| Ligurian | |
|---|---|
| Native to | Liguria |
| Region | Northern Mediterranean Coast straddling South-east French and North-west Italian coasts. |
| Era | 300 BCE (?) – 100 CE[2] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xlg |
xlg | |
| Glottolog | anci1248 |
 | |
TheLigurian language was an ancient language spoken by theLigures, an indigenous people inhabiting regions of northwesternItaly and southeasternFrance during pre-Roman and Roman times.
Because Ligurian is so sparsely attested, its classification and relationship to neighbouring languages has proven difficult, prompting debate among linguists for much of the 20th century.[3][4] The prevailing view among specialists in the ancient languages of the region is that Ligurian was anIndo-European language or language family. Its precise classification within Indo-European remains disputed. Some scholars regard it as a Celtic language retaining archaic features, while others argue that it was a non-Celtic language that was influenced by, or related to,Celtic languages.[1][note 1]
However, this hypothesis is primarily based ontoponymy andonomastics, and on a fewglosses given by ancient Graeco-Roman writers (since no Ligurian texts have survived), and thus remains partly speculative due to the scarcity of data.[4] Because of that, some scholars have even cast doubt on the existence of a Ligurian language itself,[note 2] since it can remain problematic to postulate that all the non-Celtic and non-Italic forms found across the regions described as "Ligurian" by ancient sources come from a single language instead of several ancient dialects.[4]
Influenced by the work ofHenri d'Arbois de Jubainville, some 20th-century scholars have attempted to identify Ligurian as a remnant of aPre-Indo-European orIndo-Europeansubstratum. These theories, particularly those attempting to establish additional connections with data from other European regions, are now rejected by recent scholarship.[3][4]
Early Greek geographers, such asHecataeus of Miletus (6th century BC) andPseudo-Scylax (4th century BC), used the termLigues as a broad label for the so-calledbarbarians of the distant West. They placed these peoples in a semi-mythical setting at the outer edges of the known world, comparable to other legendary groups like theHyperboreans orEthiopians, who were believed to inhabit the world's extreme boundaries.[6][7] In these sources,Ligustica, the land of theLigues, often aligned withMassalia's sphere of influence, stretching fromEmporion in Catalonia to Antipolis (Antibes) in southeastern France.[8] Classical Greek authors of this period do not mention any Ligures in Italy.[9][7] Instead, they describe Ligurian territory as ending east around Antipolis or Monoikos (Monaco), beyond which began the domains of theTyrrhenians (Etruscans) orPelasgians.[9]
Over time, as geographic knowledge improved and distinct groups like theIberians andGauls came into clearer focus, references to the Ligures became more concrete. Later Latin authors continued to echo elements of the older, semi-mythical tradition, yet the idea of Ligures as a general label for the distant West gradually gave way to a more localised concept, placing them in a specific region around Massalia (Marseille).[6]
... though the early writers of the Greeks call the Sallyes 'Ligues', and the country which the Massiliotes hold, 'Ligustica', later writers name them 'Celtoligues', and attach to their territory all the level country as far as Luerio and the Rhodanus, the country from which the inhabitants, divided into ten parts, used to send forth an army, not only of infantry, but of cavalry as well.
— Strabo 1923,Geōgraphiká,4:6:3.
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By the 3rd century BCE, Roman records (theActa triumphalia Populi Romani ofP. Lentulus Caudinus) began mentioning Ligures in Italy, north of theMagra River. This suggests that the Romans recognised a distinct people called 'Ligures' in the Italian Peninsula, separate from the older Greek tradition of 'Ligues' in southern Gaul. In the subsequent centuries, Roman military campaigns in the region (including one against theIngauni in 185–180 BCE) gradually brought to light the existence of Ligures in northwestern Italy, culminating in the formal establishment of theRegion IXLiguria underAugustus (27 BC – 14 AD).[9] At that point, the Ligures occupied the westernmost part of the Italian peninsula and a portion of the nearby French coastline, extending from Album Intimilium (modernVentimiglia) toAmeglia.[10]
Early Greek authors such as Hecataeus of Miletus and Pseudo-Scylax probably used 'Ligure' as a generic name for such distant and partially known tribes, or merely as a geographic reference that had no relevance to their ethnicity.[6][7] To reconcile conflicting accounts, certain ancient sources coined terms like 'Celto-Ligure' to suggest an ethnic intermingling. Latin historianLivy believed that the Ligures represented an older stratum predating the Gauls in northern Italy, whileStrabo and others observed that many of the peoples previously described as 'Ligures' were actually Celts. In an attempt to resolve these inconsistencies, Strabo proposed that Celtic influence had effectively supplanted the original Ligures.[11]
Writing in the early 1st century AD, Strabo noted that the Ligures living in the Alps were a people distinct from the Celts, even though they shared cultural similarities:
As for the Alps ... many tribes (éthnê) occupy these mountains, all Celtic (keltikà) except the Ligurians; but while these Ligurians belong to a different people (heteroethneis), still they are similar to the Celts in their modes of life (bíois)
— Strabo 1923,Geōgraphiká, 2.5.28.
