| Southwestern Brittonic | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | |
| Linguistic classification | Indo-European
|
| Proto-language | Proto-Southwestern Brittonic |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | sout3176 |
TheSouthwestern Brittonic languages (Breton:Predeneg ar mervent,Cornish:Brythonek Dyghowbarthgorlewin) are theBrittonicCeltic languages spoken in what is nowSouth West England andBrittany since theEarly Middle Ages. During the period of their earliest attestation, the languages appear to be indistinguishable, but they gradually evolved into theCornish andBreton languages. They evolved from theCommon Brittonic formerly spoken across most ofBritain and were thus related to theWelsh andCumbric varieties spoken inWales and theHen Ogledd (the Old North, i.e.Northern England and theScottish Lowlands), respectively.
The earliest stage of the languages, Primitive Cornish/Breton, isunattested. Written sources are extant from the Old Cornish/Breton period, roughly 800–1100, in which phase the languages are indistinguishable. As such, some linguists such asPeter Schrijver use the term Southwest British (i.e. Southwest Brittonic) to describe the language when "Old Cornish" and "Old Breton" were indistinguishable and only separated by geography rather than linguistically.[1]
Southwestern Brittonic is distinguished from Welsh by sound changes including:
Other significant differences are found in Welsh innovations in which Southwestern Brittonic did not participate, such as the development of thevoiceless alveolar lateral fricative.[2]
 | ThisIndo-European languages-related article is astub. You can help Wikipedia byadding missing information. |
