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Proto-Celtic language

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ancestor of the Celtic languages
Proto-Celtic
PC, Common Celtic
Reconstruction ofCeltic languages
RegionCentral orWestern Europe
Eraca. 1300–800 BC
Reconstructed
ancestor
Part ofa series on
Indo-European topics
Archaeology
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Category

Proto-Celtic, orCommon Celtic, is the reconstructed ancestralproto-language of all knownCeltic languages, and a descendant ofProto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partlyreconstructed through thecomparative method. Proto-Celtic is generally thought to have been spoken between 1300 and 800 BC, after which it began to split into different languages. Proto-Celtic is often associated with theUrnfield culture and particularly with theHallstatt culture. Celtic languages share common features withItalic languages that are not found in other branches of Indo-European, suggesting the possibility of an earlierItalo-Celtic linguistic unity.

Proto-Celtic is currently being reconstructed through the comparative method by relying on later Celtic languages. ThoughContinental Celtic presents much substantiation for Proto-Celticphonology, and some for itsmorphology, recorded material is too scanty to allow a secure reconstruction ofsyntax, though some complete sentences are recorded in the ContinentalGaulish andCeltiberian. So, the main sources for reconstruction come fromInsular Celtic languages with the oldestliterature found inOld Irish[1] andMiddle Welsh,[2] dating back to authors flourishing in the 6th century AD.

Dating

[edit]

Proto-Celtic is usually dated to theLate Bronze Age, ca. 1200–900 BC.[3] The fact that it is possible to reconstruct a Proto-Celtic word for 'iron' (traditionally reconstructed as*īsarnom) has long been taken as an indication that the divergence into individual Celtic languages did not start until the Iron Age (8th century BC to 1st century BC); otherwise, descendant languages might have developed their own, unrelated words for the metal. However, Schumacher[4] and Schrijver[5] suggest a date for Proto-Celtic as early as the 13th century BC, the time of theCanegrate culture, in northwest Italy, and theUrnfield culture in Central Europe, implying that the divergence may have already started in the Bronze Age.[why?]

Sound changes from Proto-Indo-European

[edit]

The phonological changes fromProto-Indo-European (PIE) to Proto-Celtic (PC) may be summarized as follows.[6] The changes are roughly in chronological order, with changes that operate on the outcome of earlier ones appearing later in the list.

Late PIE

[edit]

These changes are shared by several other Indo-European branches.

  • *e is colored by an adjacentlaryngeal consonant:
    • eh₂, h₂e > ah₂, h₂a
    • eh₃, h₃e > oh₃, h₃o
  • Palatovelars merge into the plain velars:
    • ḱ > k
    • ǵ > g
    • ǵʰ > gʰ
  • Epenthetic *a is inserted after a syllabicsonorant if a laryngeal and another sonorant follow (R̥HR > RaHR)
  • Laryngeals are lost:
    • before a following vowel (HV > V)
    • following a vowel in syllables before the accent (VHC´ > VC´)
    • following a vowel before a consonant, or word finally, resulting incompensatory lengthening, thus (VHC > V̄C, VH# > V̄#)
    • between plosives in non-initial syllables (CHC > CC)
  • Two adjacent dentals become two adjacent sibilants (TT > TsT > ss)

Italo-Celtic

[edit]

The following sound changes are shared with theItalic languages in particular, and are cited in support of theItalo-Celtic hypothesis.[7]

  • Dybo's rule: long close vowels are shortened (or a laryngeal is lost) before resonant + stressed vowel. Note that something like Dybo's rule seems to have also operated in Germanic (Old English wer < *wiHró-).[8]
    • īR´ / ? *iHR´ > iR´
    • ūR´ / ? *uHR´ > uR´
  • Possibly, post-consonantal laryngeals are lost when before pre-tonic close vowels:
    • CHiC´ > CiC´
    • CHuC´ > CuC´
  • Development of initialstress, following the previous two changes. But note that this seems to have been an areal feature, shared, for example with the Indo-EuropeanGermanic languages and the non-Indo-EuropeanEtruscan language.[9]
  • Possibly, vocalization of laryngeals to *ī between a *CR cluster and consonantal *j (CRHjV > CRījV)
  • Syllabic laryngeals become *a (CHC > CaC)
  • Syllabic resonants before a voiced unaspirated stop become *Ra (R̩D > RaD)
  • *m is assimilated or lost before a glide:
    • mj > nj
    • mw > w
  • *p assimilates to *kʷ when another *kʷ follows later in the word (p...kʷ > kʷ...kʷ). But Matasovic points out that: A) this change may have occurred late in Celtic; B) it seems not to have operated on some words in Irish; and C) a very similar assimilation (though in reverse) also occurred in Germanic.[10]

One change shows non-exact parallels in Italic: vocalization of syllabic resonants next to laryngeals depending on the environment. Similar developments appear in Italic, but for the syllabic nasals *m̩, *n̩, the result is Proto-Italic *əm, *ən (> Latinem ~im,en ~in).

  • Word-initially, HR̩C > aRC
  • Before voiceless stops, CR̩HT > CRaT
  • CR̩HV > CaRHV
  • CR̩HC > CRāC

Early PC

[edit]
  • 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, but Schumacher 2004 argues on p. 372 that this change came first; moreover, it is also found in Proto-Italic, and thus arguably belongs to the previous section):
    • kw > kʷ
    • gw > gʷ
    • gʰw > gʷʰ
  • *gʷ merges into *b.
  • Aspirated stops lose their aspiration and merge with the voiced stops (except that thiscounterfeeds the previous change, so *gʷʰ > *gʷ doesn't result in a merger; that is, the change*gʷʰ > *gʷ must crucially happenafter the sound changegʷ > b has been completed):[11]
    • bʰ > b
    • dʰ > d
    • gʰ > g
    • gʷʰ > gʷ
  • *e before a resonant and *a (but not *ā) becomes *a as well (eRa > aRa): *ǵʰelH-ro > *gelaro > *galaro / *gérH-no > *gerano > *garano (Joseph's rule).
  • Epenthetic *i is inserted after syllabic liquids when followed by a plosive:
    • l̩T > liT
    • r̩T > riT
  • Epenthetic *a is inserted before the remaining syllabic resonants:
    • m̩ > am
    • n̩ > an
    • l̩ > al
    • r̩ > ar
  • All remaining nonsyllabic laryngeals are lost.
  • ē > ī
  • ō > ū in final syllables
  • Long vowels are shortened before a syllable-final resonant (V:RC > VRC); this also shortens long diphthongs. (Osthoff's law)

Late PC

[edit]
  • 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
  • ey > ē (but not in Celtiberian or Lepontic)
  • ew > ow
  • uwa > owa

