group. The exact relationships between these branches are under discussion. The earliest archaeological culture that may justifiably be considered as Proto-Celtic is the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of central Europe from the last quarter of the second millennium BC.[1] By the Iron Age Hallstatt culture of around 800 BC these people had become fully Celtic.[1]
The reconstruction of Proto-Celtic is currently being undertaken. While Continental Celtic presents much substantiation for phonology, and some for morphology, recorded material is still too scanty to allow a secure reconstruction of syntax. Although some complete sentences are recorded in Gaulish and Celtiberian, the oldest substantial Celtic literature is found in Old Irish, the earliest recorded of the Insular Celtic languages.
Sound changes from Proto-Indo-European
The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic may be summarised as follows.[2] The changes are roughly in chronological order, with changes that operate on the outcome of earlier ones appearing later in the list.
Late Proto-Indo-European
These changes were shared by several other Indo-European branches.
- Palatovelars merge with the plain velars:
- ḱ > k
- ǵ > g
- ǵʰ > gʰ
- Epenthetic *a is inserted after a sonorant if a laryngeal and an obstruent follow (CRHC > CRaHC)
- Laryngeals are lost following a vowel in syllables before the accent (VHC´ > VC´)
- Laryngeals are lost before a following vowel, colouring its quality:
- h₁e > e
- h₂e > a
- h₃e > o
- Laryngeals are lost after a preceding vowel, lengthening and colouring it:
- eh₁ > ē
- eh₂ > ā
- eh₃ > ō
- Syllabic laryngeals between plosives in noninitial syllables are lost (CHC > CC)
- All other syllabic laryngeals become *a (CHC > CaC)
- Two adjacent dentals become *ss (TT > ss)
Early Proto-Celtic
- Sequences of velar and *w merge into the labiovelars (it is uncertain if this preceded or followed the next change; that is, whether gw > b or gw > gʷ):
- kw > kʷ
- gw > gʷ
- gʰw > gʷʰ
- gʷ > b
- Aspirated stops lose their aspiration and merge with the voiced stops, except for *gʷ:
- bʰ > b
- dʰ > d
- gʰ > g
- gʷʰ > gʷ
- *e before a resonant and *a (but not *ā) becomes *a as well (eRa > aRa)
- Epenthetic *i is inserted after syllabic liquids when followed by a plosive:
- l̥T > liT
- r̥T > riT
- Epenthetic *a is inserted before the remaining syllabic resonants:
- m̥ > am
- n̥ > an
- l̥ > al
- r̥ > ar
- All remaining nonsyllabic laryngeals are lost.
- *p followed by *kʷ later in the word becomes *kʷ itself (p...kʷ > kʷ...kʷ)
- ē > ī
- ō > ū in final syllables
- Long vowels are shortened before a syllable-final resonant (V:RC > VRC); this also shortens long diphthongs.
Late Proto-Celtic
- Plosives become *x before a different plosive or *s (C₁C₂ > xC₂, Cs > xs)
- p > b before liquids (pL > bL)
- p > w before nasals (pN > wN)
