University of Copenhagen
Issues in Ancient Celtic Writing
Celtic Spring · 25 May 2012
Prof. Dr. David Stifter
Dept. of Old and Middle Irish
School of Celtic Studies
NUI Maynooth
1
I.
New Directions in Celtiberian
New Gaulish Inscriptions
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Ancient Celtic: Celtiberian
ca. 150 B.C. – 0
in central Spain (Ebro valley, Meseta)
in semisyllabic Iberian script
ca. 100, occasionally long texts
Celtiberian Script
Stops (occlusives) can only be written in combination with vowels. In most cases, there
is no distinction in writing between voiceless and voiced stops, even though the
language made this distinction, e.g.:
v = t/d + u = tu or du
C = k/g + o = ko or go
f = b + u = bu
v = du and ö = tu
C = ko and G = go
f = b + u = bu
or
All other signs stand for single sounds:
a=a
e=e
i=i
o=o
u=u
l=l
r=r
m=m
n=n
s=s
z=z
Celtiberian
Carlos Jordán Coléra, ‘¿Sistema dual de escritura en celtibérico?’, in: Acta
Palaeohispanica IX. Actas del IX Coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas paleohispánicas.
Barcelona, 20–24 de octubre de 2004. Ed. F. Beltrán Lloris, C. Jordán Cólera y J.
Velaza Frías [= Palaeohispanica 5], Zaragoza: Institución “Fernando el Católico”
2005 1013–1030.
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I.
Lepontic Palaeography and Philology
New Gaulish Inscriptions
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Lepontic Script
ca. 6th-1st c. B.C.
for Lepontic and Cisalpine Gaulish
North-Italian Lake District and Po
Valley
ca. 400 short texts (only few with
more than two words)
Lexicon Leponticum
The Lepontic Script
• taken over from North Etruscan
• shared with Venetic and Raetic
• omission of heta, qoppa, phi
• alphabetic sequence (Ven. Es 23):
AEVZΘIKLMNPŚRSTUXO
CO·53, ·54: aev
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Lexicon Leponticum (LexLep)
http://www.univie.ac.at/lexlep/wiki/Main_Page
Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen
Forschung – Austrian Science Fund
Celtic Research Trust
(Isle of Man)
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Lexicon Leponticum (LexLep)
LexLep: excerpt from CO·48 Prestino
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LexLep: iota
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LexLep: alpha
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Graphic Isolates: qoppa
NO·22 San Bernardino di Briona, ca. 500 B.C.
reading: quormsklp or quormskla
Francesco Rubat Borel, "Annexe 2. Nuovi dati per
la storia delle lingue celtiche della Cisalpina", in:
Daniele Vitali, Celtes et Gaulois. L'Archéologie face
à l'Histoire, 2. La Préhistoire des Celtes. Actes de la
table ronde de Bologne-Monterenzio, 28-29 mai
2005. Glux-en-Glenne [= Bibracte 12/2], Bibracte:
Centre archéologique européen 2006, 203-208.
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Graphic Isolates: phi and gamma
BG·20 San Capriate San Gervasio, late 5th c. B.C.
reading: ]kiφisi or ]kicrisi
Alessandro Morandi, Celti d'Italia. A cura di Paola
Piana Agostinetti. Tomo II: Epigrafia e lingua dei
Celti d'Italia [= Popoli e civiltà dell'Italia antica
12.2], Roma: Spazio Tre 2004.
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digamma (wau)
v:
BG·28.2:
CO·11:
CO·14:
CO·24:
CO·31:
CO·48:
CO·50:
CO·53:
va
]tiriṣ???v?[
mei / va
] ṃa[
vạ [
uvamokozis […] < *upm̥h2ouvltiauiopos
ev?[
= alphabetic
aẹv [
= alphabetic
CO·54:
CO·62:
CO·81:
MI·12:
NO·1:
TI·19:
TI·32:
VA·4.1:
VA·4.2:
]ạev [
= alphabetic
zv ośoris = alphabetic
]pa[
vat
§ χosioiso v
iiuioitove
]??ṇoṿị : p̣la[
amkouvi???ri
viχu
= *u̯ ikū? (Etr.)
VA·4 Sesto Calende
BG·28.2 Ghisalba
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Voice Opposition
Venetic inherited no letters for voiced sounds from Etruscan, but utilised ‘empty’ letters
to make a distinction in voice:
•
•
•
pi for /p/, phi for /b/
kappa for /k/, chi for /g/
tau/theta for /t/, zeta for /d/
What about Lepontic?
No phi, therefore no graphic distinction of voicedness in labials.
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Voice Opposition
χ for /g/:
NM·6.1:
NO·1:
PV·4:
TV·1:
TI·13:
seχeθu = /sege°/ < *seg̑h- (but CO·57-59 sekezos)
§ χosioiso v = /gotsioiso/ < *g̑hosti- (but CO·48 -kozis)
eripoχios = /-bogi ̯os/ < *bheg- (but NO·21.1 anokopokios, setupokios)
pompeteχuaios = /-tengu̯ai ̯os/ < *tn̥g̑hu̯ eh2- (Oderzo 7 = Venetic writing!)
pirạṇịχeś = /-nigents/ ‘washing’? < *nei̯gu̯ -? (phps. -uiχeś = /-u̯ ikents/ ‘fighting’?)
