Venetic language

Venetic ( ) is an extinct Indo-European language, most commonly classified into the Italic subgroup, that was spoken by the Veneti people in ancient times in northeast Italy (Veneto and Friuli) and part of modern Slovenia, between the Po Delta and the southern fringe of the Alps, associated with the Este culture.

The language is attested by over 300 short inscriptions dating from the 6th to the 1st century BCE. 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 assimilated into the Roman sphere. Inscriptions dedicating offerings to Reitia are one of the chief sources of knowledge of the Venetic language.

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, shared some similarities with the Italic languages and so is sometimes classified as Italic. However, since it also shared similarities with other Western Indo-European branches (particularly Celtic languages and Germanic languages), some linguists prefer to consider it an independent Indo-European language. 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.

While some scholars consider Venetic plainly an Italic language, and Eric P. Hamp in 1954 thought it more closely related to Latino-Faliscan than to the Osco-Umbrian languages, many authorities suggest, in view of the divergent verbal system, that Venetic was not part of Italic proper, but split off from the core of Italic early.

A 2012 study has suggested that Venetic was a relatively conservative language significantly similar to Celtic, on the basis of morphology, while it occupied an intermediate position between Celtic and Italic, on the basis of phonology. However these phonological similarities may have arisen as an areal phenomenon. Phonological similarities to Rhaetian have also been pointed out.

In 2016, Celtologist Peter Schrijver argued that Venetic and Italic together form one sub-branch of an Italo-Celtic branch of Indo-European, the other sub-branch being Celtic.

Decline During the period of Latin-Venetic bilingual inscriptions in the Roman script, i.e. 150–50 BCE, Venetic became flooded with Latin loanwords. The shift from Venetic to Latin resulting in language death is thought by scholarship to have already been well under way by that time.

Features Venetic had about six, possibly seven, noun cases and four conjugations (similar to Latin). About 60 words are known, but some were borrowed from Latin (liber.tos. < libertus) or Etruscan. Many of them show a clear Indo-European origin, such as vhraterei < PIE *bʰréh₂trey = to the brother.

Phonological development

Venetic appears to showcase the shift of voiced aspirates to voiceless fricatives word-initially and voiced stops word-medially. Such a development is also probable for Italic, which perhaps implies that Venetic belongs to the Italic clade. Word-initial developments: *bʰ > f. Such a sound change is indicated by terms such as , a personal name that may reflect PIE ("to flee"). *dʰ > f. This sound development also likely occurred in Venetic, as indicated by forms such as (, "offered"). *gʰ > h. Perhaps attested in the term ("congratulating, glad"?), which reflects PIE . Word-medial developments: *bʰ > b. Attested in (dat.pl., "for the children"), from PIE . *dʰ > d. Also attested in . Development of labiovelars: was preserved, as in Latin. Such a sound development is indicated by forms such as the enclitic ("and"), which is related to Latin . merges with , also as in Latin. Such a sound change is attested in ("horse"), from PIE ("horse"). > , as in Latin. This sound change is attested in (dat.sg., "alive"), from PIE . Venetic may have undergone Thurneysen–Havet's law, a development also found in Italic whereby PIE yielded in pretonic position. For evidence of this development in Venetic, the linguist Michael Weiss adduces the personal name (< ) and also the Latin river names and , both of which—according to Weiss—may have been borrowed from Venetic. There is some possible counterevidence for the existence of this sound law in Venetic, particularly the terms and , which both showcase sequences. To explain these apparent discrepancies, Weiss that they may have undergone a development of PIE > , which is also an Italic sound development. Venetic may have undergone the development of PIE > , a sound change also attested for Italic. This sound law is primarily supported by forms such as and (dat.sg.f., "for the daughter"), both of which reflect the PIE root ("to grow; people"), as well as and , which may continue PIE ("to enjoy"). However, there are numerous personal names of Venetic origin attested in Latin inscriptions that appear to showcase preserved sequences, such as or , which contradicts the operation of such a sound law. Weiss notes that the forms and both appear on late Venetic texts dating to the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE respectively, whereas certain terms that appear to showcase the preservation of —such as —date to the 5th-4th centuries BCE. On this basis, Weiss suggests that the sound change occurred around the 3rd-2nd centuries BCE, perhaps due to encroaching Romanization, and it may not have affected all dialects of Venetic.

Language sample A sample inscription in Venetic, found on a bronze nail at Este (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 Reitia the Healer on behalf of Aemus and the children

Another inscription, found on a situla (vessel such as an urn or bucket) at Cadore (Ca 4 Valle):

Venetic eik Goltanos doto louderai Kanei Latin (literal) hoc Goltanus dedit liberae Cani English Goltanus sacrificed this for the free Kanis

Scholarship The most prominent scholars who have deciphered Venetic inscriptions or otherwise contributed to the knowledge of the Venetic language are Pauli, Krahe, Pellegrini, Prosdocimi, (Catalogue of an exposition at Montebelluna, 12/2001–05/2002) and Lejeune. Recent contributors include Capuis and Bianchi.

Venetic language

Bron en licentie