Regarding the tribes around Massalia, earlier writers called theSalyes 'Ligure', while Strabo used the denomination 'Celto-Ligure'. According to scholars, this suggests that their culture gradually came under the influence of a Celtic-speaking elite, as evidenced by the Celtic name of their rulers and towns, and the Celtic influence on their religion.[12][13] Similarly, theSegobriges were identified as Ligures by the oldest texts about thefoundation of Massalia, but their ethnonym and the names of their chiefs are undoubtedly Celtic.[14]
Some glosses appear in the text of ancient writers. Greek historianHerodotus, while discussing the name of the people known as theSigynnae (Greek:Sigúnnai), anomadic tribe from Central Europe, noted that the termsigynnae was also used by the Ligures living "up beyond Marseille" to refer to traders.[4] The Ligurian name of theRiver Po, recorded asBodincus, is said by Pliny to mean "of unmeasured depth", which can be compared to Sanskritbudhná- ('bottom, ground, base, depth'), Latinfundus andMiddle Irishbond ('sole of the shoe').[15]
Many of the other proposed Ligurian glosses remain uncertain. The termlebērís (λεβηρίς), recorded by Strabo as aMassiliote word for 'rabbit', is believed to have been borrowed into Latin aslepus. Pliny the Elder mentionslanga orlangurus as a type of lizard inhabiting the banks of the Po River, which Johannes Hubschmid linked to the Latinlongus ('long'). The termasia, meaning 'rye' and recorded by Pliny, could be amended to<s>asia and connected to the Sanskritsasya- ('corn, grain, fruit, crop') and Welshhaidd ('barley'), andsaliúnga ('valerian') has been compared with Middle Irishsail and Latinsalix ('willow'), though these connections remain unsure.[15]
Most specialists in the ancient languages of the region, includingPatrizia de Bernardo Stempel,Xavier Delamarre,Jürgen Untermann,Javier de Hoz, Franceso Rubat Borel, and Bernard Mees, agree that Ligurian belongs to theIndo-European language family.[1]
The main point of debate concerns its relationship toCeltic. Ligurian exhibits both similarities and differences with ancient Celtic varieties such asGaulish andLepontic.[16] De Bernardo Stempel has proposed that Ligurian may represent an archaic Celtic dialect shaped by the influence of a non-Celticsubstratum, which would account for its distinctive features.[17][16] Delamarre likewise believes that the Ligurian language may derive from an early form of Celtic, viewing the Ligurians as groups involved in the first Celtic movements into southern Europe.[18] In contrast, Rubat Borel, de Hoz, Untermann and Mees argue that Ligurian was a separate Indo-European language (or language family), possibly related to Celtic, influenced by it, or sharing traits that reflect inherited Indo-European features.[19]
Scholars also differ on the geographical extent of linguistic elements attributable to Ligurian.[3][4] Javier de Hoz proposes distinguishing between two zones: the territory of the 'Ligures' of the Romanregio Liguria (betweenVentimiglia andAmeglia), and the broader area described in early sources as inhabited by the 'Ligues' (from theArno River to west of theRhône, and possibly into north-eastern Spain). He terms the former 'restricted Ligurian', noting that this group had a well-defined cultural identity and likely used an Indo-European language about which little is directly known. The latter region, which he calls 'broad Ligurian', may have been inhabited by culturally related but likely diverse peoples who may have spoken various languages.[20]
LinguistsPatrizia de Bernardo Stempel andXavier Delamarre have argued that many names of tribes described by ancient scholars as 'Ligurian' can be explained as Celtic. This includes theIngauni (Celt. *Pingāmnī),Salyes (< *Sḷwes),Ligauni (Celt.līg- orliga-),Intimilii (Celt.uindi-),Maricii (Celt.maro-), andOxybii (Celt.oxso- oruxso-),[21] as well as theIemerii (Celt.iemur-),Orobii (Celt.orbi-),Segobrigii (Celt.sego-) andReii (Celt.*riio-).[22]
According to de Bernardo Stempel, such linguistically Celtic tribal names suggest that a 'Celto-Ligurian' dialect played an important role among the languages spoken in ancient Ligury.[23] Furthermore, she notes that some lexical items appear to be common to Ligurian and Celtic, such ascotto- (Alpes Cottiae),gando- (Gandovera),ambi- (pago Ambitrebio),ebu- (Eburelia),medu- (Medutio),seg- (Segesta Tigulliorum),catu- (Catucianum), androud- (Roudelium).[24]
Arguing for a connection between Ligurian and Celtic languages, de Bernardo Stempel has listed the following isoglosses as common traits shared by both language groups:[24]
Amongst Celtic subgroups, common innovations are only shared withLepontic, including *ks >s, *nd >n(n), *st >z,VCi̯V >VjCV, the analogical acc. pl. *-aś > -eś after the nom. pl. -es (consonantal stems), gen. sg. -j-os & -ei-s → -ei -os (i-stems), gen. sg. *-osjo, 3rd sg. preterite in -te, patronymic -alo-, patronymic -ikno-, gamonymic -iknā, and monothematic personal names. Conversely, some innovations are shared between Ligurian and theGaulish language of the early sources, such as gen. sg. *-ī, 3rd sg. preterite in -tu, and patronymic -ikno-.[24]