- p > ɸ (except possibly after *s)
- ō > ā
- ei > ē
- ew > ow
- uwa > owa
Examples
| PIE | Proto-Celtic | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *p | *ɸ | *ph₂tēr > *ɸatīr 'father' |
| *t | *t | *treyes > *trīs 'three' |
| *k, ḱ | *k | *kan- > *kan- 'sing' *ḱm̥tom > *kantom 'hundred' |
| *kʷ | *kʷ | *kʷetwr̥ > *kʷetwar 'four' |
| *b | *b | *dʰub-no- > *dubno- 'deep' |
| *d | *d | *derk- > *derk- 'see' |
| *g, ǵ | *g | *gli- > *gli- 'to glue' *ǵenu- > *genu- 'jaw' |
| *gʷ | *b | *gʷen- > *ben- 'woman' |
| *bʰ | *b | *bʰer- > *ber- 'carry' |
| *dʰ | *d | *dʰeh₁- > *dī- 'suck' |
| *gʰ, ǵʰ | *g | *gʰabʰ- > *gab- 'take' *ǵʰelH-ro- > *galaro- 'sickness' |
| *gʷʰ | *gʷ | *gʷʰn̥- > *gʷan- 'kill, wound' |
| *s | *s | *seno- > *seno- 'old' |
| *m | *m | *meh₂tēr > *mātīr 'mother' |
| *n | *n | *nepōt- > *neɸūt- 'nephew' |
| *l | *l | *ligʰ- > *lig- 'lick' |
| *r | *r | *rēǵ-s > *rīgs 'king' |
| *y | *y | *yuwn̥ko- > *yuwanko- 'young' |
| *w | *w | *wlati- > *wlati- 'dominion' |
| PIE | Proto-Celtic | Example |
|---|---|---|
| *a, h₂e | *a | *h₂ebon- > *abon- 'river' |
| *ā, *eh₂ | *ā | *bʰreh₂tēr > *brātīr 'brother' |
| *e, h₁e | *e | *seno- > *seno- 'old' |
| *"ə" (any laryngeal H between consonants) | *a | *ph₂tēr > *ɸatīr 'father' |
| *ē, eh₁ | *ī | *wērh₁o- > *wīro- 'true' |
| *o, Ho, h₃e | *o | *rotos > *rotos 'wheel' |
| *ō, eh₃ | in final syllable, *ū | *nepōt- > *neɸūt- 'nephew' |
| elsewhere, *ā | *deh₃no- > *dāno- 'gift' | |
| *i | *i | *gʷitu- > *bitu- 'world' |
| *ī, iH | *ī | *rīmeh₂ > *rīmā 'number' |
| *ai, h₂ei, eh₂i | *ai | *kaikos > *kaikos 'blind' *seh₂itlo- > *saitlo- 'age' |
| *(h₁)ei, ēi, eh₁i | *ē | *deiwos > *dēwos 'god' |
| *oi, ōi, h₃ei, eh₃i | *oi | *oinos > *oinos 'one' |
| *u | before wa, o | *yuwn̥kos > *yowankos 'young' |
| elsewhere, *u | *srutos > *srutos 'stream' | |
| *ū, uH | *ū | *ruHneh₂ > *rūnā 'mystery' |
| *au, h₂eu, eh₂u | *au | *tausos > *tausos 'silent' |
| *(h₁)eu, ēu, eh₁u; *ou, ōu, h₃eu, eh₃u |
*ou | *teuteh₂ > *toutā 'people' *gʷōu- > *bou- |
| *l̥ | before stops, *li | *pl̥th₂nos > *ɸlitanos 'wide' |
| before other consonants, *al | *kl̥yākos > *kalyākos 'rooster' | |
| *r̥ | before stops, *ri | *bʰr̥ti- > *briti- 'act of bearing; mind' |
| before other consonants, *ar | *mr̥wos > *marwos 'dead' | |
| *m̥ | *am | *dm̥-na- > *damna- 'subdue' |
| *n̥ | *an | *dn̥t- > *dant- 'tooth' |
| *l̥H | before obstruents, *la | *wl̥Hti- > *wlati- 'lordship' |
| before sonorants, *lā | *pl̥Hmeh₂ > *ɸlāmā 'hand' | |
| *r̥H | before obstruents, *ra | *mr̥Htom > *mratom 'betrayal' |
| before sonorants, *rā | *ǵr̥Hnom > *grānom 'grain' | |
| *m̥H | *am/mā (presumably same distribution as above) |
(none?) |
| *n̥H | *an or *nā (presumably same distribution as above) |
probably *gn̥h₃to- > *gnato- 'knowing' |
The vowel *"ə" is the so-called "schwa indogermanicum", now interpreted as a laryngeal between two consonants.
