Indo-European Languages

Germanic Family
Austin Simmons and Jonathan Slocum
Proto-Germanic
The historically attested Germanic languages provide evidence to justify the construct "Germanic"
when we find in them common innovations not shared by other Indo-European languages. It is
possible that the primal seed of the Germanic languages was gently sown when an unknown number
of Indo-Europeans started articulating voiceless stops as fricatives e.g.! "#t# $ "#%#&' later on! hitherto
voiced stops lost voicing "#d# $ "#t#&' and some time thereafter! aspirated voiced stops came to be
realised as voiced fricatives! then later in most Germanic dialects as voiced stops "#dh# $ "#(# $ "#d#&.
This three-part "chain shift" is known famously as Grimm)s *aw and marks among the first Germanic
innovations -- preserved in all languages of the family! being essential and limited to them. +urther
sound changes paralleled innovations in intonation! morphology! synta,! and vocabulary! increasingly
differentiating -roto-Germanic as a dialect of -roto-Indo-European -IE&. .uring this time! it seems
also to have shared innovations with other! geographically pro,imate -IE dialects! while they yet
remained mutually intelligible.
/owever! at some point -roto-Germanic had come to assume the character of a new language. In
their reconstructions of this unattested language! linguists attempt to arrest it at its most advanced age
-- before any split into Germanic tongues -- as the last stage of -roto-Germanic. 0n the other hand!
assigning a linguistic "beginning" to -roto-Germanic is something of a moot point! given its origin as a
-IE dialect1 where linguists draw the boundary between dialect and language is often a matter of
opinion.
Theories regarding the geographic location of -roto-Germanic will remain speculative as long as
conflicting evidence from history! linguistics! and archaeology leaves conclusions in doubt. 2ost
proposals locate the language community in northern continental Europe! where the majority of
Germanic languages have been spoken throughout recorded history' more specific programmes
assign the language variously to south 3candinavia! the north European plain! and elsewhere.
First Germanic Attestations
4 singular bron5e helmet labeled "6egau 7!" dating to the last few centuries 78! bears an inscription
written in the Etruscan alphabet1 harikastiteiva. If! as many scholars believe! the first element stands
for the name Harigastiz! this inscription would constitute the oldest attestation of a language that is
identifiably Germanic. 4s such! it would further make a strong case for being a surviving e,ample of
-roto-Germanic. The Harigastiz element clearly shows that the inscription postdates Grimm)s *aw
-IE "k $ "h& and other common Germanic changes -IE "o $ "a&! but the second element teiva would
seem to have it predate another development that occurred during the -roto-Germanic period -IE "ei
$ "9&. 4ll Germanic languages attested later reflect this change! making theharikastiteiva inscription
uni:uely primitive in the history of Germanic languages.
Traces of a Germanic tongue are ne,t detected in certain toponyms and personal names recorded in
;ulius 8aesar)s De Bello Gallico <st century 78&' but it is uncertain whether his description of the
milk-and-meat eating Germani refers to an actual Germanic ethnicity! or to some 8eltic tribe --
potentially making "German" a misnomer of ancient date. In any case the =oman author Tacitus
likewise gives the name "Germans" to the subject of his ethnographic treatise Germania ca. 4. >?&!
which continues to shape our conceptions of the early Germanic peoples.
The =aetic or Etruscan& alphabet that had been borrowed by early Germanic tribes was meanwhile
morphing into a distinctly Germanic script. 6ew letters were added to better reflect the Germanic
sound system! while the alphabet assumed an angular look as the natural outgrowth of writing on
beech bark! an early Germanic practice. 3uch were the origins of runic writing' whatever was beech-
written has vanished along with the beech! but writings on stone! bone and ore have survived from the
@nd century 4.! comprising the earliest records of Germanic sentences. 4s for the "language" of early
runic! we may more freely characteri5e it as a linguistic continuum of the diverse samples that survive.
This early runic is considered e,tremely archaic in light of traits such as verb-final word order'
however! effects of linguistic drift from -roto-Germanic are evident even in the first of these records.
Given that these inscriptions are essentially limited to 3candinavia! where use of runes thrived in later
ages and persisted longest! scholars long assumed that the language reflected in them was solely
ancestral to 3candinavian languages. In recent decades a revisionary consensus has emerged that
early runic could e:ually have been ancestral to languages such as English! .utch! and German' the
language is now therefore termed 6orthwest Germanic! as the plausible common ancestor of the
6orth Germanic and Aest Germanic languages respectively see below&.
East Germanic Languages
=ecords of a Germanic language not belonging to the northwest continuum have survived from the Bth
century 4.. E,cepting a certain runic inscription! the Gothic language is first attested as the literary
legacy of the 4rian bishop Clfilas Aulfila&. /is fourth-century translation of the 7ible from Greek into
Gothic -- which! notably! predates the *atin Dulgate of ;erome -- inestimably furthered the
8hristiani5ing mission to the pagan Goths. Aulfila rendered his work! not in runes! but in a new
alphabet based primarily upon that of Greek. 0f his complete translation we possess only e,tensive
sections of the 6ew Testament! and little aside from this remains of "Gothic" literature. 4fter centuries
of e,pansion and con:uest! the fortunes of the Goths succumbed to disasters that saw their seats in
Italy and 3pain destroyed in turn by ;ustinian and the Cmayyad 8aliphate! making the Goths a
historical non-entity in Europe by the mid-eighth century. In the East! a community of Goths apparently
survived into the early modern era! dwelling in the region of 8rimea. 4 letter has been preserved from
the <Eth century recording a brief list of words that seem to be Gothic1 tentatively its final attestation.