Examples

[edit]
PIEPCExample
PIEProto-CelticOld IrishWelsh
*p*ɸ*ph₂tḗr*ɸatīrfatherathiredryddcf. home (< *ɸatrijo-)
*t*t*tréyes*trīsthreetrítri
*k, ḱ*k*kh₂n̥-e-
*ḱm̥tom
*kan-o-
*kantom
sing
hundred
canaid
cét
/kʲeːd/
canu
cant
***kʷetwores*kʷetwaresfourceth(a)irpedwar
*b*b*h₂ébōl*abalomappleuballafal
*d*d*derḱ-*derk-seederceyedrychsight
*g, ǵ*g*gleh₁i-
*ǵen-u-
*gli-na-
*genu-
to glue
jaw
glen(a)id
giun, gin
(he) sticks fast
mouth
glynu
gên
adhere
jaw
**b*gʷenh₂*benawomanbenO.W.ben
**b*bʰére-*ber-o-carryberid(he) carriesadfer
cymeryd[12]
to restore
to take
**d*dʰeh₁i-*di-na-suckdenaitthey suckdynu, denu
*gʰ, ǵʰ*g*gʰh₁bʰ-(e)y-
*ǵʰelH-ro-
*gab-i-
*galaro-
take
sickness
ga(i)bid
galar
(he) takes
sickness
gafael
galar
hold
grief
*gʷʰ**gʷʰn̥-*gʷan-o-kill, woundgonaid(he) wounds, slaysgwanustab
*s*s*sen-o-*senosoldsenhen
*m*m*méh₂tēr*mātīrmothermáthirmodrybcf. aunt
*n*n*h₂nép-ōt-*neɸūtsnephewniadnai
*l*l*leyǵʰ-*lig-e/o-lickligid(he) licksllyo, llyfu
*r*r*h₃rēǵ-s*rīgsking (gen.ríg)rhi
*j*j*h₂yuh₁n-ḱós*juwankosyoungóacieuanc
*w*w*h₂wl̥h₁tí-*wlatisrulershipflaithgwladcountry
PIEPCExample
PIEPCOld IrishWelsh
*a, *h₂e*a*h₂ep-h₃ōn-*abū
acc.*abonen
riveraubafon
*ā, *eh₂*ā*bʰréh₂tēr*brātīrbrotherbráthirbrawd
*e, h₁e*e*sen-o-*senosoldsenhen
*Hbetween
consonants[13]
*a*ph₂tḗr*ɸatīrfatherathiredryddcf. home
*ē, eh₁*ī*weh₁-ro-*wīrostruefírgwir
*o, Ho, h₃e*o*Hroth₂o-*rotoswheelrothrhod
*ō, eh₃in final syllable*ū*h₂nép-ōt-*neɸūtsnephewniænai
elsewhere*ā*deh₃no-*dāno-giftdándawn
*i*i*gʷih₃-tu-*bitusworldbithbyd
*ī, iH*ī*rīmeh₂*rīmānumberrímrhif
*ai, h₂ei, eh₂i*ai*kaikos
*seh₂itlo-
*kaikos
*saitlo-
blind
age
cáech
one-eyed
coeg
hoedl
empty, one-eyed
age
*(h₁)ei, ēi, eh₁i*ei*deywos*deiwosgoddíaduw
*oi, ōi, h₃ei, eh₃i*oi*oynos*oinosoneóen oín;
áen aín
un
*ubefore*wa*o*h₂yuh₁n-ḱós*juwankos >
*jowankos
youngóacieuanc
elsewhere*u*srutos*srutosstreamsruthffrwd
*ū, uH*ū*ruHneh₂*rūnāmysteryrúnrhin
*au, h₂eu, eh₂u*au*tausos*tausossilenttáuesilence
(*tausijā)
taw
*(h₁)eu, ēu, eh₁u;
*ou, ōu, h₃eu, eh₃u
*ou*tewteh₂
*gʷeh₃-u-s
*toutā
*bows
people
cow
túath
tud
M.W.bu, biw
*before stops*li*pl̥th₂nós*ɸlitanoswidelethanllydan
before other
consonants
*al*kl̥h₁-*kaljākosroostercailech
(Ogham gen.caliaci)
ceiliog
*before stops*ri*bʰr̩ti-*briti-act of bearing; mindbreth, brithbryd
before other
consonants
*ar*mr̩wos*marwosdeadmarbmarw
**am*dm̩-nh₂-*damna-subdueM.Ir.
damnaid
he ties,
fastens,
binds
**an*h₃dn̥t-*danttoothdét/dʲeːd/dant
*l̩Hbeforeobstruents*la*h₂wlh₁tí-*wlatislordshipflaithgwladcountry
beforesonorants**pl̩Hmeh₂*ɸlāmāhandlámllaw
*r̩Hbefore obstruents*ra*mr̩Htom*mratombetrayalmrathbrad
before sonorants**ǵr̩Hnom*grānomgraingrángrawn
*m̩H(presumably with
same distribution
as above)
*am/mā*dm̩h₂-ye/o-*damje/o-to tamedaimid
fodam-
daimid
-
goddefendure, suffer
*n̩H*an/nā*ǵn̩h₃to- ?*gnātosknowngnáthgnawdcustomary

Phonological reconstruction

[edit]

Consonants

[edit]

The following consonants have been reconstructed for Proto-Celtic (PC):

MannerVoicing Bilabial  Alveolar  Palatal  Velar 
plainlabialized
Plosivevoicelesstk
voicedbdɡɡʷ
Fricativeɸsx
Nasalmn
Approximantljw
Trillr

Allophones of plosives

[edit]

Eska has recently proposed that PC stops allophonically manifestsimilarly to those in English. Voiceless stop phonemes/tk/ were aspirated word-initially except when preceded by/s/, hence aspirate allophones[tʰkʰ]; unaspirated voiced stops/bdɡ/ were devoiced to[ptk] word-initially.[14][15]

This allophony may be reconstructed to PC from the following evidence:[14][15]

  • Modern Celtic languages likeWelsh, Breton, and all modernGoidelic languages have such plosive aspiration and voice allophony already attested. (But there is no trace of this in Gaulish.)
  • Several old Celtic languages (such asOld Irish,Old Welsh, andLepontic) used letters for voiceless stop phonemes to write both voiceless stop phonemes and their voiced counterparts, especially non-word-initially. (But in the case of Lepontic, this is because the alphabet was derived from Etruscan, which has no voice contrasts in plosives.)
  • The CeltiberianLuzaga's Bronze has the curious spelling of an accusative determinersdam, where thed is clearly meant to spell[t]. This implies that Celtiberian/d/ had a voiceless allophone[t].

Evolution of plosives

[edit]

Proto-Indo-European (PIE)voiced aspirate stops *, *, *gʰ/ǵʰ, merge with *b, *d, *g/ǵ in PC. The voiced aspiratelabiovelar *gʷʰ did not merge with *, though: plain * became PC *b, while aspirated *gʷʰ became *. Thus, PIE*gʷen- 'woman' became Old Irish and Old Welshben, but PIE*gʷʰn̥- 'to kill, wound' became Old Irishgonaid and Welshgwanu.

PIE *p is lost in PC, apparently going through the stages *ɸ (possibly a stage *[pʰ])[14] and *h (perhaps seen in the nameHercynia if this is of Celtic origin) before being completely lost word-initially and between vowels. Next to consonants, PC *ɸ underwent different changes: theclusters *ɸs and *ɸt became *xs and *xt respectively already in PC. PIE *sp- became Old Irishs (f- when lenited, exactly as for PIE *sw-) and Brythonicf; whileSchrijver 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 inGermanic, and the same exception occurred again in theHigh German consonant shift.)