Phonological reconstruction
Consonants
The following consonants have been reconstructed for Proto-Celtic:
| Bilabial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar (Plain) | Labialised Velar | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plosive | b | t | d | k | ɡ | kʷ | ɡʷ | ||
| Nasal | m | n | |||||||
| Fricative | ɸ | s | |||||||
| Approximant (Medial) | j | w | |||||||
| Lateral Approximant | l | ||||||||
| Trill | r | ||||||||
In contrast to the parent language, Proto-Celtic does not use aspiration as a feature for distinguishing phonemes. So the Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirated stops *bʰ, *dʰ, *gʰ/ǵʰ merged with *b, *d, *g/ǵ. The voiced aspirate labiovelar *gʷʰ did not merge with *gʷ, though: plain *gʷ became *b in Proto-Celtic, while aspirated *gʷʰ became *gʷ. Thus, PIE *gʷen- 'woman' became Old Irish ben and Welsh benyw, but PIE *gʷʰn̥- 'to kill, to wound' became Old Irish gonaid and Welsh gwanu.
Proto-Indo-European *p was lost in Proto-Celtic, apparently going through the stages *ɸ (as in the table above) and *h (perhaps attested by the toponym Hercynia if this is of Celtic origin) before being lost completely word-initially and between vowels. Adjacent to consonants, Proto-Celtic *ɸ underwent different changes: the clusters *ɸs and *ɸt became *xs and *xt respectively already in Proto-Celtic. PIE *sp- became Old Irish s and Brythonic f; while Schrijver 1995, p. 348 argues there was an intermediate stage *sɸ- (in which *ɸ remained an independent phoneme until after Proto-Insular Celtic had diverged into Goidelic and Brythonic), McCone 1996, pp. 44–45 finds it more economical to believe that *sp- remained unchanged in PC, that is, the change *p to *ɸ did not happen when *s preceded. (Similarly, Grimm's law did not apply to *p, t, k after *s in Germanic.)
| Proto-Celtic | Old Irish | Welsh |
|---|---|---|
| *laɸs- > *laxs- 'shine' | las-aid | llach-ar |
| *seɸtam > *sextam 'seven' | secht | saith |
| *sɸeret- or *speret- 'heel' | seir | ffêr |
In Gaulish and the Brythonic languages, a new *p sound has arisen as a reflex of the Proto-Indo-European *kʷ phoneme. Consequently one finds Gaulish petuar[ios], Welsh pedwar "four", compared to Old Irish *cethair and Latin quattuor. Insofar as this new /p/ fills the space in the phoneme inventory which was lost by the disappearance of the equivalent stop in PIE, we may think of this as a chain shift.
The terms P-Celtic and Q-Celtic are useful when we wish to group the Celtic languages according to the way they handle this one phoneme. However a simple division into P- and Q-Celtic may be untenable, as it does not do justice to the evidence of the ancient Continental Celtic languages. The large number of unusual shared innovations among the Insular Celtic languages are often also presented as evidence against a P-Celtic vs Q-Celtic division, but they may instead reflect a common substratum influence from the pre-Celtic languages of Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall and Wales,[1], in which case they would be irrelevant to Celtic language classification.
Q-Celtic languages may also have /p/ in loan words, though in some early borrowings from Welsh into Irish /k/ was used by sound substitution, as in Gaelic Cothrige, an early form of "Padraig". Gaelic póg "kiss" was a later borrowing (from the second word of the Latin phrase osculum pacis "kiss of peace") at a stage where p was borrowed directly as p, without substituting c.
Vowels
The Proto-Celtic vowel system is highly comparable to that reconstructed for Proto-Indo-European by Antoine Meillet. The following monophthongs have been reconstructed:
Front Central Back long short long short long short Close /iː/ /i/ /uː/ /u/ Mid /eː/ /e/ /o/ Open /aː/ /a/
The following diphthongs have also been reconstructed:
| With -i | With -u | |
|---|---|---|
| With a- | ai | au |
| With o- | oi | ou |
Morphology
Nouns
The morphology (structure) of nouns and adjectives demonstrates no arresting alterations from the parent language. Proto-Celtic is believed to have had nouns in three genders, three numbers and five to eight cases. The genders were the normal masculine, feminine and neuter, the three numbers were singular, plural and dual. The number of cases is a subject of contention:[3] while Old Irish may have only five, the evidence from Continental Celtic is considered[by whom?] rather unambiguous despite appeals to archaic retentions or morphological leveling. These cases were nominative, vocative, accusative, dative, genitive, ablative, locative and instrumental.
