The Gallo-Brittonic languages, also known as the P-Celtic languages, are a subdivision of 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 ...

Ancient Gaul Gaul ( la, Gallia) was a region of Western Europe first described by the Romans. It was inhabited by Celtic and Aquitani tribes, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, most of Switzerland, parts of Northern Italy (only during Rep ...

(both '' celtica'' and '' belgica'') and Celtic Britain, which share certain features. Besides common linguistic innovations, speakers of these languages shared cultural features and history. The cultural aspects are commonality of art styles and worship of similar gods.

Coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * '' COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism ''Protologism'' is a term coined in 2003 by the American literary ...

just prior to the British Roman period was also similar. In

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

's time, the Atrebates held land on both sides of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

Linguistics

The hypothesis that the languages spoken in Gaul and Great Britain (

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

and the

Brittonic languages The Brittonic languages (also Brythonic or British Celtic; cy, ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig; kw, yethow brythonek/predennek; br, yezhoù predenek) form one of the two branches of the Insular Celtic language family; the other is Goidelic ...

) descended from a common ancestor, separate from the Celtic languages of Ireland, Spain, and Italy, is based on a number of linguistic innovations, principally the evolution of

Proto-Celtic Proto-Celtic, or Common Celtic, is the ancestral proto-language of all known Celtic languages, and a descendant of Proto-Indo-European. It is not attested in writing but has been partly reconstructed through the comparative method. Proto-Celti ...

*kʷ into (thus the name "P-Celtic"). These innovations are not shared with the Goidelic languages. The shared innovations not in Goidelic are: * Proto-Celtic ' > Gallo-Brittonic ''p'', or in voiced form ''b'' (e.g. Gaulish ''mapos'', Welsh ''mab'' ≠ Irish ''mac'') * Proto-Celtic ''mr'' and ''ml'' > Gallo-Brittonic ''br'' and ''bl'' (e.g. Gaulish ''broga'', Welsh, Breton ''bro'' ≠ Old Irish ''mruig'') * Proto-Celtic ''wo'', ''we'' > Gallo-Brittonic ''wa'' (e.g. Gaulish ''uassos'', Welsh ''gwass'' ≠ Old Irish ''foss'') * Proto-Celtic ' > Gallo-Brittonic ''w'' * Early loss of ''g'' between vowels in both Gaulish and Brittonic * Proto-Celtic ''dj'' between vowels tended to give Gallo-Brittonic ''j'' * Proto-Celtic ''*anman'' > Gallo-Brittonic ''anwan''. (Gaulish ''anuana'', Welsh ''enuein'' ≠ Irish ''ainm''; but also Gaulish ''anmanbe'')Lambert, Pierre-Yves. (1994). ''La langue gauloise'', éditions errance. p. 19. The chief alternative view is the Insular Celtic hypothesis, which asserts that Goidelic and Brythonic underwent a period of common development and have shared innovations, while the above changes are either independent innovations that occurred separately in Brythonic and Gaulish or are due to language contact between the two groups.

Notes

{{Celtic languages Celtic languages

Linguistics

See also

Notes