Proto-CelticOld IrishWelsh
*laɸs- >*laxs- 'shine'las-aidllach-ar
*seɸtam >*sextam 'seven'sechtsaith
*sɸeret- or*speret- 'heel'seirffêr

InGaulish and theBrittonic languages, the Proto-Indo-European* phoneme becomes a newp sound. Thus, Gaulishpetuar[ios],Welshpedwar "four", butOld Irishcethair andLatinquattuor. Insofar as this new/p/ fills the gap in the phoneme inventory which was left by the disappearance of the equivalent stop in PIE, we may think of this as achain shift.

The termsP-Celtic andQ-Celtic are useful for grouping Celtic languages based on the way they handle this one phoneme. But a simple division into P- / Q-Celtic may be untenable, as it does not do justice to the evidence of the ancientContinental Celtic languages. The unusual shared innovations among theInsular Celtic languages are often also presented as evidence against a P-vs Q-Celtic division, but they may instead reflect a commonsubstratum influence from the pre-Celtic languages of Britain and Ireland,[1], or simply continuing contact between the insular languages; in either case they would be irrelevant to the genetic classification of Celtic languages.

Q-Celtic languages may also have/p/ in loan words, though in early borrowings from Welsh into Primitive Irish,/kʷ/ was used by sound substitution due to a lack of a/p/ phoneme at the time:

  • LatinPatricius "Saint Patrick"' > Welsh > Primitive IrishQatricias > Old IrishCothrige, laterPádraig;
  • Latinpresbyter "priest" > early form of word seen inOld Welshpremter primter > Primitive Irishqrimitir > Old Irishcruimther.

Gaelicpóg "kiss" was a later borrowing (from the second word of the Latin phraseosculum pacis "kiss of peace") at a stage wherep was borrowed directly asp, without substitutingc.

Vowels

[edit]

The PC vowel system is highly comparable to that reconstructed for PIE byAntoine Meillet. The followingmonophthongs are reconstructed:

TypeFrontCentralBack
 long  short  long  short  long  short 
Closei u
Mide o
Open a 

The followingdiphthongs have also been reconstructed:

TypeWith-iWith-u
Witha-aiau
Witho-oiou

Morphology

[edit]

Nouns

[edit]

Themorphological structure ofnouns andadjectives demonstrates no arresting alterations from the parent language. Proto-Celtic is believed to have had nouns in threegenders, threenumbers and five to eight cases. The genders were masculine, feminine and neuter; the numbers were singular, plural and dual. The number of cases is a subject of contention:[16] while Old Irish may have only five, the evidence from Continental Celtic is considered[by whom?] rather unambiguous despite appeals to archaic retentions ormorphological leveling. These cases werenominative,vocative,accusative,dative,genitive,ablative,locative andinstrumental.

Nouns fall into nine or so declensions, depending on 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

[edit]

*makkʷos 'son' (masculine) (Old Irishmac ~Welsh,Cornish andBretonmab)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*makkʷos*makkʷou*makkʷoi
Vocative*makkʷe*makkʷou*makkʷūs
Accusative*makkʷom*makkʷou*makkʷūs
Genitive*makkʷī*makkʷūs*makkʷom
Dative*makkʷūi*makkʷobom*makkʷobos
Ablative*makkʷū*makkʷobim*makkʷobis
Instrumental*makkʷū*makkʷobim*makkʷūs
Locative*makkʷei*makkʷou*makkʷobis

However, Celtiberian shows -o- stem genitives ending in-o rather than:aualo "[son] of Avalos".[17] Also note that the genitive singular does not match Proto-Indo-European's-osyo, which would have yielded-osjo.

  • dūnom 'stronghold' (neuter)
CaseSingularDualPlural
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*dūnei*dūnou*dūnobis

As in the masculine paradigm, the genitive singular does not match Proto-Indo-European's-osyo, which would have yielded-osjo.

*ā-stem nouns

[edit]

E.g.*ɸlāmā 'hand' (feminine) (Old Irishlám;Welshllaw},Cornishleuv,Old Bretonlom)

CaseSingularDualPlural
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

*i-stems

[edit]

E.g.*sūlis 'sight, view, eye' (feminine) (Brittonicsulis ~Old Irishsúil)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*sūlis*sūlī*sūlīs
Vocative*sūli*sūlī*sūlīs
Accusative*sūlim*sūlī*sūlīs
Genitive*sūleis*sūljous*sūljom
Dative*sūlei*sūlibom*sūlibos
Ablative*sūlī*sūlibim*sūlibis
Instrumental*sūlī*sūlibim*sūlibis
Locative*sūlī*sūlibim*sūlibis

E.g.*mori 'body of water, sea' (neuter) (GaulishMori- ~Old Irishmuir ~Welshmôr)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*mori*morī*moryā
Vocative*mori*morī*moryā
Accusative*mori*morī*moryā
Genitive*moreis*moryous*moryom
Dative*morei*moribom*moribos
Ablative*morī*moribim*moribis
Instrumental*morī*moribim*moribis
Locative*morī*moribim*moribis

*u-stem nouns

[edit]

E.g.*bitus 'world, existence' (masculine) (GaulishBitu- ~Old Irishbith ~Welshbyd ~Bretonbed)

CaseSingularDualPlural
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.*beru "rotisserie spit" (neuter)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*beru*berou*berwā
Vocative*beru*berou*berwā
Accusative*beru*berou*berwā
Genitive*berous*berowou*berowom
Dative*berou*berubom*berubos
Ablative*berū*berubim*berubis
Instrumental*berū*berubim*berubis
Locative*berū*berubim*berubis

Velar and dental stems

[edit]

Before the*-s of the nominative singular, a velar consonant wasfricated to*-x :*rīg- "king" >*rīxs. Likewise, final*-ddevoiced to*-t-:*druwid- "druid" >*druwits.[18]

E.g.*rīxs "king" (masculine)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*rīxs*rīge*rīges
Vocative*rīxs*rīge*rīges
Accusative*rīgam*rīge*rīgās
Genitive*rīgos*rīgou*rīgom
Dative*rīgei*rīgobom*rīgobos
Ablative*rīgī*rīgobim*rīgobis
Instrumental*rīge*rīgobim*rīgobis
Locative*rīgi*rīgobim*rīgobis

E.g.*druwits "druid" (masculine)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*druwits*druwide*druwides
Vocative*druwits*druwide*druwides
Accusative*druwidem*druwide*druwidās
Genitive*druwidos*druwidou*druwidom
Dative*druwidei*druwidobom*druwidobos
Ablative*druwidī*druwidobim*druwidobis
Instrumental*druwide*druwidobim*druwidobis
Locative*druwidi*druwidobim*druwidobis

E.g.*karants "friend" (masculine)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*karants*karante*karantes
Vocative*karants*karante*karantes
Accusative*karantam*karante*karantās
Genitive*karantos*karantou*karantom
Dative*karantei*karantobom*karantobos
Ablative*karantī*karantobim*karantobis
Instrumental*karante*karantobim*karantobis
Locative*karanti*karantobim*karantobis

Nasal stems

[edit]

Generally, nasal stems end in *-on-; this becomes *-ū in the nominative singular: *abon- "river" > *abū.