Nouns fall into nine or so declensions, depending on the stem. There are *o-stems, *ā-stems, *i-stems, *u-stems, dental stems, velar stems, nasal stems, *r-stems and *s-stems.
*o-stem nouns
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *makʷos | *makʷou | *makʷoi |
| Vocative | *makʷe | *makʷou | *makʷūs |
| Accusative | *makʷom | *makʷou | *makʷūs |
| Genitive | *makʷī | *makʷūs | *makʷom |
| Dative | *makʷūi | *makʷobom | *makʷobos |
| Ablative | *makʷū | *makʷobim | *makʷobis |
| Instrumental | *makʷū | *makʷobim | *makʷūs |
| Locative | *makʷē | *makʷou | *makʷobis |
- dūnom 'stronghold' (neuter)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *dūnom | *dūnou | *dūnā |
| Vocative | *dūnom | *dūnou | *dūnā |
| Accusative | *dūnom | *dūnou | *dūnā |
| Genitive | *dūnī | *dūnūs | *dūnom |
| Dative | *dūnūi | *dūnobom | *dūnobos |
| Ablative | *dūnū | *dūnobim | *dūnobis |
| Instrumental | *dūnū | *dūnobim | *dūnūs |
| Locative | *dūnē | *dūnou | *dūnobis |
*ā-stem nouns
E.g. *ɸlāmā 'hand' (feminine) (Old Irish lám ~ Welsh llaw)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *ɸlāmā | *ɸlāmai | *ɸlāmās |
| Vocative | *ɸlāmā | *ɸlāmai | *ɸlāmās |
| Accusative | *ɸlāmām | *ɸlāmai | *ɸlāmās |
| Genitive | *ɸlāmās | *ɸlāmajous | *ɸlāmom |
| Dative | *ɸlāmāi | *ɸlāmābom | *ɸlāmābos |
| Ablative | *ɸlāmī | *ɸlāmābim | *ɸlāmābis |
| Instrumental | *ɸlāmī | *ɸlāmābim | *ɸlāmābis |
| Locative | *ɸlāmāi | *ɸlāmābim | *ɸlāmābis |
E.g. *kumbās 'coombe' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *kumbās | *kumbai | *kumbās |
| Vocative | *kumbā | *kumbai | *kumbās |
| Accusative | *kumbām | *kumbai | *kumbās |
| Genitive | *kumbās | *kumbajous | *kumbom |
| Dative | *kumbāi | *kumbābom | *kumbābos |
| Ablative | *kumbī | *kumbābim | *kumbābis |
| Instrumental | *kumbī | *kumbābim | *kumbābis |
| Locative | *kumbāi | *kumbābim | *kumbābis |
*i-stems
E.g. *sūlis 'eye, sun' (feminine) (British Sulis ~ Old Irish súil)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *sūlis | *sūlī | *sūlīs |
| Vocative | *sūli | *sūlī | *sūlīs |
| Accusative | *sūlim | *sūlī | *sūlīs |
| Genitive | *sūlēs | *sūljous | *sūljom |
| Dative | *sūlē | *sūlibom | *sūlibos |
| Ablative | *sūlī | *sūlibim | *sūlibis |
| Instrumental | *sūlī | *sūlibim | *sūlibis |
| Locative | *sūlī | *sūlibim | *sūlibis |
E.g. *mori 'body of water, sea' (neuter) (Gallic Mori- ~ Old Irish muir ~ Welsh môr
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *mori | *morī | *morjā |
| Vocative | *mori | *morī | *morjā |
| Accusative | *mori | *morī | *morjā |
| Genitive | *morēs | *morjous | *morjom |
| Dative | *morē | *moribom | *moribos |
| Ablative | *morī | *moribim | *moribis |
| Instrumental | *morī | *moribim | *moribis |
| Locative | *morī | *moribim | *moribis |
*u-stem nouns
E.g. *bitus 'world, existence' (masculine) (Gallic Bitu- ~ Old Irish bith ~ Welsh byd ~ Breton bed)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *bitus | *bitou | *bitowes |
| Vocative | *bitu | *bitou | *bitowes |
| Accusative | *bitum | *bitou | *bitūs |
| Genitive | *bitous | *bitowou | *bitowom |
| Dative | *bitou | *bitubom | *bitubos |
| Ablative | *bitū | *bitubim | *bitubis |
| Instrumental | *bitū | *bitubim | *bitubis |
| Locative | *bitū | *bitubim | *bitubis |
E.g. *dānu 'valley river' (neuter?)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *dānu | *dānou | *dānwā |
| Vocative | *dānu | *dānou | *dānwā |
| Accusative | *dānu | *dānou | *dānwā |
| Genitive | *dānous | *dānowou | *dānowom |
| Dative | *dānou | *dānubom | *dānubos |
| Ablative | *dānū | *dānubim | *dānubis |
| Instrumental | *dānū | *dānubim | *dānubis |
| Locative | *dānū | *dānubim | *dānubis |
Velar and dental stems
Before the *-s of the nominative singular, a velar consonant was neutralised to *-x-: *rīg- "king" > *rīxs. Likewise, final *-d became *-t-: *druwid- "druid" > *druwits.