-hilologists have traditionally connected Gothic with two other Germanic languages! Dandalic and
7urgundian! forming an East Germanic family. /owever! the latter are so marginally attested that there
is not enough evidence to justify committing them to a particularly close relationship with each other or
with Gothic. =egarding any association of the three! we may only say with certainty that they are "not
6orthwest Germanic."
North Germanic Languages
The later runic inscriptions in 3candinavia reflect changes specific to 0ld 6orse in its earliest
attestations! whence derive the modern 6orth Germanic languages of the region. 7y the /igh 2iddle
4ges a dialect division had appeared! splitting 0ld 6orse into East 6orse! spoken in 3weden and
.enmark! and Aest 6orse! spoken in 6orway and Iceland after it was coloni5ed in the >th century. 4
vast literature of poetry! histories! and sagas has been preserved in 0ld 6orse! most of it composed
by Icelanders. 2odern 6orth Germanic languages include 3wedish! .anish! 6orwegian! +aeroese!
and the e,tinct 6orn.
West Germanic Languages
=elatively few runic writings were composed in Aest Germanic languages. 6orth 3ea Germanic is a
dialect grouping which includes 0ld English! 0ld +risian! and 0ld 3a,on. 0ld English is attested from
the second half of the first millenium 4. with a literature comparable in si5e to that of 0ld 6orse. 0ld
+risian is most closely related to 0ld English but is not attested until the <Fth century! eventually
transitioning into modern +ries. 0ld 3a,on is attested from the >th century in such works as
the Heliand! a Germanic poetic remi, of the 6ew Testament. This language interacted with 0ld *ow
+ranconian attested from the <Gth century& and other dialects in the *ow 8ountries to yield modern
.utch. +inally! 0ld /igh German is attested from the ?th century! giving rise to 2iddle /igh German by
the /igh 2iddle 4ges and modern German by the Early 2odern Era.
Italic Family
Vijay John and Jonathan Slocum
The Italic languages are divided into three main groups1 3abellic 0sco-Cmbrian& languages! *atino-
+aliscan languages! and =omance languages. The only surviving Italic languages are the =omance
languages. 3abellic languages were originally spoken in Italy until they were replaced by *atin' the
*atino-+aliscan languages include *atin and +aliscan another e,tinct language! see below&. The
=omance languages are descended from *atin! and though they are the only surviving members of
the Italic family! this is not to say that all =omance languages are still "living languages." 0ne e,ample
of an e,tinct =omance language is .almatian see below&.
Italic languages were originally spoken only in Italy! but the area in which the surviving =omance
languages are spoken is much greater. +rench! for e,ample! is spoken on every continent of the
world. 4lso! though *atin is often considered an e,tinct language! it is the official language of the
Datican and the liturgical language of the =oman 8atholic 8hurch. 2any *atin e,pressions have been
preserved in other languages e.g. "habeas corpus" in English&! and there are even efforts to revive
*atin e.g. translations of books into *atin! classes in which only *atin is spoken&. *atin and the
=omance languages are discussed below! since they are the best-known and best-attested Italic
languages.
Latin
4round <GGG 7.8.! the *atino-+aliscan languages were originally spoken in the Italian province of
*atium modern *a5io&. +aliscan was spoken near =ome. 7y the Eth century 7.8.! BGG years later!
*atin had become the language of =ome! which was the chief city in *atium. *atium was bordered by
3abellic language speakers! but the language spoken to the north of *atin was Etruscan! a non-Indo-
European language.
7y the fourth century 7.8.! =ome had become the seat of what was to become the Empire. Its power
spread throughout Italy and later outside Italy' eventually! the =oman Empire included much of Europe
as well as 6orth 4frica and parts of the 2iddle East. 4s a result of the =oman con:uest! the *atin-
speaking territory e,panded dramatically. 2any dialects of *atin developed in the various regions of
the =oman Empire! and *atin or the newly formed varieties of *atin& adopted words from the local
languages. The regional dialects of *atin were in this way influenced by local languages! but many of
the local languages eventually died out and were replaced by the local variant of *atin.
3o many literary works were published in the =oman Empire that a differentiation arose between two
varieties of *atin1 8lassical *atin and Dulgar *atin. 8lassical *atin was the variety often used in literary
works' 8lassical *atin words were not necessarily used in ordinary conversation. Dulgar *atin was the
spoken language "vulgar" in this case means "folk"&! though it also began to be used in literature.
*atin)s influence in Europe was so great that even invaders during the +all of the =oman Empire often
spoke *atin. Thus! *atin survived long after =ome)s power declined. The influence of Dulgar *atin
grew to form a new variety of *atin that included e,pressions in spoken *atin mi,ed with the 8lassical
*atin of the =oman Empire. This variety of *atin is now known as "2edieval *atin!" since it was used
in the 2iddle 4ges! and it eventually gave rise to another variety called "*ate *atin." In much of
Aestern Europe! vernacular languages had formed during the 2iddle 4ges! but they were slow to
replace *atin as the language of administration! theater! etc.
Romance Languages
The =omance languages were formed from the regional variants of *atin that survived the =oman
Empire! the five most prominent being known now as -ortuguese! 3panish! +rench! Italian! and
=omanian. 2ost =omance languages were originally spoken in Aestern Europe! with the notable
e,ception of =omanian. 0ne =omance language called .almatian was originally spoken in what is
now southern 8roatia a.k.a. .almatia&' the last speaker died in <?>?.