E.g.*abū "river" (feminine)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*abū*abone*abones
Vocative*abū*abone*abones
Accusative*abonam*abone*abonās
Genitive*abonos*abonou*abonom
Dative*abonei*abnobom*abnobos
Ablative*abonī*abnobim*abnobis
Instrumental*abone*abnobim*abnobis
Locative*aboni*abnobim*abnobis

E.g.*anman "name" (neuter)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*anman*anmanī*anmanā
Vocative*anman*anmanī*anmanā
Accusative*anman*anmanī*anmanā
Genitive*anmēs*anmanou*anmanom
Dative*anmanei*anmambom*anmambos
Ablative*anmanī*anmambim*anmambis
Instrumental*anmane*anmambim*anmambis
Locative*anmani*anmambim*anmambis

*s-stem nouns

[edit]

Generally,*s-stems contain an*-es-, which becomes*-os in the nominative singular:*teges- 'house' >*tegos.

E.g.*tegos "house" (neuter)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*tegos*tegese*tegesa
Vocative*tegos*tegese*tegesa
Accusative*tegos*tegese*tegesa
Genitive*tegesos*tegesou*tegesom
Dative*tegesi*tegesobom*tegesobos
Ablative*tegesī*tegesobim*tegesobis
Instrumental*tegese*tegesobim*tegesobis
Locative*tegesi*tegesobim*tegesobis

*r-stem nouns

[edit]
  • 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)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*ɸatīr*ɸatere*ɸateres
Vocative*ɸatīr*ɸatere*ɸateres
Accusative*ɸateram*ɸatere*ɸaterās
Genitive*ɸatros*ɸatrou*ɸatrom
Dative*ɸatrei*ɸatrebom*ɸatrebos
Ablative*ɸatrī*ɸatrebim*ɸatrebis
Instrumental*ɸatre*ɸatrebim*ɸatrebis
Locative*ɸatri*ɸatrebim*ɸatrebis

E.g. *mātīr 'mother' (feminine)

CaseSingularDualPlural
Nominative*mātīr*mātere*māteres
Vocative*mātīr*mātere*māteres
Accusative*māteram*mātere*māterās
Genitive*mātros*mātrou*mātrom
Dative*mātrei*mātrebom*mātrebos
Ablative*mātrī*mātrebim*mātrebis
Instrumental*mātre*mātrebim*mātrebis
Locative*mātri*mātrebim*mātrebis

Pronouns

[edit]

The following personal pronouns in Celtic can be reconstructed as follows:[19]: 220–221 [20]: 281 

CaseFirst-personSecond-person
SingularPluralSingularPlural
Nominative**snī**swī
Accusative*me[* 1]*snos*tu*swes
Genitive*mene[* 2]?*towe?
  1. ^Remade as*mu in the prehistory of Irish by analogy to*tu.
  2. ^Remade as*mowe in the prehistory of Irish by analogy to*towe.

The following third-person pronouns in Proto-Celtic may also be reconstructed.[21]: 62 [19]: 220 

CaseSingularPlural
MasculineFeminineNeuter
Nominative*es,*ēs**ed*eyes
Accusative*em*seyam?*sīm?*sūs
Genitive*esyo*esyās*esyo*ēsom?*esom?
Dative
Instrumental
Locative
*e(s)yōi*esyāi*e(s)yōi*ēbis

Forms of the masculine singular relative pronoun *yo- can be found in the firstBotorrita plaque: The formio-s in line 10 is the nominative singular masculine of the relative pronoun from Proto-Indo-European*yo- (Sanskritya-, Greekhos), which shows up in Old Irish only as the aspiration for leniting relative verb forms. Line 7 has the accusative singulario-m and the dative singulario-mui of the same root.[22]

Adjectives

[edit]

Adjectives in Proto-Celtic had positive, comparative, superlative and equativedegrees of comparison.[23]

Positive-degree inflection classes

[edit]

Four inflection classes for positive-degree adjectives are known. Most adjectives belonged to theo-ā class, in which the adjectives inflected like masculineo-stems, neutero-stems and feminineā-stems when agreeing with nouns of their respective genders. A much smaller minority of adjectives werei- andu-stems.[23]

Consonant-stem adjectives also existed but were vanishingly rare, with only relics in Old Irish like "hot" <*teɸents.

Comparative degree

[edit]

The comparative degree was formed on most adjectives by attaching*-yūs to the adjective stem. For instance,*senos "old" would have a comparative*senyūs "older". However, someCaland system adjectives instead had a comparative ending in*-is, which was then extended to*-ais. For example,*ɸlitanos "wide" had a comparative*ɸletais.[24]

Superlative degree

[edit]

The superlative was formed by simply attaching*-isamos to the adjective stem. In some adjectives where the stem ends in*s, the suffix is truncated to*-(s)amos byhaplology.[24] Thus,*senos "old" would have a superlative*senisamos "oldest" but*trexsnos (stem*trexs-) would have a superlative*trexsamos.

Verbs

[edit]

From comparison between early Old Irish and Gaulish forms it seems that Continental and Insular Celtic verbs developed differently and so the study of Irish and Welsh may have unduly weighted past opinion of Proto-Celtic verb 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:

and four tenses:

A probableoptative mood also features in Gaulish (tixsintor) and aninfinitive (with a characteristic ending-unei) in Celtiberian.[25][26]

Verbs were formed by addingsuffixes to averbalstem. The stem might bethematic orathematic, anopen or aclosed syllable.

Primary endings

[edit]

The primary endings in Proto-Celtic were as follows. They were used to form the present, future, and subjunctive conjugations.[19]

Proto-Celtic primary endings
Person and numberBasic endingsThematic present
ActiveMediopassiveActiveMediopassive
1stsg.*(thematic)
*-mi(athematic)
*-ūr**-ūr
2ndsg.*-si*-tar*-esi*-etar
3rdsg.*-ti*-tor*-eti*-etor
1stpl.*-mosi*-mor*-omosi*-omor
2ndpl.*-tesi*-dwe*-etesi*-edwe
3rdpl.*-nti*-ntor*-onti*-ontor

Present-stem formations

[edit]

Proto-Celtic possessed a diverse set of ways to form present stems. They can be roughly be divided into two broad categories of athematic and thematic.

  • Thematic verbs feature a connecting vowel between the present stem and the basic primary endings. This vowel is-o- in the first-person and third-person plural and-e- in the third-person singular and second-person forms. The first-person singular of these verbs end in*.
  • Athematic verbs feature no such connecting vowel, and their 1st-person singular forms end in*-mi instead of*.

