Continental Celtic Languages - Attested Languages

Attested Languages

Although it is likely that Celts spoke dozens of different languages and dialects across Europe in pre-Roman times, only five such languages are commonly said to be actually attested:

• Lepontic (7th to 4th century BC) was spoken on the southern side of the Alps. Lepontic is generally considered an early dialect of Gaulish, and Galatian may be a late one as well. It is evidenced in a number of inscriptions as well as place names.
• Gaulish or Gallic (3rd century BC to 2nd (?) century AD) was the main language spoken in greater Gaul. This is often considered to be divided into two dialects, Cisalpine (the Italian side) and Transalpine (the French side). It is evidenced in a number of inscriptions as well as place names and tribal names in writings of classical authors. It may have been a substratum to Breton, as noted below.
• Galatian, that was spoken around Ankara. Classical writers say that the language is similar to that of Gaul. There is also evidence of invasion and settlement of the Ankara area by Celts from Europe.
• Noric, which is the name given sometimes to the Celtic dialects spoken in Central and Eastern Europe. It was spoken in Austria and Slovenia; only two fragmentary texts are preserved and there are plenty of personal names and toponyms.
• Celtiberian or Northeastern Hispano-Celtic (3rd to 1st century BC) is the name given to the language in northeast Iberia, between the headwaters of the Douro, Tagus, Júcar and Turia rivers and the Ebro river. It is attested to by some 200 inscriptions as well as place names. It is distinct from the Iberian language. A Celtic language may also have been spoken by the Tartessian people in SW Iberia. Tartessian is attested by 95 inscriptions with the longest having 82 readable signs. Both attested languages have been grouped in Hispano-Celtic.

Two other languages that may also be grouped as part of Hispano-Celtic:

• Gallaecian or Gallaic or Northwestern Hispano-Celtic known from a corpus of Latin inscriptions containing some linguistic features that are unmistakably Celtic forming a Celtic continuum of dialects, while others have archaic features similar to Lusitanian.
• Lusitanian was spoken in the area between the Douro and Tagus rivers in what is now Portugal and part of Spain. It is only attested by five inscriptions, together with various place names. A clearly Indo-European language, some scholars have proposed that, given its archaic character, some Hispano-Celtic dialects of which they include Lusitanian as one, might be an early form of Celtic. Others disagree with an early or proto Celtic designation but see affinities with Italic and Old European.