Galatian language
| Galatian | |
|---|---|
| Region | Galatia |
| Extinct | possibly the 6th century A.D. |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | |
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Linguist list
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xga |
| Glottolog | gala1252 |
The Roman province of Galatia
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Galatian is an extinct Celtic language once spoken by the Galatians in Galatia mainly in north central lands of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) from the 3rd century BC up to at least the 4th century AD, although ancient sources suggest it was still spoken in the 6th century. Galatian was contemporary with and closely related to the Gaulish language.
Of the language only a few glosses and brief comments in classical writers and scattered names on inscriptions survive. Altogether they add up to about 120 words, including place and personal names. Scattered vocabulary terms mentioned by Greek authors include άδάρκα (adarka), a type of plant, αδες (ades), "feet", βαρδοί (bardoi), "singing poets, bards", μάρκα (marka), "horse" and τριμαρκισία (trimarkisia), "three-horse battle group".
The attested Galatian personal names are similar to those found elsewhere in the ancient Celtic-speaking world. Many are compound names containing common Celtic roots such as *brog-, "country, territory" (cf. Old Irish mruig, Welsh and Breton bro; cognate with Latin margo and Gothic marka), *epo-, "horse" (Old Irish ech, Welsh eb- [in ebol "pony" and the compound ebrwydd "swift"]), *māro- (cf. Gaulish -māros, Old Irish mór, Welsh mawr, Breton meur) "great", and *rig(o)-, "king" (cf. Gaulish -rīx/-reix, Irish rí, Welsh rhi; cognate with Gothic -reiks, Latin rēx). Examples include:
Tribal names include Ambitouti (Old Irish imm-, Welsh am "around"; Old Irish tuath, Welsh tut, "tribe"), Ριγόσαγες (Rigosages, "King-Seekers"; cf. Irish saigid "to go towards, to seek out", Welsh haedu, verbal suffix -ha "seeking"), and Τεκτόσαγες (Tectosages, cf. the related Volcae Tectosages tribe of Gaul) "Travel-seekers" (Old Irish techt, "going, proceeding", Welsh taith, "journey, voyage").
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