These two inflectional categories can themselves be subdivided based on the means of derivation from a verb root via a combination of rootablaut grades and suffixes. These derivational classes include:[27]: 36–47 

Derivational classes of Proto-Celtic verbs
Inflectional classRoot ablautAffixClassKPV designation
Thematice-grade(none)Simple thematicA-1
*-ye-e-grade*-ye-A-5
*-de-e-grade*-de-A-6
o-grade*-ī-
*-eyo-
*-eye- causative/iterative(none)
zero grade(none)Thematized root athematicA-2
tudáti-type thematic
*-ske-*-ske- inchoativeA-3
*-ye-zero-grade*-ye-A-4
Nasal infixAniṭ-root nasal-infixA-8
i-reduplicationi-reduplicated presentA-15
(varied)*-āye-Denominative(none)
Athematice-grade(none)CeRH-root presentA-13
zero grade*-na- (when levelled)seṭ-root nasal-infixA-8
*-nu-*-new- presentA-10
*-ī-essiveA-7
(varied)*-ā-factitive(none)

Nasal-infix presents

[edit]

In Proto-Celtic, the Indo-Europeannasal infix presents split into two categories: ones originally derived from laryngeal-final roots (i.e.seṭ roots in Sanskrit), and ones that were not (i.e. fromaniṭ roots). Inseṭ verbs, the nasal appears at the end of the present stem, while inaniṭ-derived verbs the nasal was followed by a root-final stop (generally-g- in Old Irish).

Toaniṭ roots
[edit]

Aniṭ nasal infix verbs conjugated exactly like basic thematic verbs in the present tense.

However, the origin of the invariant root vowel in-o- in*CewC- roots in Old Irish is unclear. Usually, it is held that the consonantism in these verbs was generalized in favour of the plural stem*CunC- in Old Irish. One would expect alternation betweeno in the 1st- and 3rd- person plural and-u- elsewhere in the present; but for both contexts Old Irish only attests-o-.

The following verbs can be reconstructed in this class:

Toseṭ roots
[edit]

On the other hand, theseṭ presents originally had a long vowel after the nasal in the singular and-a- after the nasal in the plural, but the attested Celtic languages levelled this alternation away. Gaulish shows traces of the singular long-vowel vocalism while Old Irish generalized the plural-a- to the singular.[28]

Theseṭ nasal-infix presents were further subdivided into subcategories based on the root-final laryngeal. Traditionally two subclasses have long been accepted, the*h₁ subclass (cited with a-ni- suffix) and*h₂ (cited with a-na- suffix).*h₃ nasal-infixed verbs were often leveled to act like*h₂ verbs, being also cited with a-na- suffix; the only original difference between the two would have been the 3rd-person plural ending in*-nonti instead of*-nanti.

The nasal-infixseṭ verbs in Proto-Celtic underwent multiplelevelings. First, the suffixal vowel in the plural forms was harmonized so that they would all be the short counterpart to the vowel in the singular forms. Then all the long vowels in the singular were shortened to make the suffix vowel identical in quality and length across all person-number combinations.[29]: 11–23 

Evolution of Proto-Celtic ablaut in the nasal infix forseṭ roots
Person and numberPre-levelingLeveling of vowel qualityLeveling of vowel length
*h₁ verbs*h₂ verbs*h₃ verbs*h₁ verbs*h₂ and*h₃ verbs*h₁ verbs*h₂ and*h₃ verbs
1stsg.*-nīmi*-nāmi*-nāmi*-nīmi*-nāmi*-nimi*-nami
2ndsg.*-nīsi*-nāsi*-nāsi*-nīsi*-nāsi*-nisi*-nasi
3rdsg.*-nīti*-nāti*-nāti*-nīti*-nāti*-niti*-nati
1stpl.*-namosi*-namosi*-namosi*-nimosi*-namosi*-nimosi*-namosi
2ndpl.*-natesi*-natesi*-natesi*-nitesi*-natesi*-nitesi*-natesi
3rdpl.*-nenti*-nanti*-nonti*-ninti*-nanti*-ninti*-nanti

The followingseṭ-root nasal presents are reconstructible for Proto-Celtic:

Preterite formations

[edit]

There were two or three major preterite formations in Proto-Celtic, plus another moribund type.

  • The s-preterite
  • The reduplicated suffixless preterite (originating from the PIE reduplicated stative)
  • The t-preterite
  • The root aorist

The s-, t-, and root aorist preterites take Indo-European secondary endings, while the reduplicated suffix preterite took stative endings. These endings are:[27]: 62–67 

Proto-Celtic preterite endings
Person and numberEnding type
Secondary endingsStative endings
1stsg.*-am*-a
2ndsg.*-s*-as
3rdsg.*-t*-e
1stpl.*-mo(s)*-mo
2ndpl.*-te(s)*-te
3rdpl.*-ant*-ar
t-preterite
[edit]

The Old Irish t-preterite was traditionally assumed to be a divergent evolution from the s-preterite, but that derivation was challenged byJay Jasanoff, who alleges that they were instead imperfects ofNarten presents. Either derivation requires Narten ablaut anyway, leading to a stem voweli in the singular ande in the plural. The stem vowel in the t-preterite was leveled to*e if the next consonant was either velar or*m, and*i in front of*r or*l.[30]

Suffixless preterites
[edit]

Many suffixless preterite formations featuredreduplication. The nature of the reduplication depends on the structure of the root.[27]: 68–79 

Proto-Celtic suffixless preterites
RootMeaningShapePreterite stemNotes
*keng-"to step"Other root types*ke-kong-Classic Indo-European reduplication, where the root is put in theo-grade and the prefixed reduplicant is formed with the first consonant followed by*e.
*nigʷ-"to wash"*C(R)eiT-*ni-noig-In Proto-Celtic, roots with a semivowel (PIE*-y- or *-w-) before a non-laryngeal consonant have the reduplicant formed not with the first consonant of the root followed by*e, but instead the first consonant of the root followed by the semivowel. The root itself remains in theo-grade.
*duk-"to lead, carry"*C(R)euT-*du-douk-
*gʷed-"to pray"*CeT-*gʷād-Roots ending in only a single stop as their coda generally merely change the stem vowel to*ā to form their preterite, without apparent reduplication. It originally spread from*ād- (from*h₁e-h₁od-), the preterite stem for*ed- "to eat".
*kerd-"to throw, put"*CeRT-*kard-A few roots in*CeRT- also had the*CeT- preterite formation applied to them but the long*ā was shortened due toOsthoff's law.
*dā-"to give"*C(C)eH-*de-dū (singular)
*ded(a)- (plural)
Laryngeal-final roots produced long vowels in the root syllable in the singular, but not in the plural (where the root was in the zero-grade instead). Usually the singular stem was generalized in Celtic, but in these cases the plural stem was generalized.
*kʷri-"to buy"*C(R)eiH-*kʷi-kʷr-The treatment for*CeH- roots was also extended to*C(R)eiH- roots. Due to the roots' semivowel, the reduplicant also contains the semivowel.

Future formations

[edit]

One major formation of the future in Celtic, thes-future, is possibly a descendant of the Proto-Indo-European(h₁)se-desiderative, withi-reduplication in multiple verbs. The Old Irisha- ands-future also come from here.[29] According to the philologist Calvin Watkins, the Old Irish s-future may derive from a type of Proto-Indo-European desiderative formation in which the initial consonant was reduplicated with an interveningi-vowel followed by a sigmatic suffix with the accent placed on the thematic vowel. For instance, Watkins reconstructs a pre-form*gʷʰigʷʰr̥- (from the root*gʷʰer-) as the ancestor of the Old Irish future formgéra.[31] The linguists Eugen Hill and Jay Jasanoff compare this formation to the reduplicated desiderative ofIndo-Iranian (e.g. Sanskritbíbhitsati) and reconstruct an originally thematic paradigm.[32][33] Hill, in particular, cites the Old Irish termrigid, for which he reconstructs a Proto-Celtic form*ri-rix-sū, itself perhaps—according to Hill—from pre-Proto-Celtic*ri-riǵ-sō.[34] The linguist Frederick Kortlandt further proposes that the reduplicated future of Old Irish may parallel several reduplicated forms in Italic, such as Oscanfifikus.[35] However, the Kortlandt alternatively suggests that the s-future and s-subjunctive ultimately derive from the Proto-Indo-European sigmatic aorist and reflect an athematic paradigm.[36] Kortlandt argues that this older athematic inflection was then replaced by secondary thematic endings. Thus, Kortlandt derives Old Irish future forms such asfessa from*wiweksom andgeiss from*gʷedses.[37] Moreover, Kortlandt notes the existence of a full-grade Old Irish future formgignethar and a zero-grade formgéna, which may parallel Sanskritjíjaniṣate andjíghāṃsati respectively. According to Kortlandt, the recessive accent of both forms and the full-grade of the former indicate an originally athematic inflection.[38] Jasanoff argues that whereas the Old Irish reduplicated future derives from a thematic source, the unreduplicated s-future is etymologically connected to theSabellic athematic future (e.g.Oscanfust), both of which—according to Jasanoff—hold athematic origins.[32] Another future formation, attested only inGaulish, is the-sye-desiderative.[citation needed]

Subjunctive formations

[edit]

Most verbs took one subjunctive suffix in Proto-Celtic,-(a)s-, followed by the thematic primary endings.[29] The subjunctive in Proto-Celtic was a descendant of the subjunctive of an Indo-European sigmatic thematic formation*-seti. The-ase- variant originated in roots that ended in alaryngeal in Proto-Indo-European; when the*-se- suffix was attached right after a laryngeal, the laryngeal regularly vocalized into*-a-. It would then analogically spread to other Celtic strong verb roots ending in sonorants in addition to the weak verbs, even if the root did not originally end in a laryngeal.[29]

There were also two, possibly three verbs that did not use-(a)se-, instead straight-out taking thematised primary endings. They are:*bwiyeti "to be, exist" (subjunctive*bweti),*klinutor "to hear" (subjunctive*klowetor), and possibly*ɸalnati “to approach, drive” (subjunctive*ɸeleti).[39]

Primary subjunctive formations in Proto-Celtic generally use thee-grade of the verb root, even if the present stem uses the zero-grade.

Imperative formation

[edit]

Imperative endings in Proto-Celtic were as follows:[19]: 147–148 [23]

Imperative endings in Proto-Celtic
Person and numberActive endings
Basic endingsWith thematic vowels
2ndsg.-∅,*-si*-e
3rdsg.*-tou,*-tūd,*-tu*-etou,*-etūd,*-etu
1stpl.*-mo(s)*-omo(s)
2ndpl.*-te(s)*-ete(s)
3rdpl.*-ntou,*-ntu*-ontou,*-ontu
Second-person singular imperative
[edit]

The second-person singular imperative was generally endingless in the active; no ending was generally added to athematic verbs. On thematic-e/o- verbs, the imperative ended in thematic vowel*-e. However, there is also another second-person singular active imperative ending,-si, which was attached to the verb root athematically even with thematic strong verbs.[40]

The thematic deponent second-person singular imperative ending was*-eso. The-the in Old Irish is secondary.[41][19]: 140 

Third-person imperative
[edit]

The third-person imperative endings inInsular Celtic,Gaulish andCeltiberian have completely separate origins from each other. The Insular Celtic endings are derived from*-tou, *-ntou, Gaulish endings from*-tu, *-ntu, and the Celtiberian third-person imperative singular ending stems from*-tūd.[23]

Example conjugations

[edit]
See also:Grammatical conjugation

Scholarly reconstructions[6][42][43][44] may be summarised in tabular format.[dubiousdiscuss]

Conjugation like *bere/o- 'bear, carry, flow'
PersonPresentImperfectFuturePast
ActiveMedio-
passive
ActiveMedio-
passive
ActiveMedio-
passive
ActiveMedio-
passive
Indicative1stsg.*berū*berūr*beremam*bibrāsū*bibrāsūr*bīram
2ndsg.*beresi*beretar*beretās*bibrāsesi*bibrāsetar*birs
3rdsg.*bereti*beretor*bereto*bibrāseti*bibrāsetor*birt?
1stpl.*beromosi*beromor*beremo*bibrāsomosi*bibrāsomor*berme
2ndpl.*beretesi*beredwe?*bibrāsete*bibrāsedwe*berte
3rdpl.*beronti*berontor*berento*bibrāsonti*bibrāsontor*berant?
Subjunctive1stsg.*berasū*berasūr
2ndsg.*berasesi*berasetar
3rdsg.*beraseti*berasetor
1stpl.*berasomosi*berasomor
2ndpl.*berasetesi*berasedwe
3rdpl.*berasonti*berasontor
Imperative2ndsg.*bere*bereso
3rdsg.*beretou?
1stpl.*beromos?
2ndpl.*berete?
3rdpl.*berontou?
Participle*beronts*beromnos*bertyos*britos

Copula

[edit]

The copula*esti was irregular. It had both athematic and thematic conjugations in the present tense. Schrijver supposes that its athematic present was used clause-initially and the thematic conjugation was used when that was not the case.[45]

Conjugation of*esti in Proto-Celtic
PersonPresent
AthematicThematic
1st sg.*esmi*esū
2nd sg.*esi*esesi
3rd sg.*esti*eseti
1st pl.*esmosi*esomosi
2nd pl.**estes*esetes
3rd pl.*senti**esonti

Numerals

[edit]
NumeralPIEPC
M.F.N.M.F.N.
1*h₁óynos*h₁óyneh₂*h₁óynom*oinos*oinā*oinom
2*dwóh₁*dwéh₂h₁(e)*dwóy(h₁)*duwo*dwei*duwo
3*tréyes*tísres*tríh₂*trīs*tisres*trī
4*kʷetwóres*kʷétesres*kʷetwṓr*kʷetwores*kʷetesres*kʷetwor?
5*pénkʷe*kʷenkʷe
6*swéḱs*swexs
7*septḿ̥*seɸtam > *sextam
8*oḱtṓw*oxtū
9*h₁néwn̥*nowan
10*déḱm̥*dekam
20*wídḱm̥ti*wikantī
30*tridḱómt*trīkontes
40*kʷétwr̥dḱomt*kʷetrVkonts / *kʷetrVkontes
50*pénkʷedḱomt*kʷenkʷekonts / *kʷenkʷekontes
60*swéḱsdḱomt*swexskonts / *swexskontes
90*h₁néwn̥dḱomt*naukontes
100*ḱm̥tóm*kantom

Vocabulary

[edit]

The vast majority of reliably reconstructible lexical items in Proto-Celtic have goodIndo-European etymologies, unlike what is found in, for example, theGreek language—at least 90% according to Matasovic.[46] These include most of the items on theSwadesh list of basic vocabulary. But a few words that do not have Indo-European cognates, so may be borrowings from substrate or adstratePre-Indo-European languages, are also from basic vocabulary, including*bodyo- ‘yellow’ (though this has possible cognates in Italic),*kani "good," and*klukka "stone."[47] It is notable that fully 32 items have been reconstructed for Proto-Celtic with the meaning "fight."[48]

Examples of morphology derivation from PIE

[edit]

Two examples of verbs

[edit]

(The following examples lack the dual plural and are conjugated in the present tense)

"To bear/carry"
PronounPIEPC
1st Sg.*bʰéroh₂*berū
2nd Sg.*bʰéresi*beresi
3rd Sg.*bʰéreti*bereti
1st Pl.*bʰéromos*beromosi
2nd Pl.*bʰérete*beretesi
3rd Pl.*bʰéronti*beronti
"To be" (athematic version)
PronounPIEPC
1st Sg.*h₁ésmi*esmi
2nd Sg.*h₁ési*esi
3rd Sg.*h₁ésti*esti
1st Pl.*h₁smós*esmosi
2nd Pl.*h₁sté*estes
3rd Pl.*h₁sénti*senti

Examples of noun declension

[edit]

(The following examples lack the dual number)

Masculine noun

[edit]
"Bear"
CaseSingularPlural
PIEPCPIEPC
Nom.*h₂ŕ̥tḱos*artos*h₂ŕ̥tḱoes*artoi
Voc.*h₂ŕ̥tḱe*arte*h₂ŕ̥tḱoes*artūs
Acc.*h₂ŕ̥tḱom*artom*h₂ŕ̥tḱoms*artoms
Gen.*h₂ŕ̥tḱosyo*artī*h₂ŕ̥tḱoHom*artom
Dat.*h₂ŕ̥tḱoey*artūi*h₂ŕ̥tḱomos*artobos
Loc.*h₂ŕ̥tḱey*artei*h₂ŕ̥tḱoysu?
Inst.*h₂ŕ̥tḱoh₁*artū*h₂ŕ̥tḱōys*artūis

Feminine noun

[edit]
"Open land"
CaseSingularPlural
PIEPCPIEPC
Nom.*ln̥dʰéh₂*landā*ln̥dʰéh₂es*landās
Voc.*ln̥dʰéh₂*landā*ln̥dʰéh₂es*landās
Acc.*ln̥dʰā́m*landam*ln̥dʰéh₂m̥s*landāms
Gen.*ln̥dʰéh₂s*landās*ln̥dʰéh₂oHom*landom
Dat.*ln̥dʰéh₂ey*landāi*ln̥dʰéh₂mos*landābos
Loc.*ln̥dʰéh₂i*landai*ln̥dʰéh₂su?
Inst.*ln̥dʰéh₂h₁?*ln̥dʰéh₂mis*landābis

Neuter noun

[edit]
"Yoke"
CaseSingularPlural
PIEPCPIEPC
Nom.*yugóm*yugom*yugéh₂*yugā
Voc.*yugóm*yugom*yugéh₂*yugā
Acc.*yugóm*yugom*yugéh₂*yugā
Gen.*yugósyo*yugī*yugóHom*yugom
Dat.*yugóey*yugūi*yugómos*yugobos
Loc.*yugéy*yugei*yugóysu?
Inst.*yugóh₁*yugū*yugṓys*yugūis

An example of adjectival declension

[edit]

(The following example lacks the dual number)

"High (Singular)"
CaseMasculineFeminineNeuter
PIEPCPIEPCPIEPC
Nom.*h₂ḱrós*akros*h₂ḱréh₂*akrā*h₂ḱróm*akrom
Voc.*h₂ḱré*akre*h₂ḱréh₂*akrā*h₂ḱróm*akrom
Acc.*h₂ḱróm*akrom*h₂ḱrā́m*akram*h₂ḱróm*akrom
Gen.*h₂ḱrósyo*akrī*h₂ḱréh₂s*akrās*h₂ḱrósyo*akrī
Dat.*h₂ḱróey*akrūi*h₂ḱréh₂ey*akrai*h₂ḱróey*akrūi
Inst.*h₂ḱróh₁*akrū*h₂ḱréh₂h₁?*h₂ḱróh₁*akrū
"High (Plural)"
CaseMasculineFeminineNeuter
PIEPCPIEPCPIEPC
Nom.*h₂ḱróes*akroi*h₂ḱréh₂es*akrās*h₂ḱréh₂*akrā
Voc.*h₂ḱróes*akroi*h₂ḱréh₂es*akrās*h₂ḱréh₂*akrā
Acc.*h₂ḱróms*akroms*h₂ḱréh₂m̥s*akrams*h₂ḱréh₂*akrā
Gen.*h₂ḱróHom*akrom*h₂ḱréh₂oHom*akrom*h₂ḱróHom*akrom
Dat.*h₂ḱrómos*akrobos*h₂ḱréh₂mos*akrābos*h₂ḱrómos*akrobis
Inst.*h₂ḱrṓys*akrobis*h₂ḱréh₂mis*akrābis*h₂ḱrṓys*akrobis

Derivation of personal pronouns (nominative case) from PIE

[edit]
No.PronounPIEPC
Sg.1st*éǵ >*me [acc.]*mī
2nd*túh₂*tū
3rd M.*ís*se
3rd F.*seh₂ >*sih₂ [*só + *-ih₂]*sī
3rd N.*íd*ed
Pl.1st*wéy >*nos [acc.] >*nēs*snīs;*snīsnīs
2nd*yū́ >*wos [acc.] >*wēs*swīs;*swīswīs
3rd*éyes*eyes

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]