E.g. rīxs 'king' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *rīxs | *rīge | *rīges |
| Vocative | *rīxs | *rīge | *rīges |
| Accusative | *rīgam | *rīge | *rīgās |
| Genitive | *rīgos | *rīgou | *rīgom |
| Dative | *rīgē | *rīgobom | *rīgobos |
| Ablative | *rīgī | *rīgobim | *rīgobis |
| Instrumental | *rīge | *rīgobim | *rīgobis |
| Locative | *rīgi | *rīgobim | *rīgobis |
E.g. *druwits 'druid' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *druwits | *druwide | *druwides |
| Vocative | *druwits | *druwide | *druwides |
| Accusative | *druwidam | *druwide | *druwidās |
| Genitive | *druwidos | *druwidou | *druwidom |
| Dative | *druwidē | *druwidobom | *druwidobos |
| Ablative | *druwidī | *druwidobim | *druwidobis |
| Instrumental | *druwide | *druwidobim | *druwidobis |
| Locative | *druwidi | *druwidobim | *druwidobis |
E.g. *karnuxs 'carnyx' (masculine?)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *karnuxs | *karnuke | *karnukes |
| Vocative | *karnuxs | *karnuke | *karnukes |
| Accusative | *karnukam | *karnuke | *karnukās |
| Genitive | *karnukos | *karnukou | *karnukom |
| Dative | *karnukē | *karnukobom | *karnukobos |
| Ablative | *karnukī | *karnukobim | *karnukobis |
| Instrumental | *karnuke | *karnukobim | *karnukobis |
| Locative | *karnuki | *karnukobim | *karnukobis |
E.g. *dants 'tooth' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *dants | *dante | *dantes |
| Vocative | *dants | *dante | *dantes |
| Accusative | *dantam | *dante | *dantās |
| Genitive | *dantos | *dantou | *dantom |
| Dative | *dantē | *dantobom | *dantobos |
| Ablative | *dantī | *dantobim | *dantobis |
| Instrumental | *dante | *dantobim | *dantobis |
| Locative | *danti | *dantobim | *dantobis |
Nasal stems
Generally, nasal stems end in *-on-, this becomes *-ū in the nominative singular: *abon-- "river" > *abū.
E.g. *abū 'river' (feminine) (Welsh afon, Old Breton aven)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *abū | *abone | *abones |
| Vocative | *abū | *abone | *abones |
| Accusative | *abonam | *abone | *abonās |
| Genitive | *abonos | *abonou | *abonom |
| Dative | *abonē | *abonobom | *abonobos |
| Ablative | *abonī | *abonobim | *abonobis |
| Instrumental | *abone | *abonobim | *abonobis |
| Locative | *aboni | *abonobim | *abonobis |
E.g. *kangsmã 'step' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *kangsmã | *kangsmane | *kangsmanes |
| Vocative | *kangsmã | *kangsmane | *kangsmanes |
| Accusative | *kangsmanam | *kangsmane | *kangsmanās |
| Genitive | *kangsmanos | *kangsmanou | *kangsmanom |
| Dative | *kangsmanei | *kangsmanobom | *kangsmanobos |
| Ablative | *kangsmanī | *kangsmanobim | *kangsmanobis |
| Instrumental | *kangsmane | *kangsmanobim | *kangsmanobis |
| Locative | *kangsmani | *kangsmanobim | *kangsmanobis |
*s-stem nouns
Generally, *s-stems end in *-es-, which becomes *-os in the nominative singular: *teges- 'house' > *tegos.
