Celtiberian - MultiTree

Celtiberian > LINGUIST List Language Search

Name: Celtiberian

Type: Language

Alternate Name: Hispano-Celtic

Code: xce

Code Standard: ISO 639-3

Documentation: LINGUIST List

Families: Indo-European (Indo-Germanische, Indo-Hittite)

Parent Subgroup: Hispanic-Celtic (hisc)

Brief Description: An ancient Celtic language of the northern Iberian Peninsular. Few texts have survived, and much of the evidence for the language is found in place names, personal names, and in short inscriptions found on bronze and lead plaques written in the Celtiberian script. The language shows an archaic stage of Celtic, and preserves the original labiovelars which became bilabials in Gaulish and Brythonic. The most extensive evidence for the language is found on three bronze plaques found at Botorrita near Zaragoza in Spain, dating to the early 1st century BC.

Botorrita I, the longest text in the language, is only 20 lines long. But it shows the nature of the language -- Celtic of a very archaic kind -- very clearly:

A.1. tirikantam bercunetacam tocoitoscue sarnicio cue sua combalcez nelitom
A.2. necue [u]ertaunei litom necue taunei litom necue masnai tizaunei litom soz aucu
A.3. arestaio tamai uta oscues stena uerzoniti silabur sleitom conscilitom cabizeti
A.4. cantom sancilistara otanaum tocoitei eni: uta oscuez boustomue coruinomue
A.5. macasiamue ailamue ambitiseti camanom usabituz ozas sues sailo custa bizetuz iom
A.6. asecati ambitincounei stena es uertai entara tiris matus tinbituz neito tiricantam
A.7. eni onsatuz iomui listas titas zizonti somui iom arznas bionti iom custaicos
A.8. arznas cuati ias ozias uertatosue temeiue robiseti saum tecametinas tatuz somei
A.9. enitouzei iste ancios iste esancios uze areitena sarniciei acainacubos
A.10. nebintor tocoitei ios ur antiomue auzeti aratimue tecametam tatuz iom tocoitoscue
A.11. sarniciocue aiuizas combalcores aleites iste icues ruzimuz abulu ubocum
B.1. lubos counesicum melnunos bintis letontu litocum
B.2. abulos bintis melmu barauzanco lesunos bintis
B.3. letontu ubocum turo bintis lubinaz aiu bercanticum
B.4. abulos bintis tirtu aiancum abulos bintis abulu louzocum
B.5. uzeisunos bintis acainaz letontu uicanocum suostuno/s
B.6. bintis tirtanos statulicum lesunos bintis nouantutaz
B.7. letontu aiancum melmunos bintis useizu aiancum tauro [bin]/tis
B.8. abulu aiancum tauro bintis letontu leticum abulos bintis
B.9. [ ]ucontaz letontu esocum abulos bintis

Circa 175 BC to 100 AD.

Endangerment Status

Linguist List Status: Extinct

Map of Celtiberian

Click for more information on Celtiberian from LL-MAP

All trees including Celtiberian

Find More Information on Celtiberian

Submit Comment

Click here to submit a comment.

MultiTree:

A Digital Library of Language Relationships