3ince the invaders of the western =oman Empire often spoke *atin themselves! it is understandable
that the =omance languages of western Europe would be maintained' indeed! their speakers became
more plentiful. /owever! in the 7y5antine Empire the eastern half of the former =oman Empire&! the
official language was not *atin but 7y5antine Greek' for this reason it is uncertain how .almatian
survived until the late <>th century and =omanian to the present. .almatia was under substantial
influence from Denice! so this might help e,plain why .almatian survived' =omania! however! is
surrounded by speakers of non-Italic languages! and there is no clear e,planation of what led to the
survival of =omanian.
2any countries in which =omance languages were official languages later coloni5ed! or at least
controlled! other lands outside of Europe. In some of these areas! new languages called creoles were
formed as a result of contact between the coloni5ers and peoples who did not speak =omance
languages. These "=omance creoles" are often included among the =omance languages. +or
e,ample! +rance coloni5ed what is now /aiti and brought many 4frican slaves there. To facilitate
communication between the slaves and the +rench! a creole was formed by combining +rench with
elements of various 4frican languages. This creole! now known as /aitian 8reole! is a member of the
=omance group.
3ince writings in *atin have been preserved to this day! there is no need for a reconstruction of "-roto-
=omance." It is possible to observe and track changes from *atin to modern-day =omance languages.
This uni:ue characteristic of =omance languages is an advantage to historical linguists! since it
provides clues about how to reconstruct other older and e,tinct languages.
Evolution and Locale Maps
Jonathan Slocum
4ll living languages evolve over time! adding H losing vocabulary! morphological behavior! and syntactic
structures! and changing in the ways they are pronounced by their speakers. Even without knowing how
or why these evolutionary mechanisms operate! one can still get a feel for their effects' for e,ample! they
account for the differences between 4merican and 7ritish English! and for the fact that neither 4mericans
nor 7rits can understand Beowulf at all without first being taught how to read the 0ld English language in
which it was composed. Even the writings of 3hakespeare -- much more recent than Beowulf -- can be
difficult for modern English speakers to interpret. The field of study that concerns itself with language
evolution is calledhistorical linguistics.
4 large number of related languages form what is called the Indo-European macrofamily. These
languages all evolved from a common ancestral tongue called -roto-Indo-European -IE&! spoken ca.
E!GGG years ago by a people living by "traditional" hypothesis& somewhere in the general vicinity of
the -ontic 3teppe north of the 7lack 3ea and east to the 8aspian -- an area that! perhaps not
accidentally! seems to coincide with the land of the ancient 3cythians! from the Ckraine across far
southwestern =ussia to western Ia5akhstan. 6.7. 2any claims on this page are debated! in their
details! but on the whole they seem best to fit the evidence and are accepted by most scholars'
herein! we shall not bother to acknowledge the myriad debates but instead present a broad-brush
picture for a general audience.&
-roto-Indo-European speakers grew in number and influence -- they are credited with the
domestication of horses and the invention of the chariot! among many other innovations -- and spread
east H west! north H south. 7ut before the invention of any writing system known to its speakers! -IE
had died out1 as Indo-Europeans e,panded from the ancestral homeland and brought forth new
generations! -IE evolved! first into disparate dialects! and then into mutually incomprehensible
daughter languages. Ten "proto-language" families are identified today1 using what historical linguists
call the comparative method! their probable forms and that of -roto-Indo-European itself& can be
reconstructed based on similarities and differences among descendants that were attested in
inscriptions and literary H religious te,ts. 3uch written records began to appear about a thousand
years after -IE was last spoken.& +or a sketch of the evolution of -IE into its major proto-languages!
see Evolution of IE +amilies.
The Indo-European proto-languages themselves evolved! each giving rise to its own family of
languages. Each family is identified with the proto-language from which it sprung' these families are
conventionally listed in order! roughly from west to east with respect to the homelands their speakers
came to occupy. The ten families! linked to modern maps of their homeland areas which open in a
separate window&! are1
1. eltic! with languages spoken in the 7ritish Isles! in 3pain! and across southern Europe to
central Turkey'
2. Germanic! with languages spoken in England and throughout 3candinavia H central
Europe to 8rimea'
3. Italic! with languages spoken in Italy and! later! throughout the =oman Empire including
modern-day -ortugal! 3pain! +rance! and =omania'
4. !alto-"lavic! with 7altic languages spoken in *atvia H *ithuania! and 3lavic
throughout eastern Europe plus 7elarus H the Ckraine H =ussia'
5. !al#an e,ceptional! as discussed below&! with languages spoken mostly in the 7alkans and
far western Turkey'
6. $ellenic! spoken in Greece and the 4egean Islands and! later! in other areas con:uered by
4le,ander but mostly around the 2editerranean&'
7. Anatolian! with languages spoken in 4natolia! a.k.a. 4sia 2inor! i.e. modern Turkey'
8. Armenian! spoken in 4rmenia and nearby areas including eastern Turkey'
9. Indo-Iranian! with languages spoken
from India through -akistan and 4fghanistan to Iran and Iurdish areas of Ira: and Turkey'
10. %ocharian! spoken in the Tarim 7asin of Jinjiang! in far western 8hina.
Each table that follows presents a highly schematic sketch of the evolutionary paths leading from the
family ancestor to later! attested languages -- up to the present time! in the case of families that did not
entirely die out. 4natolian and Tocharian are the only known families that are now e,tinct.& 7y highly
schematic we mean! for e,ample! that dates are very appro&imate1 we adopt! for sheer presentation
convenience! :uite arbitrary ranges of KGG or <GGG years that have little to do with accurate dates
even when these might be known! which is seldom. Ahat is important is that thegeneral picture is
instructive' for details the reader is referred to the vast literature of historical linguistics! now well over
@GG years in the making and brimming with hypotheses! supporting arguments! and disagreements
major H minor.
In the tables that follow! columns show KGG#<GGG-year ranges! reading left to right' successive rows
display groupings of sub-families in bold face&! languages within them italici5ed if dead&! and! reading
left to right! not just a chronological but an evolutionary se:uence e,cept for the 7alkan languages&.
4fter each family section heading! important points related to the table that follows are briefly
surveyed' for the reader)s convenience! most geographic names are in modern English. 6ote1 even
where surviving languages in a family may number in the hundreds! and may be spoken by over a
billion people as in the case of the Indo-Iranian family&! only a very few languages are selected for
illustration here. +or every family e,cept 7alkan! there are one or more languages for which online
te,ts H lessons are or will be available in our Early Indo-European 0nline EIE0*& series' links are
provided from those languages to their series introductions.
EL%I
Proto-Celtic speakers moved generally west from the -IE homeland! probably alongside groups from
the Italic branch! spreading across southern Europe into central Turkey! northern Italy! +rance!3pain!
and eventually the 7ritish Isles. 4s centuries passed! their language evolved into one group of
languages labelled ontinental spoken by "Gauls" across southern Europe and mentioned by ;ulius
8aesar among others&! and another labelled Insular spoken in the 7ritish Isles&. 8ontinental 8elts
later adopted atin! or Greek in the case of those in Turkey! and the Continental Celticlanguages!
attested from the Eth century 7.8.! were lost. Insular 8eltic split into a Goidelic subgroup that
developed in Ireland! and a !rythonic subgroup that developed in England H Aales. *ater in history!
Goidelic 8elts migrated to 3cotland' also later in history! 7rythonic 8elts under pressure from the
4nglo-3a,ons returned to the 8ontinent and settled in 7rittany! on the western point of+rance.
'(((-)((( )(((-*(( *((-) ! )-*(( A+ *((-)((( )(((-)*(( )*((-'(((
Proto-Celtic ontinental Celti!erian
Gaulish
epontic
"oric
Galatian
Insular Goidelic #gham $rish #ld $rish %iddle $rish Irish Gaelic
3cots Gaelic
2an,
!rythonic #ld &elsh %iddle &elsh Aelsh
0ld 8ornish %iddle Cornish Cornish
#ld Breton %iddle Breton 7reton
3ee also1
more about Celtic;
Old Irish Online (language lessons);
Web Links to Celtic resources (incl. culture & modern archaeology).
GERMANIC
The Germanic tribes generally ollo!ed behind the Celts" but mo#ed some!hat urther north. Their language
de#elo$ed into three grou$s o tongues labelled East" North" and West or their geogra$hic distribution"
!ith Runic no! being considered the likely ancestor o the latter t!o. Gothic is the only attested language rom
the east" !ith a %th century translation o the &ible" although Vandalic is kno!n to ha#e been s$oken by 'andals
!ho migrated across the ading (oman )m$ire through *$ain to north +rica (see also ma$ o the Germanic
,ingdoms in -./). 0ost o the Goths blended into the )m$ire and their language !as re$laced by local Latin
dialects" but some migrated east into Crimea" !here their language sur#i#ed to the 1/th century.
Limited amounts o 23orth!est Germanic2 te4t sur#i#e rom the 1st5.nd centuries +.6." car#ed in Runic scri$t;
later" the 3orth Germanic languages de#elo$ed in ar north )uro$e ($rimarily the *candina#ian
countries 6enmark" *!eden" 3or!ay" and their islands). Old Norse !as the language o the 'ikings" !ho
settled Iceland as !ell as *candina#ia.
West Germanic languages de#elo$ed in t!o main grou$s" one (27igh German2) at higher ele#ations" in
southern Germany" *!it8erland" and +ustria" and the other (2Lo! German2) urther north and along the coast"
including the 3etherlands and &elgium. 0odern German e#ol#ed rom the ormer; modern )nglish" #ia Old
English a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon (see the ma$ o +ngles & *a4ons about /99 +.6.)" rom the latter. (The term
2:ennsyl#ania 6utch2 is a modern misnomer; the original s$eakers came rom central & southern Germany"
e#en *!it8erland << not rom the 3etherlands.)
2000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-Germanic East Gothic Crimean Gothic
Vandalic
Runic North Old Norse Old Icelandic Icelandic
Old Norwegian 3or!egian
Old Swedish *!edish
Old Danish 6anish
West Old igh German !iddle igh German German
*!iss German
:ennsyl#ania 6utch
=iddish
Old Saxon !iddle "ow German Lo! German
Old English !iddle English )nglish
Old Dutch !iddle Dutch 6utch
+rikaans
3ee also1
more about Germanic;
Gothic Online (language lessons);
Old 3orse Online (language lessons);
Old )nglish Online (language lessons);
Web Links to Germanic resources (incl. language & history).
I%A&IC
The Italic $eo$les began their descent into the Italian $eninsula around the .nd millenium &.C. T!o subgrou$s
de#elo$ed rom Proto-Italic << Sa#ellic and "atino-$aliscan" both attested by >th century &.C. inscri$tions (the
ormer in %m#rian" the latter in $aliscan). &ut the gro!ing strength o the Latin s$eakers" culminating in
the (oman )m$ire" resulted in most com$eting tongues in Italy (and many else!here" or e4am$le Continental
Celtic) being e4tinguished. With the colla$se o the )m$ire" the $ro#incial Vul'ar Latin dialects rather
than Classical "atin sur#i#ed" and in time de#elo$ed into the (omance languages (see ma$ o the )uro$ean
:ro#inces o (ome).
2000"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-Italic Sa#ellic Oscan
%m#rian
"atino-$aliscan $aliscan
"atin Classical "atin Vul'ar (omanian
Old Italian Italian
Old $rench ?rench
Old Pro&en'al :ro#en@al
Old S(anish *$anish
Old Portuguese :ortuguese
3ee also1
more about Italic;
Latin Online (language lessons);
Old ?rench Online (language lessons);
Web Links to Italic resources (Latin language & te4ts).
#A&%(S&AVIC
While the &alto<*la#ic (and es$ecially the &altic) languages o eastern )uro$e are attested only late" e#en by
Indo<)uro$ean standards" there are characteristics that strongly suggest they are highly conser#ati#e (most
es$ecially &altic) and retain eatures akin to :roto<Indo<)uro$ean. 3o Sla)ic language is attested until the mid<
Ath century +.6. (Old Church Sla&onic)" and no #altic language until the 1%th century (some Old
Prussian !ords & $hrases). Old Church Sla&onic and Old Prussian became e4tinct" but *la#ic and &altic sibling
languages sur#i#ed.
2000"000 "000" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-)alto-Sla&ic Proto-)altic Western Old Prussian
Eastern Old "ithuanian Lithuanian
Old "at&ian Lat#ian
Proto-Sla&ic South Old Church Sla&onic
Eastern South &ulgarian
Western South *erbian
East Old Russian (ussian
West Old Polish :olish
3ee also1
more about &alto<*la#ic;
&altic Online (Lithuanian & Lat#ian lessons);
Old Church *la#onic Online (language lessons);
Web Links to &altic resources and *la#ic resources (incl. languages" history" etc).
#A&*AN
The 2amily2 o &alkan languages (see also the old ma$ o 0acedonia" Thrace" Illyria" 0oesia and 6acia) is
e4ce$tional in that there are ar too e! early te4ts to su$$ort strong hy$otheses about genetic relationshi$s
among the erst!hile members. This doesnBt mean there are no hy$otheses << they are" in act" numerousC << but it
does mean that no irm conclusions can be dra!n because e#idence is $altry or absent. +s one e4am$le" the
2traditional2 hy$othesis is that Ill*rian is the ancestor o +lbanian; but as there are no nati#e te4ts in Ill*rian" it is
diicult to say much o anything certain about it. It seems ne#ertheless that these t!o dier in a undamental
manner that" in Indo<)uro$ean linguistics" has al!ays marked a crucial distinction (denoted by the terms
2centum2 #s. 2satem2). The languages in the table belo! are grou$ed into a 2amily2 or reasons as much
geogra$hic as linguistic" and the chronological seDuence o languages" let to right" cannot be taken to suggest
their e#olutionary seDuence.
2000"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-)al+an Phr*gian ,hracian Dacian +lbanian
Ill*rian
3ee also1
more about &alkan;
Web Links re; &alkan languages (+lbanian" etc).
+E&&ENIC
?or all $ractical $ur$oses" the 7ellenic amily is re$resented by a single language s$oken in Greece and the
+egean Islands; Greek" !hich is attested in a number o dialects s$anning more than three millenia. The oldest"
0ycenaean Greek te4ts $re<date the 1%th century &.C. (see ma$ o 0ycenaean Greece)" and !ere !ritten in the
scri$t kno!n as Linear &. &ut an in#asion o (illiterateE) 6orian tribes ca. 1199 &.C. !as ollo!ed by the
colla$se o 0ycenaean ci#ili8ation and the loss o the art o Greek !riting. + e! hundred years later the Greeks
ada$ted a :hoenician scri$t << adding" or the irst time" letters re$resenting #o!els. This scri$t de#elo$ed into
!hat !e kno! as the Greek al$habet" !hich ormed the early basis o the )truscan & (oman al$habets among
others (a more modern e4am$le being Cyrillic).
2000"!00 "!00"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"!00 "!002000
Proto-Gree+ !*cenaean Ancient Gree+ Attic Gree+ -oine Gree+ !iddle Gree+ Greek
omeric Gree+
Doric Gree+
3ee also1
more about 7ellenic;
Classical (+ttic) Greek Online (language lessons);
3e! Testament (,oine) Greek Online (language lessons);
Web Links to 7ellenic resources (incl. scri$ts & te4ts).
ANA%(&IAN
The +natolian amily includes the oldest attested Indo<)uro$ean languages; some ittite documents are dated as
early as the 1Fth century &.C. It is thought to ha#e been the irst branch o Indo<)uro$ean to se$arate rom :I)"
and it !as also the irst branch Gkno!n to usH to become e4tinct" being re$laced by Greek ca. .nd51st century
&.C. &uried and lost until modern times" ittitecuneiorm tablets !ere irst unearthed in the early .9th century
in north<central Turkey" and hel$ed re#olutioni8e Indo<)uro$ean linguistics. + sister language" "uwian" !as
$robably s$oken in 7omerBs Troy" located south!est o the 6ardanelles.
2!002000 2000"!00 "!00"000 "000!00 !00" #C ""000 A$ "0002000
Proto-Anatolian Old ittite !iddle.New ittite "*dian
"uwian "*cian
3ee also1
more about +natolian;
7ittite Online (language lessons);
Web Links to +natolian resources (incl. archaeology & history).
ARMENIAN
The earliest documentary e#idence re; the +rmenians is a /th century &.C. inscri$tion at &ehistun by the :ersian
king 6arius I. 7erodotus" !riting a century later" stated that the +rmenians had li#ed in Thrace and mo#ed into
:hrygia" rom !hich they crossed into the GlaterH territory o +rmenia. &ut though +rmenians are kno!n to
history as a $eo$le" their language !as irst attested by a translation o the &ible a ull thousand years later"
ollo!ing the in#ention by 0esro$" a Christian monk" o a suitable al$habet; by that time" Classical
Armenian e#idenced strong inluence by Iranian tongues" es$ecially :arthian. Other loan !ords rom +natolian
languages attest to early +rmenian $resence in !estern and central Turkey. 6ue to maniold linguistic
inluences" e#idenced or e4am$le by many isoglosses !ith Greek" it is diicult to su$$ort arguments or a close
connection !ith any other Indo<)uro$ean language amily in $articular.
2000"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-Armenian Classical Armenian !iddle Armenian +rmenian
3ee also1
more about +rmenian;
Classical +rmenian Online (language lessons);
Web Links re; +rmenian (language & history).
IN$(IRANIAN
Proto-Indo-Iranian s$eakers mo#ed east & south rom the :I) ancestral homeland. Then" still in $rehistoric
times" the Indo<Iranian amily s$lit into Indic and Iranian branches" labelled or their early literary centers
(roughly s$eaking) in India and Iran.
+lthough !ritten Indic documents do not e4ist o an age com$arable to that o ittite" the language o the
(ig#eda is thought to be !ell<$reser#ed rom a orm dating to $erha$s the early .nd millenium &.C. In
$articular" !hen the grammar or Sans+rit !as being com$osed by :anini ca. %99 &.C." Rig&edic !as already
archaic and" in many res$ects" no longer understood << a situation analogous to modern )nglish s$eakersB
$roblems understanding the language o )eowul/. )#en some o the $oetic structures o the (ig#eda !ere no
longer recogni8ed << again" a situation analogous to our modern ignorance o Old English $oetic structures.
3e#ertheless" oral transmission o liturgy and $oetry can be" and or the (ig#eda is belie#ed to ha#e
been" ama0ingl* accurate. +ccordingly" early Indic com$ositions can be studied !ith almost as much conidence
as is in#ested in later" !ritten te4ts in Pali" Pra+rit" etc.
*ome!hat like Rig&edic (a close descendant o Proto-Indic)" A&estan (a descendant o Proto-Iranian) !as
re$resented by memori8ed religious com$ositions or centuries beore they !ere !ritten do!n.
The A&estan language itsel" then" is o unkno!n but great age. +lthough it is still im$ortant in Ioroastrian
liturgy" it does not ha#e li#ing descendants. T!o languages closely related to it")actrian and Old Persian" ha#e
many modern descendants including :ashto and ?arsi.
2000"!00 "!00"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-Indo-Iranian Proto-Indic Rig&edic Sans+rit
Pali Pra+rit A(a#hramsha Old indi 7indi5Jrdu
Proto-Iranian A&estan
Eastern )actrian Sogdian :ashto
Western Old Persian Pahla&i ?arsi
3ee also1
more about Indo<Iranian;
+ncient *anskrit Online ((ig#edic language lessons);
Old Iranian Online (+#estan and Old :ersian lessons);
Web Links to Indic resources and Iranian resources (incl. languages" history" etc).
%(C+ARIAN
Like the Anatolian language amily" the ,ocharian amily is e4tinct; also like Anatolian" ,ocharian te4ts !ere
deci$hered in the early .9th century and their study has suggested maKor changes to theories about early Indo<
)uro$ean (I)) languages. :rominent among these is the act that ,ocharian e4hibits some undamental ainities
to the more !estern language amilies" such as Celtic" Italic" 7ellenic and es$ecially Germanic" that distinguish
it rom the geogra$hically much closer eastern language amilies" such as Indo<Iranian or e#en &alto<*la#ic.
This does not mean that ,ocharian is $articularly close to any !estern )uro$ean language amily" though many
indi#idual $arallels ha#e been dra!n" but only that it seems closer to them as a grou$ than to the eastern I)
languages. 7o! !estern )uro$ean (E) ,ocharian s$eakers came to li#e in the Tarim &asin in LinKiang" China" is
a mystery yet unresol#ed. 7o!e#er" it is note!orthy that the *ilk (oad !as established through that area around
the same time ,ocharian s$eakers seem to ha#e arri#ed; the a$$earance o a highly mobile )uro$ean $eo$le at
the ince$tion o a maKor )urasian trade link might not be a coincidence.
It is by no means certain that !estern )uro$ean ainities demonstrate a $rior !estern )uro$ean $resence;
sometimes similarities e4ist by chance; but i chance is ruled out" there may ha#e been suicient linguistic
contact bet!een Proto-,ocharian s$eakers and others destined to li#e in !estern )uro$e" beore the I) break<u$.
It seems rather likely that Tocharian $eo$les migrated directly east rom the :I) homeland and disco#ered e4otic
trade goods a!aiting urther e4$loitation. ,ocharian" unattested" later e#ol#ed into t!o se$arate languages"
con#entionally denoted as ,ocharian A(eastern" a.k.a. ,ur/anian) and ,ocharian ) (!estern" a.k.a. -uchean)"
both located along the north rim o the Tarim &asin; in the /th<Fth century +.6. te4ts so ar disco#ered" A seems
to ha#e been in liturgical use only" !hile ) !as yet a li#ing #ernacular. )#idence or yet a third
oshoot" ,ocharian C" some!hat older than the other t!o" has been unearthed along the southern rim o the
Tarim &asin.
2000"000 "000!00 !00" #C "!00 A$ !00"000 "000"!00 "!002000
Proto-,ocharian ,ocharianE ,ocharian A
,ocharian )
,ocharian C
Celtic ,amily
Austin Simmons and Jonathan Slocum
Continental Celtic
Our irst attestations o a Celtic language hail rom the *!iss<Italian border and date rom the /th century &.C.
These early Le$ontic inscri$tions !ere !ritten in an )truscan<deri#ed scri$t and sur#i#e $rimarily on coins and
on stone as commemorati#e e$ita$hs. Le$ontic seems to ha#e been the language o Celts !ho d!elt in Cisal$ine
Gaul" the (oman name or lands south o the +l$s but north o the (ubicon (i#er. The Cisal$ine Celts made
dee$ incursions on the Italian $eninsula in the early %th century &.C. that culminated in the sack o (ome; but
the ascendant (omans rallied to conDuer the region by the .nd century &.C." and Cisal$ine Gaul !as reckoned a
(oman territory thereater. The last inscri$tions in Le$ontic date rom around this time" suggesting that Latin
Duickly established itsel as the dominant language o the region !hile Le$ontic drited to!ard silent e4tinction.
+cross the +l$s lay the #ast lands o Transal$ine Gaul" dominated by Celtic tribes until the last century &.C. The
earliest records o their Gaulish language sur#i#e rom the late Mrd century &.C. on stone monuments and
$otsherds" !ritten in an ada$tation o the Greek al$habet borro!ed rom Greek merchant<colonists o 0arseilles.
?urther inscri$tions on lead and bron8e tablets yield $recious inormation about early Celtic culture and religion.
In the decades ollo!ing the Gallic Wars o the mid<1st century &.C." !hich resulted in the (oman conDuest o
Gaul (the subKect o CaesarBs De )ello Gallico)" attestation o Gaulish breaks o. Nust as Latin had marginali8ed
Le$ontic in Cisal$ine Gaul" it came to oust Gaulish as the $rimary language o Transal$ine Gaul. =et s$oken
Gaulish e#idently died a slo! death" or !e ind a Gaulish<language calendar dating to the Christian era" and
medie#al sources indicate that residual use o Gaulish may ha#e continued into Late +ntiDuity.
+ century ater Le$ontic<s$eaking Celts ra#aged (ome" s$eakers o another Celtic language con#erged on the
+natolian $eninsula and there established a thri#ing community that sur#i#ed rom its establishment in the Mrd
century &.C. to at least the days o :aul the +$ostle. The (omans named the $ro#ince Galatia. +s the Galatian
language is only attested in to$onyms" in $ersonal names" and on coins" there is insuicient e#idence to ollo!
scholars !ho classiy it as a Gaulish dialect.
*till other Celtic tribes had in#aded and settled the Iberian :eninsula in the remote !est o the 0editerranean as
early as -99 &.C. *e#eral non<Indo<)uro$ean languages (including one ancestral to &asDue) !ere s$oken in
Iberia $rior to the arri#al o Celts; rom one such language" Iberian Celts ado$ted a syllabic scri$t to record their
o!n. Celtiberian is attested on coins and bron8e tablets dating to the irst century &.C." ha#ing sur#i#ed the
(oman anne4ation o Iberia in the $re#ious century. 3e#ertheless" the increasing (omani8ation o Iberia ensured
that Latin inally marginali8ed this Celtic language as !ell as the others s$oken on the mainland.
The Celtic languages in the oregoing discussion are oten grou$ed in a Continental $hylum o Celtic languages"
to distinguish them rom the Insular Celtic languages o the &ritish Isles. While the attested languages o Insular
Celtic eature linguistic inno#ations common and e4clusi#e to that grou$" no $arallel inno#ati#e unity is ound
among the Continental tongues. It is accordingly best to #ie! the 2Insular2 designation as a genetic bond"
!hereas 2Continental2 is merely a geogra$hic term (also im$lying 2not Insular2).
Insular Celtic- #rythonic
Nulius CaesarBs aborti#e in#asion o )ngland in the mid<1st century &.C. let the enter$rise o (oman conDuest
unulilled there or se#eral generations" until successi#e cam$aigns under the later Nulio<Claudians at last
established (oman control o the islandBs southern t!o<thirds by the end o the irst century +.6. (ome !on this
large s!ath o territory $rimarily at the e4$ense o Celtic tribes !hich had crossed the )nglish Channel some
thousand years beore (though dates or Celtic migrations to the &ritish Isles are Duite uncertain). In the end"
(oman conDuest brought about se#eral hundred years o ruitul cultural interaction" !here Celts li#ing under
(oman authority came to kno! such 0editerranean insitutions as theatres and bath<houses" !hile in e4change
Celtic cults ound their !ay into (oman tem$les. Latin itsel came to e4ert a moderate" mostly le4ical inluence
on the Celtic dialects then s$oken on the island" most or all o !hich !ere early members o the &rythonic
$hylum o Insular Celtic. The mounting cost o controlling the outer $ro#inces" in light o the )m$ireBs late %th
century iscal $roblems" orced a (oman !ithdra!al rom &ritain by the early -th century. The subseDuent
unrest that beell southern &ritain ga#e Germanic +ngles and *a4ons rom the 3orth *ea coast o )uro$e an
o$$ortunity to migrate there" settling there in large numbers o#er the ollo!ing decades. &y the mid<-th century"
Germanic tribes had !on se#eral $itched battles against the &rittonic Celts and laid the oundation or +nglo<
*a4on cultural and linguistic dominance << and" as !ell" created a $rete4t or the Celtic ,ales o/ -ing Arthur"
!hose name is mentioned in the mid<>th century Welsh $oem 1 Goddodin as i he !ere already the subKect o
legend.
The successi#e and enduring conDuests !hich had caused &rythonic languages to lose s$eakers and territory <<
irst to Latin" then to dialects o +nglo<*a4on << ne#ertheless $ro#ed unable to eradicate them. + grou$ o
&rythonic s$eakers let &ritain ollo!ing the +nglo<*a4on conDuest and established ne! homes in &rittany
(north!est ?rance)" !here their &reton language" irst attested in the Fth century" sur#i#es to this day. &reton has
the unortunate distinction o being the only Celtic language !ith substantial land gains since the Gallic Wars. +
closely related language is Cornish" !hich tentati#ely irst a$$ears in the marginalia o a Ath century co$y o De
Consolatio Philoso(hiae; it clung to &ritainBs south!est u$ through the 1Fth century. +nd there are today hal a
million s$eakers o the &rythonic dialect Welsh" s$oken in Wales and attested in archaic orms (e.g. in the $oem
mentioned abo#e) rom the /th or >th century +.6.
Insular Celtic- Goidelic
Old Irish is by ar the most co$iously attested Celtic language o $remodern times. The irst Old Irish te4ts ha#e
been $reser#ed rom the -th century +.6. and com$rise a great body o $oetry" saga" and religious literature. The
!ritten language !as much standardi8ed and su$$lemented Latin as a common literary tongue bet!een Ireland"
&ritain and the Continent rom the >th century. &y the 19th century" accumulated linguistic change relected in
the !ritten standard had come to distinguish a descendant language" 0iddle Irish. This in turn ga#e rise to
todayBs Irish Gaelic o )ire; as !ell" migration and $rolonged settlement in the centuries ater +.6. 1999 sa!
0iddle Irish<s$eaking communities in *cotland and on the Isle o 0an de#elo$ the languages *cottish Gaelic
and 0an4" res$ecti#ely.
Recommended Readin'
Cunlie" &arry. 1AA9. ,he Celtic 2orld. 3e! =ork; *t. 0artinBs :ress. (Illustrated introduction to the
Celts" rom $rehistory to the historically attested languages and Celtic culture)
)ska" Nose$h ?. 1AFA. ,owards an Inter(retation o/ the is(ano-Celtic Inscri(tion o/
)otorrita. Innsbrucker &eitrOge 8ur *$rach!issenschat" -A. (+n early e#aluation o a maKor Celtic
inscri$tion rom *$ain)
Lehmann" (uth :.0. 1AFA. 2Ogham; The +ncient *cri$t o the Celts"2 in; ,he Origins o/ 2riting" ed. by
Wayne *enner" $$. 1-A<1>9. Lincoln" 3ebraska; 3ebraska Jni#ersity :ress.
*imms<Williams" :atrick. 1AAF. 2The Celtic Languages"2 in; ,he Indo-Euro(ean "anguages" ed. by
+nna Giacalone (amat & :aolo (amat" $$. M%-<M>A. Translated rom the 1AAM Italian original.
London; (outledge.
1. )3GLI*7 +* + G)(0+3IC L+3GJ+G) )nglish has borro!ed much
#ocabulary rom non< Germanic languages. <It remains a Germanic language not
only in its core but also in its sounds and structure.
.. 1F.. P Nacob Grimm demonstrated a general $honological dierence bet!een
the Germanic amily o languages and the other Indo<)uro$ean languages. *ome
sounds in the Indo<)uro$ean languages corres$ond to some sounds o the
Germanic languages. (result o a $honological change)
M. )nglish shares !ith the other Germanic languages a number o $honological
inno#ations that can dierentiate it rom the rest o the Indo<)uro$ean amily.
:rosodic changes had more $roound eects in :roto<Germanic" ho!e#er those
regularities are less obser#ables in :resent<day )nglish.
%. 0O(:7OLOG= The mor$hology o )nglish and its Germanic relati#es also
diers rom the other Indo<)uro$ean languages in the #erbs systems" #oices"
moods and tenses. ?or the order o elements" in )nglish ha#e subseDuently become
i4ed in the language in the $attern subKect<#erb<obKect (*'O) but in the :resent<
day )nglish there sur#i#e relics o the older system.
-. The dierences bet!een the Germanic languages and the rest o the Indo<
)uro$ean grou$ are airly striking. There are regular dierences among the
Germanic languages themsel#es. The amily can be sectioned into three
subdi#isions; )ast" 3orth and West Germanic. There are some resemblances
among these three subdi#isions as !ell as some chronological dierences. The
most rele#ant grou$ is $robably the West Germanic" !hich has three subdi#isions;
+nglo<?risian" Lo! German and 7igh German.
/. ?rom these three" the +nglo ?risian is the most closely related to :resent<day
)nglish.