E.g. *tegos 'house' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *tegos | *tegese | *tegeses |
| Vocative | *tegos | *tegese | *tegeses |
| Accusative | *tegesam | *tegese | *tegesās |
| Genitive | *tegesos | *tegesou | *tegesom |
| Dative | *tegesē | *tegesobom | *tegesobos |
| Ablative | *tegesī | *tegesobim | *tegesobis |
| Instrumental | *tegese | *tegesobim | *tegesobis |
| Locative | *tegesi | *tegesobim | *tegesobis |
*r-stem nouns
- r-stems are rare and principally confined to names of relatives. Typically they end in *-ter-, which becomes *-tīr in the nominative and *-tr- in all other cases aside from the accusative: *ɸater- 'father' > *ɸatīr, *ɸatros.
E.g. *ɸatīr 'father' (masculine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *ɸatīr | *ɸatere | *ɸateres |
| Vocative | *ɸatīr | *ɸatere | *ɸateres |
| Accusative | *ɸateram | *ɸatere | *ɸaterās |
| Genitive | *ɸatros | *ɸatrou | *ɸatrom |
| Dative | *ɸatrē | *ɸatrebom | *ɸatrebos |
| Ablative | *ɸatrī | *ɸatrebim | *ɸatrebis |
| Instrumental | *ɸatre | *ɸatrebim | *ɸatrebis |
| Locative | *ɸatri | *ɸatrebim | *ɸatrebis |
E.g. *mātīr 'mother' (feminine)
| Singular | Dual | Plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | *mātīr | *mātere | *māteres |
| Vocative | *mātīr | *mātere | *māteres |
| Accusative | *māteram | *mātere | *māterās |
| Genitive | *mātros | *mātrou | *mātrom |
| Dative | *mātrē | *mātrebom | *mātrebos |
| Ablative | *mātrī | *mātrebim | *mātrebis |
| Instrumental | *mātre | *mātrebim | *mātrebis |
| Locative | *mātri | *mātrebim | *mātrebis |
Verbs
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From comparison between early Old Irish and Gaulish forms it seems that Continental and Insular Celtic verbs were to develop differently and so the study of Irish and Welsh may have unduly weighted past opinion of proto-Celtic verbal morphology.[citation needed] It can be inferred from Gaulish and Celtiberian as well as Insular Celtic that the proto-Celtic verb had at least three moods:
- indicative — seen in e.g. 1st sg. Gaulish delgu ("I hold") Old Irish tongu ("I swear")
- imperative — seen in e.g. 3rd sg. Celtiberian usabituz, Gaulish appisetu
- subjunctive — seen in e.g. 3rd sg. Gaulish buetid ("may he be") Celtiberian asekati
and four tenses:
- present — seen in e.g. Gaulish uediíu-mi ("I pray") Celtiberian zizonti ("they sow")
- preterite — seen in e.g. 3rd sg. Gaulish sioxti, Lepontic KariTe
- imperfect — perhaps in Celtiberian kombalkez, atibion
- future — seen in e.g. 3rd sg. Gaulish bissiet, Old Irish bieid ("he shall be")
A probable optative mood also features in Gaulish (tixsintor) and an infinitive (with a characteristic ending -unei) in Celtiberian.[4][5]
Verbs were formed by adding suffixes to a verbal stem (notated ∑). The stem might be thematic or athematic, an open or a closed syllable.
- Example conjugations
Scholarly reconstructions [6][7][2][8] may be summarised in tabular format.