χ for /k/:
VA·4.2: viχu = /u̯ ikū/ < *u̯ ei̯k-̑ (= Etruscan writing?)
χ for /ɣ/:
VC·1.2: arkatoko{k}materekos = /argantokomaterekos/ < *h2r̥g̑n̥tobut teuoχtonion = /dēu̯ oɣdoni ̯on/ < *g̑hdhom17
Voice Opposition: theta?
θ:
CO·48: uvamokozis : plialeθu : uvltiauiopos : ariuonepos : siteś : tetu (ca. 500 B.C.)
NM·6.1: seχeθu (1st half 4th c. B.C.)
VA·3:
]iunθanaχa (end 7th c. B.C.) (Etr.)
BS·3.2:
θomezecuai / obauzana θina (Augustan period, Voltino!)
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Voice Opposition: theta?
in Venetic, theta and tau stand for /t/, zeta for /d/:
θ:
1. CO·48: uvamokozis : plialeθu : uvltiauiopos : ariuonepos : siteś : tetu
Etymology:
siteś = *sēdn̥s ‘seats’
tetu = *dedoh3e ‘has given’ or *dhedhoh1e ‘has put’
uvltiauiopos = ?
plialeθu = *-edōn or *-et-ōn?
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Voice Opposition: theta and zeta?
θ:
NM·6.1: seχeθu
Etymology:
seχeθu < *seg̑h-edōn or *-et-ōn?
z for /d/?:
CO·57-59: sekezos
Etymology:
sekezos < *seg̑h-edos
or *-et-i̯os?
or *-ed-i̯os?
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san
David Stifter, "Lepontische Studien: Lexicon Leponticum
und die Funktion von san im Lepontischen", in: Karin
Stüber, Thomas Zehnder, Dieter Bachmann (Eds.), Akten
des 5. Deutschsprachigen Keltologensymposiums.
Zürich, 7.–10. September 2009 [= Keltische
Forschungen. Allgemeine Reihe 1], Wien: Praesens
Verlag 2010, 361-376.
Normal form of san in
Etruscan and Venetic:
= Ś2
‘butterfly character’ = normal form
attested only in MN·10.2 aśeś (lost!)
oldest form in Lepontic area
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san6
CO·48: siteś
BG·5: aś
VR·15 kośio
VB·2: amaśilu
VA·16: akeśi
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san4
MI·5: ś →t
MI·1: peśu → petu
VB·3.1: naśom → natom or naxom
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san3
CO·38: ś →m
NO·26: ]auśi → ]aumi?
or san1?
VC·1.2: atoś → atom
VB·3.1: natoś (Tibiletti Bruno) → natom or naxom
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san2
JU·1: priś
(Montmorot/Jura)
TI·5: ariśai or arimai
TI·7: aśui or amui
(from *am- ‘to love’ or
*ambi- ‘around’?)
TI·9: reśu or remu
(cp. Remi < *prei̯mo-)
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san2
VB·28 Stresa: namu esopnio
namu = short form of Namantobogios ‘enemy breaker’ uel sim.
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The Meaning of san
Venetic: <z> zeta /dz/ → /d/
Lepontic: <z> zeta → /st/ or /ts/ (CO·48 Prestino uvamokozis < *-g̑hosti-)
<ś> san → /ts/ (CO·48 siteś = /-ts/? < *-ns; TI·13 piran/uiχeś = /-ts/? < *-ns;
TI·25 anteśilu < *ande-ted-ti-?; cp. Ven. Es 76 nom. ve.s.ke.ś. < -et-s, beside
*Es 121 dat. ve.s.kete.i.)
proportion:
zeta = /ts/ + /d/
san = /ts/ + X
X = /d/
MI·10.1: ṃeśiọlano = Mediolanum
MI·10.6: śuro = Durus?
TI·41 & VB·21: aśkoneti(o) = Adgonnetius
VB·27: aśouni = air. Adomnán?
NO·18: aśmina = Adminius
= dagr-rune
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The Final Phase: Latin Influence
early phase
late phase
omikron
(CO·6; TI·41)
sigma
(CO·6; NO·21.1)
mu
(TI·30;
VR·1)
nu
(TI·30;
BI·4)
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The Final Phase: Latin Influence
VB·3.1 Ornavasso: naśom (san4) = /naksi ̯om/ ‘Naxian’?
or:
natom (tau) ‘of the sons’
or:
nax(i)om (ix!) ‘Naxian’?
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Enigmatic Scripts
BS·3 bilingual of Voltino:
GR·3 Schnabelkanne (beak-spouted jug)
from Castaneda:
Einfluss der camunischen Schrift?
St. Schumacher, ‘Val
Camonica’, in: RGA 35, 335
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Acknowledgements
my colleagues in the Lexicon Leponticum-project:
Martin Braun
Chiara Dezi
Michela Vignoli
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Thank you very much
for your attention
Prof. Dr. David Stifter
Dept. of Old and Middle Irish
School of Celtic
National University of Ireland
Maynooth
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