| Gallo-Brittonic | |
|---|---|
| P-Celtic | |
| Geographic distribution | Gaul andGreat Britain |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
TheGallo-Brittonic languages, also known as theP-Celtic languages, are a proposed subdivision of theCeltic languages containing the languages ofAncient Gaul (bothCeltica andBelgica) andCeltic Britain, which share certain features. Besides commonlinguistic innovations, speakers of these languages shared cultural features and history. The cultural aspects are commonality of art styles and worship of similar gods.Coinage just prior to theBritish Roman Period was also similar. InJulius Caesar's time, theAtrebates held land on both sides of theEnglish Channel.
It contrasts with theInsular Celtic hypothesis, which asserts thatGoidelic andBrythonic underwent a period of common development and have shared innovations to the exclusion of Gaulish,[1] while the shared changes are either independent innovations that occurred separately in Brythonic and Gaulish or are due tolanguage contact between the two groups.
The hypothesis that the languages spoken in Gaul and Great Britain (Gaulish and theBrittonic languages) descended from a common ancestor, separate from the Celtic languages of Ireland, Spain, and Italy, is based on a number of linguistic innovations, principally the evolution ofProto-Celtic */kʷ/ into/p/ (thus the name "P-Celtic"). These innovations are not shared with theGoidelic languages, which also calledQ-Celtic in this model because of their preservation of Proto-Celtic */kʷ/' (often represented asqu in English).
The proposed shared innovations not in Goidelic are: