Venetic language
Encyclopedia
Venetic is an extinct Indo-European language
that was spoken in ancient times in the North East of Italy
(Veneto
) and part of modern Slovenia
, between the Po River
delta
and the southern fringe of the Alps
.
The language is attested by over 300 short inscriptions dating from the 6th to the 1st century BC. Its speakers are identified with the ancient people called Veneti
by the Romans
and Enetoi by the Greeks
. It became extinct around the 1st century when the local inhabitants were assimilated into the Roman sphere. Inscriptions dedicating offerings to Reitia
are one of the chief sources of knowledge of the Venetic language.
Venetic should not be confused with Venetian
, a Romance language presently spoken in the same general region.
The exact relationship of Venetic to other Indo-European languages is still being investigated, but the majority of scholars agree that Venetic, aside from Liburnian
, was closest to the Italic languages
(a group that includes Latin
, Oscan and Umbrian
). Venetic may also have been related to the Illyrian languages
once spoken in the western Balkans
, though the theory that Illyrian and Venetic were closely related is debated by current scholarship. The position of Venetic within Indo-European has been studied in detail by Lejeune.
Some important parallels with the Germanic languages
have also been noted, especially in pronominal forms:
(liber.tos. < libertus) or Etruscan
. Many of them show a clear Indo-European origin, such as vhraterei < PIE *bhraterei = to the brother.
stops *bh, *dh and *gh developed to /f/, /f/ and /h/, respectively, in word-initial position (as in Latin and Osco-Umbrian), but to /b/, /d/ and /g/, respectively, in word-internal intervowel position (as in Latin). For Venetic, at least the developments of *bh and *dh are clearly attested. Faliscan and Osco-Umbrian have /f/, /f/ and /h/ internally as well.
There are also indications of the developments of PIE *gʷ- > w-, PIE *kʷ > *kv and PIE *gʷʰ- > f- in Venetic, all of which are parallel to Latin, as well as the regressive assimilation of PIE sequence *p...kw... > *kw...kw..., a feature also found in Italic and Celtic
nail
at Este
(Es 45):
Another inscription, found on a situla (vessel such as an urn or bucket) at Cadore
(Ca 4 Valle):
, Giovanni Battista Pellegrini, Aldo Luigi Prosdocimi and Michel Lejeune
. Recent contributors include Loredana Calzavara Capuis and Anna Maria Chieco Bianchi.
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
that was spoken in ancient times in the North East of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(Veneto
Veneto
Veneto is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about 5 million, ranking 5th in Italy.Veneto had been for more than a millennium an independent state, the Republic of Venice, until it was eventually annexed by Italy in 1866 after brief Austrian and French rule...
) and part of modern Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, between the Po River
Po River
The Po |Ligurian]]: Bodincus or Bodencus) is a river that flows either or – considering the length of the Maira, a right bank tributary – eastward across northern Italy, from a spring seeping from a stony hillside at Pian del Re, a flat place at the head of the Val Po under the northwest face...
delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
and the southern fringe of the Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
.
The language is attested by over 300 short inscriptions dating from the 6th to the 1st century BC. Its speakers are identified with the ancient people called Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
by the Romans
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
and Enetoi by the Greeks
Ancient Greece
Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
. It became extinct around the 1st century when the local inhabitants were assimilated into the Roman sphere. Inscriptions dedicating offerings to Reitia
Reitia
Reitia is a goddess, one of the best known deities of the Adriatic Veneti of northeastern Italy.While her place in the Venetic pantheon cannot be known for certain, the importance of her cult to Venetic society is well attested in archaeological finds...
are one of the chief sources of knowledge of the Venetic language.
Venetic should not be confused with Venetian
Venetian language
Venetian or Venetan is a Romance language spoken as a native language by over two million people, mostly in the Veneto region of Italy, where of five million inhabitants almost all can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto, in Trentino, Friuli, Venezia...
, a Romance language presently spoken in the same general region.
Linguistic classification
Venetic is a centum language. The inscriptions use a variety of the Northern Italic alphabet, similar to the Etruscan alphabet.The exact relationship of Venetic to other Indo-European languages is still being investigated, but the majority of scholars agree that Venetic, aside from Liburnian
Liburnian language
The Liburnian language is an extinct language which was spoken by the ancient Liburnians, who occupied Liburnia in classical times. The Liburnian language is reckoned as an Indo-European language, in the Centum group. Alternative speculations place it on the same Indo-European branch as the Venetic...
, was closest to the Italic languages
Italic languages
The Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family. It includes the Romance languages derived from Latin , and a number of extinct languages of the Italian Peninsula, including Umbrian, Oscan, Faliscan, and Latin.In the past various definitions of "Italic" have prevailed...
(a group that includes Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, Oscan and Umbrian
Umbrian language
Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian languages...
). Venetic may also have been related to the Illyrian languages
Illyrian languages
The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
once spoken in the western Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, though the theory that Illyrian and Venetic were closely related is debated by current scholarship. The position of Venetic within Indo-European has been studied in detail by Lejeune.
