Proto-Celtic language

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The Proto-Celtic language, also called Common Celtic, is the reconstructed ancestor
language of all the known Celtic languages. Its lexis can be confidently
reconstructed on the basis of the comparative method of historical linguistics. As
Celtic is a branch of the Indo-European language family, Proto-Celtic is a
descendant of the Proto-Indo-European language. According to one theory, Celtic may
be closest to the Italic languages, which together form an Italo-Celtic branch. The
earliest archaeological culture that may justifiably be considered as Proto-Celtic
is the Late Bronze Age Urnfield culture of Central Europe from the last quarter of
the second millennium BC.[1] By the Iron Age Hallstatt culture of around 800 BC,
these people had become fully Celtic.[1]

The reconstruction of Proto-Celtic is currently being undertaken. While Continental

Celtic presents much substantiation for its phonology, and some for morphology,
recorded material is too scanty to allow a secure reconstruction of syntax.
Although some complete sentences are recorded in Gaulish and Celtiberian, the
oldest Celtic literature is found in Old Irish.[2]

Contents [hide]
1 Sound changes from Proto-Indo-European
1.1 Late Proto-Indo-European
1.1.1 Italo-Celtic
1.2 Early Proto-Celtic
1.3 Late Proto-Celtic
1.4 Examples
2 Phonological reconstruction
2.1 Consonants
2.2 Vowels
3 Morphology
3.1 Nouns
3.1.1 o-stem nouns
3.1.2 a-stem nouns
3.1.3 i-stems
3.1.4 u-stem nouns
3.1.5 Velar and dental stems
3.1.6 Nasal stems
3.1.7 s-stem nouns
3.1.8 r-stem nouns
3.2 Verbs
4 Dating
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
Sound changes from Proto-Indo-European[edit]
The phonological changes from Proto-Indo-European to Proto-Celtic may be summarised
as follows.[3] The changes are roughly in chronological order, with changes that
operate on the outcome of earlier ones appearing later in the list.

Late Proto-Indo-European[edit]
These changes were shared by several other Indo-European branches.

e is colored by an adjacent laryngeal consonant

eh2, h2e ah2, h2a
eh3, h3e oh3, h3o
Palatovelars merge with the plain velars
? k
? g
?? g?
Epenthetic a is inserted after a syllabic sonorant if a laryngeal and another
sonorant follow (R?HR RaHR)
Laryngeals are lost
before a following vowel (HV V)
following a vowel in syllables before the accent (VHC VC)
following a vowel with compensatory lengthening, otherwise (VH V)
between plosives in noninitial syllables (CHC CC)
Two adjacent dentals become ss (TT ss)
Italo-Celtic[edit]
The following sound changes are shared with the Italic languages in particular, and
can be used in support of the Italo-Celtic hypothesis.[4]

Dybo's rule long close vowels are shortened (or a laryngeal is lost) before
resonant + stressed vowel.
iR iHR iR
uR uHR uR
Possibly, postconsonantal laryngeals are lost before pretonic close vowels
CHiC CiC
CHuC CuC
Development of initial stress, following the previous two changes.
Possibly, vocalization of laryngeals to i between a CR cluster and consonantal j
(CRHjV CRijV)
Syllabic laryngeals become a (CHC CaC)
Syllabic resonants before a voiced unaspirates stop become Ra (R?D RaD)
m is assimilated or lost before a glide
mj nj
mw w
p assimilates to k? when another k? follows later in the word (pk? k?k?)
sr ?r, word-medially -r-
sVs ss, sTVs Ts
One change shows non-exact parallels in Italic the vocalization of syllabic
resonants next to laryngeals depending on the environment. Similar developments
appear in Italic, but for the syllabic nasals m?, n?, the result is Proto-Italic ?
m, ?n ( Latin em ~ im, en ~ in).

Word-initially, HR?C aRC

Before voiceless stops, CR?HT CRaT
CR?HV CaRHV
CR?HC CRaC
Early Proto-Celtic[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 g?)
kw k?
gw g?
g?w g??
g? b
Aspirated stops lose their aspiration and merge with the voiced stops (except that
this counterfeeds the previous change, so g?? g? doesn't result in a merger)
b? b
d? d
g? g
g?? g?
e before a resonant and a (but not a) becomes a as well (eRa aRa) ??elH-ro gelaro
galaro grH-no gerano garano (Joseph's rule).
Epenthetic i is inserted after syllabic liquids when followed by a plosive
l?T liT
r?T riT
Epenthetic a is inserted before the remaining syllabic resonants
m? am
n? an
l? al
r? ar
All remaining nonsyllabic laryngeals are lost.
e i
o u in final syllables
Long vowels are shortened before a syllable-final resonant (VRC VRC); this also
shortens long diphthongs. (Osthoff's law)
Late Proto-Celtic[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 ? (except possibly after s)
o a
ew ow
uwa owa