Notes

  1. ^Celtic literature at britannica.com, accessed 7 February 2018
  2. ^Rhys, John (1905). Evans, E. Vincent (ed.)."The Origin of the Welsh Englyn and Kindred Metres".Y Cymmrodor.XVIII. London: Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion.
  3. ^Koch, John T. (2020).Celto-Germanic Later Prehistory and Post-Proto-Indo-European vocabulary in the North and WestArchived 2021-11-25 at theWayback Machine, pp. 45–48.
  4. ^Schumacher, Stefan (2004).Die keltischen Primärverben. Ein vergleichendes, etymologisches und morphologisches Lexikon (in German). Innsbruck, Austria: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck. p. 85.ISBN 3-85124-692-6.
  5. ^Schrijver, Peter (2016)."17. Ancillary study: Sound Change, the Italo-Celtic Linguistic Unity, and the Italian Homeland of Celtic". InKoch, John T.;Cunliffe, Barry (eds.).Celtic from the West 3: Atlantic Europe in the Metal Ages – Questions of Shared Language. Oxford, UK:Oxbow Books. pp. 489–502.ISBN 978-1-78570-227-3. RetrievedMay 12, 2019.
  6. ^abMatasović 2009.
  7. ^Schrijver 2015, pp. 196–197.
  8. ^Matasovic, R. (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. p.7
  9. ^Salmon, Joseph (1992)Accentual Change and Language Contact Stanford UP
  10. ^Matasovic, R. (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Brill. pp.11–12
  11. ^Cólera, Carlos Jordán (2007) "Celtiberian," e-Keltoi: Journal of Interdisciplinary Celtic Studies: Vol. 6, Article 17. p.759. Available at:https://dc.uwm.edu/ekeltoi/vol6/iss1/17 accessed June 21, 2023
  12. ^Welshadfer 'to restore' <*ate-ber-,cymeryd < obsoletecymer < M.W.cymeraf <*kom-ber- (with-yd taken from the verbal nouncymryd <*kom-britu).
  13. ^However, according to Hackstein (2002) *CH.CC > Ø in unstressed medial syllables. Thus, H can disappear in weak cases while being retained in strong cases, e.g. IE nom.sg.*dʰugh₂tḗr vs. gen.sg.*dʰugtr-os 'daughter' > early PC*dugater- ~ dugtr-. This then led to a paradigmatic split, resulting in Celtiberian gen.sg.tuateros, nom.pl.tuateres vs. Gaulishduxtir (<*dugtīr). (Zair 2012: 161, 163).
  14. ^abcEska, Joseph F. (March 12, 2018). "Laryngeal Realism and the Prehistory of Celtic".Transactions of the Philological Society.116 (3). Wiley:320–331.doi:10.1111/1467-968x.12122.ISSN 0079-1636.
  15. ^abEska, Joseph (January 26, 2021)."Laryngeal Realism and early Insular Celtic orthography".North American Journal of Celtic Studies.3 (1):1–17.ISSN 2472-7490. RetrievedNovember 24, 2021.
  16. ^Pedersen, Holger (1913).Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen, 2. Band, Bedeutungslehre (Wortlehre). Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.ISBN 978-3-525-26119-4.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  17. ^Untermann, J. (1967). "Die Endung des Genitiv singularis der o-Stämme im Keltiberischen." In W. Meid (ed.),Beiträge zur Indogermanistik und Keltologie, Julius Pokorny zum 80. Geburtstag gewidmet, pp. 281–288. Innsbruck: Sprachwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität Innsbruck.
  18. ^Stokes, Whitley (November 1887). "Celtic Declension".Transactions of the Philological Society.20 (1):97–201.
  19. ^abcdeMcCone, Kim (2006).The Origins and Development of the Insular Celtic Verbal Complex. Maynooth studies in Celtic linguistics. Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland.ISBN 978-0-901519-46-7.
  20. ^Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940).A Grammar of Old Irish. Translated by Binchy, D. A; Bergin, Osborn. Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies.ISBN 1-85500-161-6.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  21. ^Schrijver, Peter (1997).Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles. Maynooth studies in Celtic linguistics. Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland.ISBN 978-0-901519-59-7.
  22. ^Matasovic, R.Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic. Leiden: Brill. 2006. p. 436
  23. ^abcdStüber, Karin. "The morphology of Celtic". In Jared Klein; Brian Joseph; Matthias Fritz (eds.).Handbook of Comparative and Historical Indo-European Linguistics. Vol. 2. De Gruyter Mouton. pp. 1203–1217.
  24. ^abJasanoff, Jay (1991). "The origin of the Celtic comparative type OIr. tressa, MW trech 'stronger'".Die Sprache.34:171–189.
  25. ^Stefan Schumacher,Die keltischen Primärverben: Ein vergleichendes, etymologisches und morphologisches Lexikon (Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität, 2004).
  26. ^Pierre-Yves Lambert,La langue gauloise: Description linguistique, commentaire d'inscriptions choisies (Paris: Errance, revised ed. 2003).
  27. ^abcSchumacher, Stefan; Schulze-Thulin, Britta; aan de Wiel, Caroline (2004).Die keltischen Primärverben. Ein vergleichendes, etymologisches und morphologisches Lexikon (in German). Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Kulturen der Universität Innsbruck.ISBN 3-85124-692-6.
  28. ^Lambert, Pierre-Yves; Stifter, David (2012). "Le plomb gaulois de Rezé".Études Celtiques (in French and English).38 (1):139–164.doi:10.3406/ecelt.2012.2351.ISSN 0373-1928.
  29. ^abcdMcCone, Kim (1991).The Indo-European Origins of the Old Irish Nasal Presents, Subjunctives and Futures. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft. IBS-Vertrieb.ISBN 978-3-85124-617-9.
  30. ^Jasanoff, Jay (2012). "Long-vowel preterites in Indo-European". In Melchert, Craig (ed.).The Indo-European Verb. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. pp. 127–135.
  31. ^Watkins 1966, p. 76.
  32. ^abJasanoff 2019, p. 18.
  33. ^Jasanoff 2018, p. 18. sfn error: no target: CITEREFJasanoff2018 (help)
  34. ^Hill 2014, p. 43.
  35. ^Kortlandt 1996, p. 72.
  36. ^Kortlandt 1996, p. 133.
  37. ^Kortlandt 1996, p. 134.
  38. ^Kortlandt 1983, p. 66.
  39. ^Darling, Mark (2020).The Subjunctive in Celtic: Studies in Historical Phonology and Morphology (Thesis). University of Cambridge.doi:10.17863/CAM.57857. RetrievedSeptember 1, 2022.
  40. ^Jasanoff, Jay (1986). "Old Irishtair 'come!'".Transactions of the Philological Society.84 (1). Wiley:132–141.doi:10.1111/j.1467-968x.1986.tb01050.x.ISSN 0079-1636.
  41. ^Barnes, Timothy (2015)."Old Irish cuire, its congeners, and the ending of the 2nd sg. middle imperative".Ériu.65 (1):49–56.doi:10.3318/eriu.2015.65.3.ISSN 2009-0056. RetrievedSeptember 2, 2022.
  42. ^Alexander MacBain, 1911, xxxvi–xxxvii;An etymological dictionary of the Gaelic language; Stirling: Eneas MacKay
  43. ^Alan Ward,A Checklist of Proto-Celtic Lexical Items (1982, revised 1996), 7–14.
  44. ^Examples of attestedGaulish verbs athttps://www.angelfire.com/me/ik/gaulish.html
  45. ^Schrijver, Peter (December 6, 2019). "Italo-Celtic and the Inflection of *es- 'be'". In Serangeli, Matilde; Olander, Thomas (eds.).Dispersals and Diversification. Brill. pp. 209–235.doi:10.1163/9789004416192_012.ISBN 9789004414501.S2CID 213806505.
  46. ^Matasovic, R. (2009)Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic Leiden: Brill. p. 443
  47. ^Matasovic, R. (2009)Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic Leiden: Brill. p. 443-444
  48. ^English to Proto-Celtic Wordlist p. 44-45https://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Research/CelticLanguages/EnglishProtoCelticWordList.pdfArchived 2023-03-10 at theWayback Machine

Bibliography

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