- Conjugation like *bere/o- ‘bear, carry, flow’
| Person | Pres | Impf | Fut | Pst | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act | Pss | Act | Pss | Act | Pss | Act | Pss | ||
| Ind | 1.sg | *berū(mi) | *berūr | *berennem | *- | *bibrām | *bibrār | *bertū | *- |
| 2.sg | *beresi | *beretrīs | *berītū | *- | *bibrāsi | *bibrātrīs | *bertes | *- | |
| 3.sg | *bereti | *beretor | *bere(to) | *beretei | *bibrāti | *bibrātor | *bert | *brito | |
| 1.pl | *beromu(snīs) | *berommor | *beremmets | *- | *bibrāmes | *bibrāmmor | *bertomu | *- | |
| 2.pl | *berete | *beredwe | *beretes (OI) ~ *bere-swīs (B) | *- | *bibrāte | *bibrādwe | *bertete | *- | |
| 3.pl | *beronti | *berontor | *berentets | *berentits (?) | *bibrānt | *bibrāntor | *bertont | *britūnts | |
| Sbj | 1.sg | *berām | *berār | *berānnem | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- |
| 2.sg | *berāsi | *berātrīs | *berātū | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.sg | *berāti | *berātor | *berā(to) | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 1.pl | *berāmes | *berāmmor | *berāmmets | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 2.pl | *berāte | *berādwe | *berātes (OI) ~ *berā-swīs (B) | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.pl | *berānti | *berāntor | *berāntets | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| Imp | 1.sg | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- |
| 2.sg | *berī! | *beretrīs! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.sg | *beret! | *beror! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 1.pl | *beromu! | *berommor! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 2.pl | *beretīs! | *beredwe! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.pl | *beront! | *berontor! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| VN | (unmarked) | *berowon- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *' | *britu-s |
| Ptple | (unmarked) | *beront- | *beromno- | *- | *beretejo- | *- | *- | *bertjo- | *brito- |
- Conjugation like *mārā- ‘greaten, magnify, enlarge’
| Person | Pres | Impf | Fut | Pst | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Act | Pss | Act | Pss | Act | Pss | Act | Pss | ||
| Ind | 1.sg | *mārāmi | *mārār | *mārānnem | *- | *mārābjū | *mārābjūr | *mārātsū | *- |
| 2.sg | *mārāsi | *mārātrīs | *mārātū | *- | *mārābisi | *mārābitrīs | *mārātssi | *- | |
| 3.sg | *mārāti | *mārātor | *mārā(to) | *mārātei | *mārābiti | *mārābitor | *mārātsti | *- | |
| 1.pl | *mārāmu(snīs) | *mārāmmor | *mārāmmets | *- | *mārābimmes | *mārābimmor | *mārātsomu | *- | |
| 2.pl | *mārāte | *mārādwe | *mārātes (OI) ~ *mārā-swīs (B) | *- | *mārābite | *mārābidwe | *mārātsete | *- | |
| 3.pl | *mārānti | *mārāntor | *mārāntets | *mārāntits (?) | *mārābint | *mārābintor | *mārātsont | *mārātūnts (?) | |
| Sbj | 1.sg | *mārām | *māror | *māronnem | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- |
| 2.sg | *mārosi | *mārotrīs | *mārotū | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.sg | *māroti | *mārotor | *māro(to) | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 1.pl | *māromes | *mārommor | *mārommets | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 2.pl | *mārote | *mārodwe | *mārotes (OI) ~ *māro-swīs (B) | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.pl | *māronti | *mārontor | *mārontets | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| Imp | 1.sg | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- |
| 2.sg | *mārā! | *mārātrīs! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.sg | *mārāt! | *mārār! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 1.pl | *mārāmu! | *mārāmmor! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 2.pl | *mārātīs! | *mārādwe! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| 3.pl | *mārānt! | *mārāntor! | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | |
| VN | (unmarked) | *mārāwon- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *- | *' | *mārātu-s |
| Ptple | (unmarked) | *mārānt- | *mārāmno- | *- | *mārātejo- | *- | *- | *mārātjo- | *mārāto- |
Dating
The date when Proto-Celtic became a separate language is controversial. In the past an association with particular archaeological cultures had been assumed, then the method of glottochronology was used. Both are unsatisfactory for many reasons. In the last decade or so a number of groups have addressed this question using modern computational methods, with differing results. Gray and Atkinson estimated a date of 6100 BP (4100 BC) while Forster and Toth suggest a date of 8100 BP (6100 BC), but such early dates are not generally accepted. Both these dates are subject to considerable estimating uncertainty, perhaps +/-1500 years. In the Paleolithic Continuity Theory Celtic is proposed to have emerged from the Iberian refuge after the Last Glacial Maximum, but this theory is not generally accepted.