Some important parallels with the Germanic languages
Germanic languages
The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...
have also been noted, especially in pronominal forms:
- Venetic: ego = I, accusative mego = me
- Gothic: ik, accusative mik
- Venetic: sselboisselboi = to oneself
- Old High German: selb selbo
Features
Venetic had about six or even seven noun cases and four conjugations (similar to Latin). About 60 words are known, but some were borrowed from LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
(liber.tos. < libertus) or Etruscan
Etruscan language
The Etruscan language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization, in what is present-day Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna...
. Many of them show a clear Indo-European origin, such as vhraterei < PIE *bhraterei = to the brother.
Phonology
In Venetic, PIEProto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
stops *bh, *dh and *gh developed to /f/, /f/ and /h/, respectively, in word-initial position (as in Latin and Osco-Umbrian), but to /b/, /d/ and /g/, respectively, in word-internal intervowel position (as in Latin). For Venetic, at least the developments of *bh and *dh are clearly attested. Faliscan and Osco-Umbrian have /f/, /f/ and /h/ internally as well.
There are also indications of the developments of PIE *gʷ- > w-, PIE *kʷ > *kv and PIE *gʷʰ- > f- in Venetic, all of which are parallel to Latin, as well as the regressive assimilation of PIE sequence *p...kw... > *kw...kw..., a feature also found in Italic and Celtic
Language sample
A sample inscription in Venetic, found on a bronzeBronze
Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...
nail
Nail (engineering)
In woodworking and construction, a nail is a pin-shaped, sharp object of hard metal or alloy used as a fastener. Formerly wrought iron, today's nails are typically made of steel, often dipped or coated to prevent corrosion in harsh conditions or improve adhesion...
at Este
Este, Italy
Este is a town and comune of the Province of Padua, in the Veneto region of northern Italy. It is situated at the foot of the Euganei Hills. The town is a centre for farming, crafts and industry worthy of note.-History:...
(Es 45):
- Venetic: mego donasto śainatei reitiiai porai egeotora aimoi ke louderobos
- Latin (literal): me donavit sanatrici reitiae bonae egetora [pro] aemo liberis-que
- English: Egetora gave me to Good ReitiaReitiaReitia is a goddess, one of the best known deities of the Adriatic Veneti of northeastern Italy.While her place in the Venetic pantheon cannot be known for certain, the importance of her cult to Venetic society is well attested in archaeological finds...
the Healer on behalf of Aemus and the children
Another inscription, found on a situla (vessel such as an urn or bucket) at Cadore
Cadore
Cadore is a "comunità montana" in the Italian region of Veneto, in the northernmost part of the province of Belluno bordering on Austria, the Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol and Friuli-Venezia Giulia. It is watered by the Piave River poured forth from the Carnic Alps...
(Ca 4 Valle):
- Venetic: eik goltanos doto louderai kanei
- Latin (literal): hic goltanus dedit liberae cani
- English: Goltanus sacrificed this for the virgin Kanis
Scholarship
The most prominent scholars who have deciphered Venetic inscriptions or otherwise contributed to the knowledge of the Venetic language are Carl Eugen Pauli, Hans KraheHans Krahe
Hans Krahe was a German philologist and linguist, specializing over many decades in the Illyrian languages. He was born at Gelsenkirchen....
, Giovanni Battista Pellegrini, Aldo Luigi Prosdocimi and Michel Lejeune
Michel Lejeune (linguist)
Michel Lejeune was a French linguist, a specialist in the sound changes of Ancient Greek. He was a member of the Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres.-References:...
. Recent contributors include Loredana Calzavara Capuis and Anna Maria Chieco Bianchi.
See also
- Adriatic VenetiAdriatic VenetiThe Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
- VenedesVenedesThe Vistula Veneti were an ancient Indo-European people along the river Vistula and the Bay of Gdańsk.- Etymology of the ethnonym Veneti :...
- Liburnian languageLiburnian languageThe Liburnian language is an extinct language which was spoken by the ancient Liburnians, who occupied Liburnia in classical times. The Liburnian language is reckoned as an Indo-European language, in the Centum group. Alternative speculations place it on the same Indo-European branch as the Venetic...
- Italic languagesItalic languagesThe Italic subfamily is a member of the Indo-European language family. It includes the Romance languages derived from Latin , and a number of extinct languages of the Italian Peninsula, including Umbrian, Oscan, Faliscan, and Latin.In the past various definitions of "Italic" have prevailed...
- Italo-CelticItalo-CelticIn historical linguistics, Italo-Celtic is a grouping of the Italic and Celtic branches of the Indo-European language family on the basis of features shared by these two branches and no others. These are usually considered to be innovations, which are likely to have developed after the breakup of...
- Illyrian languagesIllyrian languagesThe Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in former times by groups identified as Illyrians: Ardiaei, Delmatae, Pannonii, Autariates, Taulanti...
- Indo-European languagesIndo-European languagesThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
- Proto-Celtic languageProto-Celtic languageThe 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...
External links
- Víteliú: The Languages of Ancient Italy.
- Venetic inscriptions Adolfo Zavaroni.
- Indo-European database: The Venetic language Cyril Babaev.
- Italic languages - Additional reading Encyclopædia Britannica.