The Camunic language is an extinct language that was spoken in the 1st millennium BC in the

Valcamonica Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the ...

and the

Valtellina Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...

in Northern Italy, both in the

Central Alps The Alps form a large mountain range dominating Central Europe, including parts of Italy, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Slovenia, Germany and possibly Hungary (if one includes the Kőszeg Mountains). This article describes the d ...

. The language is sparsely attested to an extent that makes any classification attempt uncertain - even the discussion of whether it should be considered a pre–Indo-European or an Indo-European language has remained indecisive. Among several suggestions, it has been hypothesized that Camunic is related to the

Raetic language Rhaetic or Raetic (), also known as Rhaetian, was a language spoken in the ancient region of Rhaetia in the eastern Alps in pre-Roman and Roman times. It is documented by around 280 texts dated from the 5th up until the 1st century BC, which were ...

from the Tyrsenian language family, or to the

Celtic languages The Celtic languages ( usually , but sometimes ) are a group of related languages descended from Proto-Celtic. They form a branch of the Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was first used to describe this language group by Edwar ...

Language

The extant corpus is carved on rock. There are at least 170 known inscriptions, the majority of which are only a few words long. The

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable fo ...

used is a variant of the north-Etruscan alphabet, known as the ''Camunian alphabet'' or ''alphabet of Sondrio''. Longer inscriptions show that Camunic writing used

boustrophedon Boustrophedon is a style of writing in which alternate lines of writing are reversed, with letters also written in reverse, mirror-style. This is in contrast to modern European languages, where lines always begin on the same side, usually the le ...

. Its name derives from the people of the

Camunni The Camuni or Camunni were an ancient population located in Val Camonica during the Iron Age (1st millennium BC); the Latin name ''Camunni'' was attributed to them by the authors of the 1st century. They are also called ancient Camuni, to disti ...

, who lived during the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

in Valcamonica and were the creators of many of the stone carvings in the area. Abecedariums found in

Nadro Nadro (Nàder in camunian dialect) is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') of the comune of Ceto (BS), Ceto (Province of Brescia, BS), Lombardy. It has 655 inhabitants. It lies 75 km from Brescia, along the ''strada Statale 42 del Tonale e della ...

and

Piancogno Piancogno ( Camunian: ) is a commune in the Italian province of Brescia, in Lombardy (man), (woman) lmo, lumbard, links=no (man), (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demo ...

have been dated to between 500 BC and 50 AD. The amount of material is insufficient to fully decipher the language. Some scholars think it may be related to

Raetic Rhaetic or Raetic (), also known as Rhaetian, was a language spoken in the ancient region of Rhaetia in the eastern Alps in pre-Roman and Roman times. It is documented by around 280 texts dated from the 5th up until the 1st century BC, which wer ...

and to

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

, but it is considered premature to make such affiliation. Other scholars suggest that Camunic could be a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

or another unknown Indo-European language.Diether Schürr: ''Zur Doppelinschrift von Voltino.'' Studi Etruschi 72, 2006 007 p. 335-346.

Transliteration

Gallery

File:Iscrizione in alfabeto camuno - Parco di Naquane R 50 - Capo di Ponte (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, Inscription from

Capo di Ponte Capo di Ponte ( Camunian: ) is an Italian comune in Val Camonica, province of Brescia, in Lombardy. Located above sea level, Capo di Ponte (en. "Head of Bridge") owes its name to an ancient settlement to the west of a bridge over the River Ogl ...

(

Val Camonica Val Camonica (also ''Valcamonica'' or Camonica Valley, Eastern Lombard: ''Al Camònega'') is one of the largest valleys of the central Alps, in eastern Lombardy, Italy. It extends about from the Tonale Pass to Corna Trentapassi, in the ...

) File:Incisione in alfabeto camuno - Foppe R 6 - Nadro (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, Inscription from

(

) File:Iscrizione_-_Foppe_R_23_-_Nadro.jpg, Inscription from

(

) File:Iscrizione - Museo Sondrio (Foto Luca Giarelli).jpg, Inscription from the museum of Sondrio (

)

References

Bibliography

*Mancini, Alberto. 1980. "Le iscrizioni della Valcamonica" in ''Studi Urbinati di storia, filosofia e letteratura. Supplemento linguistico'' 2, pp. 75–166. *Mancini, Alberto. 1991. "Iscrizioni retiche e iscrizioni camune. Due ambiti a confronto" in ''Quaderni del Dipartimento di Linguistica, Università degli studi di Firenze'' 2, pp. 77–93. *Marchesini, Simona. 2011.
Alla ricerca del modello perduto. Sulla genesi dell’alfabeto camuno"
','' ''Palaeohispanica'' 11, pp. 155-171 *Markey, Thomas L. 2008. "Shared symbolics, genre difusion, token perceptions and late literacy in North-western Europe" in ''NOWELE'' 54/55, pp. 5–62. *Morandi, Alessandro. 2004. ''Epigrafia e lingua dei Celti d'Italia'', vol. II. ''Celti d’Italia,'' ed. by Paola Piana Agostinetti (Popoli e civiltà dell'Italia antica, 12), Roma 2004 *Prosdocimi, Aldo Luigi. 1965. "Per un'edizione delle iscrizioni della Valcamonica", in ''Studi Etruschi'' 33, pp. 574–599. *Schumacher, Stefan. 2007. "Val Camonica, Inschriften" in ''Reallexikon der germanischen Altertumskunde. Band 35: Speckstein bis Zwiebel''. Ed. Heinrich Beck et al., Berlin – New York, pp. 334–337. *Tibiletti Bruno, Maria Grazia. 1978. "Camuno, retico e pararetico", in ''Lingue e dialetti dell'Italia antica'' ('Popoli e civiltà dell'Italia antica', 6), ed. by A. L. Prosdocimi, Roma 1978, pp. 209–255. *Tibiletti Bruno, Maria Grazia. 1990. "Nuove iscrizioni camune" in ''Quaderni camuni'' 49-50, pp. 29–171. *Tibiletti Bruno, Maria Grazia. 1992. "Gli alfabetari" in ''Quaderni camuni'' 60, pp. 309–380.

External links