Proto-Celtic may have been spoken to as late as 800 BC, see Celtic languages.
See also
- Pre-Celtic
- Italo-Celtic
- Beaker culture
- Urnfield
- Halstatt culture
- La Tène culture
- Goidelic substrate hypothesis
- Azilian
References
- ^ a b Chadwick with Corcoran, Nora with J.X.W.P. (1970). The Celts. Penguin Books. pp. 28–33.
- ^ a b Ranko, Matasović (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, 9. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1.
- ^ Pedersen, Holger (1913). Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen, 2. Band, Bedeutungslehre (Wortlehre). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 3-525-26119-5.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - ^ Stefan Schumacher, Die keltischen Primärverben. Ein vergleichendes, etymologisches und morpholo-gisches Lexikon Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Univer-sität, Innsbruck (2003) (German)
- ^ Pierre-Yves Lambert, La langue gauloise. Description linguistique, commentaire d'inscriptions choisies Paris: Errance (2003) (French)
- ^ Pages xxxvi-xxxvii of MacBain, Alexander (1911) An etymological dictionary of the Gaelic language; Stirling: Eneas MacKay, available at http://www.archive.org/stream/etymologicaldict00macbuoft#page/xxxvi/mode/2up
- ^ Pages 7-14 of Ward, Alan (1982, revised 1996) A Checklist of Proto-Celtic Lexical Items
- ^ Examples of attested Gallic verbs at http://www.angelfire.com/me/ik/gaulish.html
- Cowgill, Warren (1975). "The origins of the Insular Celtic conjunct and absolute verbal endings". In H. Rix (ed.). Flexion und Wortbildung: Akten der V. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft, Regensburg, 9.–14. September 1973. Wiesbaden: Reichert. pp. 40–70.
- Evans, D. Simon (1964). A Grammar of Middle Welsh. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
- Forster, Peter; Toth, Alfred (2003). "Toward a phylogenetic chronology of ancient Gaulish, Celtic, and Indo-European". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 100 (15): 9079–84. Bibcode:2003PNAS..100.9079F. doi:10.1073/pnas.1331158100. PMC 166441. PMID 12837934.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Gray, Russell D.; Atkinson, Quintin D. (2003). "Language-tree divergence times support the Anatolian theory of Indo-European origin". Nature. 426 (6965): 435–9. Bibcode:2003Natur.426..435G. doi:10.1038/nature02029. PMID 14647380.
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Lane, George S. (1933). "The Germano-Celtic Vocabulary". Language: 244–264.
- McCone, Kim (1996). Towards a Relative Chronology of Ancient and Medieval Celtic Sound Change. Maynooth: Department of Old and Middle Irish, St. Patrick's College. ISBN 0-901519-40-5.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Pedersen, Holger (1913). Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen. 2. Band, Bedeutungslehre (Wortlehre). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. ISBN 3-525-26119-5.
{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help) - Schrijver, Peter (1994). "The Celtic adverbs for 'against' and 'with' and the early apocope of *-i". Ériu. 45: 151–89.
- Schrijver, Peter (1995). Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology. Amsterdam: Rodopi. ISBN 90-5183-820-4.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Thurneysen, Rudolf (1946). A Grammar of Old Irish. Tr. D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.
- Ranko, Matasović (2009). Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series, 9. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1.
External links
The Leiden University has compiled etymological dictionaries of various IE languages, a project supervised by Alexander Lubotsky and which includes a Proto-Celtic dictionary by Ranko Matasović. Unfortunately, those dictionaries published by Brill in the Leiden series have been removed from the University databases for copyright reasons. However, somebody has made an Excel file from Matasović's dictionary and uploaded on Google Docs.
Alternatively, a reference for Proto-Celtic vocabulary is provided by the University of Wales at the following sites: