Faliscan language

Faliscan
Faliscan red-figure vase
Native to	ancient Italy
Region	Lazio
Extinct	about 150 BC
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Faliscan
Writing system	Faliscan, Etruscan, and Latin alphabets
Language codes
ISO 639-3
Linguist list	xfa
Glottolog	fali1291

The Faliscan language was the now-extinct Italic language of the ancient Falisci, forming, together with Latin, the Latino-Faliscan languages group of the Italic languages. It seems probable that the language persisted, though being gradually permeated with Latin, until at least 150 BC.

An estimated 355 inscriptions survive, mostly short and dating from the 7th to 2nd centuries BC. Some are written in a variety of the Old Italic alphabet derived from the Etruscan, and are written from right to left, but show some traces of the influence of the Latin alphabet. An inscription to Ceres of c. 600 BC, found in Falerii and usually taken as the oldest example, reads left to right.

A specimen of the language appears written round the edge of a picture on a patera, the genuineness of which is established by the fact that the words were written before the glaze was put on: "foied vino pipafo, cra carefo", i. e. in Latin hodie vinum bibam, cras carebo 'today I will drink wine; tomorrow I won't have any.'

There are remains found in graves, which belong mainly to the period of Etruscan domination and give ample evidence of material prosperity and refinement. Earlier strata have yielded more primitive remains from the Italic epoch. A large number of inscriptions wigh mainly proper names may be regarded as Etruscan rather than Faliscan; they have been disregarded in the account of the dialect just given.

It should perhaps be mentioned that there was a town, Feronia, in Sardinia, named probably after their native goddess by Faliscan settlers. A votive inscription from some if them is found at S. Maria di Falleri.

Some of the phonetic characteristics of the Faliscan language are:

The question of irregular, i. e., unexpected developments of PIE voiced aspirates in Faliscan as opposed to the normal Latin rendering, consists in the appearance of both h and f as reflexes of *bh/*dh and *gh: e. g., filea 'daughter' and hileo 'son' versus Latin filius < PIE *dheh1-lyo- and fe 'here' and hec versus Latin hic < PIE *ghey-ke.