On the other hand, some Ligurian ethnonyms show a weaker or less evident connection to Celtic, such as the nameFriniates, which can be hardly regarded as genuinely Celtic.[25] AlthoughDeciates seems to derive from theProto-Indo-European (PIE) root *deḱ-, it does not appear to be Celtic. Consequently,Javier de Hoz suggests classifying the name as 'restricted Ligurian', given the tribe's geographical location.[26] The ethnic nameTaurini, from the Indo-European *tauros 'bull', does not follow themetathesized Celtic formtaruos. According to Delamarre, this could be explained by the influence of Latin or the preservation of an archaic form.[27]
Similarly, the LigurianBodincos ('of unmeasured depth'), from PIE*bʰudʰnós, does not display the metathesis ofItalo-Celtic *bʰundʰós (cf. Latinfundus, Middle Irishbond).[15] The ethnonymEguiturii (< PIE *h₁éḱwos 'horse') also features an archaic preservation oflabio-velar-kʷ-, in contrast to Gaulishepos (which can be compared to the LigurianEpanterii).[28] The similarity between the ancient names of Genoa (Genua), in the ancient Ligurian region, and Geneva (Genaua), in Celtic-speaking territory, has been highlighted by scholars,[18] but if both toponyms could derive from the Celtic*genu 'mouth', the PIE stem *ǵónu- 'knee', which is commonly found in other Indo-European language groups, may also be at the origin of the names.[4]
Francesco Rubat Borel has highlighted unusual Ligurian phonological changes not seen in Celtic languages, such as *upo- >uea- and *o >a in unstressed syllables, the toponymic suffix -asc-, and the retained *p inPorcobera, which would make claims of Ligurian as a Celtic language problematic.[29][30] According to Bernard Mees, Ligurian appears to share some phonological features with Celtic while differing significantly in morphology, suggesting it was a separate language with certain similarities to Celtic.[16] He writes that "the Romans did not consider the Ligurians to be Celts, and although there are some evident parallels between Ligurian and Celtic names, these can all be understood as reflecting inherited Indo-European features, not distinctively Celtic traits."[31] By analysing Ligurian personal names,Jürgen Untermann concluded that Ligurian is best considered an Indo-European language or language family separate from both Celtic and Italic.[32][16]
In the late 19th century,Henri d'Arbois de Jubainville proposed that the Ligures constituted an early Indo-European substratum in Western Europe, separate from both Gaulish and Italic groups. Building on classical sources, he identified a range of place names and tribal names that did not fit neatly into known Celtic or Italic patterns. His theory, which came to be termed "Celto-Ligurian", influenced philological and archaeological approaches for the following decades. According to Bernard Mees, de Jubainville became "the intellectual grandfather to a genealogy of prehistorical and protohistorical substratum theories".[3]
By the 1920s, scholars were using the "Celto-Ligurian" idea to explain problematic Indo-European toponyms and hydronyms across much of Europe. For instance,Paul Kretschmer argued that some inscriptions in Etruscan script (later identified asLepontic Celtic) provided evidence for a Ligurian linguistic layer, but subsequent discoveries established these as clearly Celtic with only limited Etruscan influence. In the 1930s,Julius Pokorny adopted these insights for hispan-Illyrian (or "Illyro-Venetic") theory, linking it to the prehistoricUrnfield culture. Consequently, many difficult place-name etymologies were attributed to a hypothetical Illyrian layer, leading to broad, stratigraphical theories that traced Indo-European linguistic influences from Gaul all the way to the Balkans.[3]
By the late 1950s, Pokorny's theories had lost its momentum following critical scrutiny. The underlying place-name elements championed by de Jubainville and Pokorny, however, were reworked byHans Krahe into his "Old European" theory. Focusing on hydronyms, Krahe advanced a more refined approach, yet it remained conceptually indebted to de Jubainville's earlier "Celto-Ligurian" framework. Though Krahe proposed a more systematic argument than the earlier "Illyrian" or "Celto-Ligurian" frameworks, his theory still faced criticism for assuming that widespread, older Indo-European features belonged to one single language rather than several archaic dialects.[3]
LinguistJames Clackson has criticized these approaches by stating that "the label 'Ligurian' merely serves to conceal our ignorance" about the pre-Roman linguistic landscape in various regions of Europe.[4]
The northern Italian languages comprise Ligurian in the northwest which has been variously regarded as influenced by Celtic if not actually a Celtic language
Ligurian dialect properly so called is extremely slight, but the evidence, so far as it goes, indicates beyond all question, that it was Indo-European
Ligurian, spoken in Liguria, may have been an Indo-European language, perhaps belonging to the Celtic branch.
Despite claims that some words or place-names (e.g. those ending in -asco, like Giubasco) are diagnostically Ligurian, the existence of any Ligurian language is still hypothetical.
{{citation}}: CS1 maint: work parameter with ISBN (link)the existence of a Ligurian ethnos or culture is […] extremely doubtful
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