Gallaecian language


Callaecian is the name given to the pre-Roman language, or languages, spoken by the ancient Callaeci in northwestern Iberia. The region became the Roman province of Callaecia, which is now divided between the Spanish regions of Galicia, the western parts of Asturias, León and Zamora, and the Norte Region of Portugal. The linguistic situation of pre-Roman Callaecia is complex, as it combines linguistic materials that resemble Celtic features and others that do not, probably related to Lusitanian.

Overview

Classical authors Pomponius Mela, Pliny the Elder, and Strabo wrote about the existence of Celtic and non-Celtic populations in Callaecia. Most linguists consider Callaecia to be part of a common dialect continuum with Lusitania. There is controversy over the classification of the Lusitanian language. Although most scholars regard it as a non-Celtic Indo-European language, some argue that it is a Celtic language with archaic features. Apart from the Lusitanian-like elements, Celtic linguistic records abound in Callaecia as they do in Lusitania.

Possible Celtic elements in Callaecia

Below are listed some hypothetical Celtic etymologies for various linguistic records from ancient Callaecia.

Features shared with Celtiberian and the other Celtic languages

  • Indo-European *-ps- and *-ks- became *-xs- and were then reduced to -s-: place name AVILIOBRIS from *Awil-yo-brix-s < Proto-Celtic *Awil-yo-brig-s 'Windy hill ', modern place name Osmo from *Uχsamo- 'the highest one'.
  • Original PIE *p has disappeared, having become a *φ sound before being lost completely:
;Examples
  • Indo-European sonorants between vowels, *n̥, and *m̥ have become an, am; *r̥, and *l̥ have become ri, li: place name Brigantia from *brig-ant-yā < Proto-Celtic *br̥g-n̥t-y-ā < post-Proto-Indo-European *bʰr̥gʰ-n̥t-y-ā 'The towering one, the high one'; modern place names in Portugal and Galicia Braga, Bragança, Berganzo, Berganciños, Bergaña; ancient place names AOBRIGA, CALIABRIGA, CALAMBRIGA, CONIMBRIGA, CORUMBRIGA, MIROBRIGA, NEMETOBRIGA, COELIOBRIGA, TALABRIGA with second element *brigā < Proto-Celtic *br̥g-ā < post-PIE *bʰr̥gʰ-ā 'high place', and AVILIOBRIS, MIOBRI, AGUBRI with second element *bris < *brix-s < Proto-Celtic *brig-s < *br̥g-s < PIE *bʰr̥gʰ-s 'hill '; cf. English cognate borough < Old English burg "fort" < Proto-Germanic *burg-s < PIE *bʰr̥gʰ-s.
  • Reduction of diphthong *ei to ē: theonym DEVORI, from *dēwo-rīg-ē < Proto-Celtic *deiwo-rēg-ei 'To the king of the gods'.
  • Lenition of *m in the group *-mnV- to -unV-: ARIOUNIS MINCOSEGAECIS, dative form from *ar-yo-uno- ''*menekko-seg-āk-yo- 'To the fields of the many crops' < Proto-Celtic *ar-yo-mno-....
  • Assimilation *p.. kʷ > *kʷ.. kʷ: tribe name Querquerni from *kʷerkʷ- < PIE *perkʷ- 'oak, tree'. Although this name has also been interpreted as Lusitanian by B. M. Prósper, she proposed recently for that language a *p.. kʷ > *kʷ.. kʷ > *p.. p assimilation.
  • Reduction of diphthong *ew to *ow, and eventually to ō: personal names TOUTONUS / TOTONUS 'of the people' from *tout- 'nation, tribe' < PIE *teut-; personal names CLOUTIUS 'famous', but VESUCLOTI 'having good fame' < Proto-Celtic *Kleut-y-os, *Wesu-kleut-os; CASTELLO LOUCIOCELO < PIE *leuk- 'bright'. In Celtiberian the forms toutinikum/totinikum show the same process.
  • Superlatives in -isamo: place names BERISAMO < *Berg-isamo- 'The highest one', SESMACA < *Seg-isamā-kā 'The strongest one, the most victorious one'. The same etymology has been proposed for the modern place names Sésamo and Sísamo, from *Segisamo-; modern place name Méixamo from Magisamo- 'the largest one'.
  • Syncope of unstressed vowels in the vicinity of liquid consonants: CASTELLO DURBEDE, if from *dūro-bedo-.
  • Reduction of Proto-Celtic *χt cluster to Hispano-Celtic *t: personal names AMBATUS, from Celtic *ambi-aχtos, PENTIUS < *kwenχto-'' 'fifth'.

    Features ''not'' shared with Celtiberian

  • In contact with *e or *i, intervocalic consonant *-g- tends to disappear: theonym DEVORI from *dēworīgē 'To the king of the gods'; adjective derived of a place name SESMACAE < *Seg-isamā-kā 'The strongest one, the most victorious one'; personal names MEIDUENUS < *Medu-genos 'Born of mead', CATUENUS < *Katu-genos 'Born of the fight'; inscription NIMIDI FIDUENEARUM HIC < *widu-gen-yā. But Celtiberian place name SEGISAMA and personal name mezukenos show preservation of /g/.
  • *-lw- and *-rw- become -lβ-, -rβ- : MARTI TARBUCELI < *tarwo-okel- 'To Mars of the Hill of the Bull', but Celtiberian TARVODURESCA.
  • Late preservation of *φl- which becomes βl- and only later is reduced to a simple l- sound: place names BLETISAM, BLETIS, modern Ledesma < *φlet-isamā 'widest'; BLANIOBRENSI, medieval Laniobre < *φlān-yo-brigs 'hillfort on the plain'. But Celtiberian place name Letaisama.
  • *wl- is maintained: VLANA < PIE *wl̥Hn-eh₂ 'wool', while Celtiberian has l-: launi < PIE *wl̥H-mn-ih₂ 'woolly'.
  • Sometimes *wo- appears as wa-: VACORIA < *wo-kor-yo- 'who has two armies', VAGABROBENDAM < *uφo-gabro-bendā 'lower goat mountain'.
  • Dative plural ending -bo < PIE *bʰo, while Celtiberian had -bos: LUGOUBU/LUCUBO 'To Lug'.

    Q-Celtic

Under the P/Q Celtic hypothesis, Callaecian appears to be a Q-Celtic language, as evidenced by the following occurrences in local inscriptions: ARQVI, ARCVIVS, ARQVIENOBO, ARQVIENI, ARQVIVS, all probably from IE Paleo-Hispanic *arkʷios 'archer, bowman', retaining proto-Celtic *kʷ. It is also noteworthy the ethnonyms Equaesi, a people from southern Callaecia, and the Querquerni. Nevertheless, some old toponyms and ethnonyms, and some modern toponyms, have been interpreted as showing kw / kʷ > p: Pantiñobre valley' and *brix-s 'hill and Pezobre, ethnonym COPORI "the Bakers" from *pokwero- 'to cook', old place names Pintia, in Galicia and among the Vaccei, from PIE *penkwtó- > Celtic *kwenχto- 'fifth'.

Roman inscriptions