Lusitanian (so named after the Lusitani or
LusitaniansThe Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language, and were either of Celtic origin or else became Celticized over time...
) was a
paleohispanic languageThe Paleohispanic languages were the languages of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, excluding languages of foreign colonies, such as Greek in Emporion and Phoenician in Qart Hadast...
that clearly belongs to the
Indo-EuropeanThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia...
family like the
Celtiberian languageCeltiberian is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula lying...
. It is known by only five inscriptions, dated from the year 1 A.D., and numerous names of places (toponyms) and of gods (theonyms). The language was spoken in the territory inhabited by
LusitanianLusitanian may refer to:*Lusitanians, an ancient people of western Iberian Peninsula.**Lusitanian language, the language of the ancient Lusitanians.**Lusitanian mythology, the mythology of the ancient Lusitanians....
tribes, from Douro to the
TagusFor the ancient Thessalian title, see TagusThe Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula...
rivers, territory that nowadays belongs mainly to
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, but also to
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
.
The Lusitanians were the most numerous people in the western area of the
Iberian peninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas...
, and there are those who consider that they came from the
AlpsThe Alps are 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....
; others believe the Lusitanians were a native Iberian
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists hold that...
.
Lusitanian (so named after the Lusitani or
LusitaniansThe Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language, and were either of Celtic origin or else became Celticized over time...
) was a
paleohispanic languageThe Paleohispanic languages were the languages of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, excluding languages of foreign colonies, such as Greek in Emporion and Phoenician in Qart Hadast...
that clearly belongs to the
Indo-EuropeanThe Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major languages of Europe, Iran, and northern India, and historically also predominant in Anatolia and Central Asia...
family like the
Celtiberian languageCeltiberian is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula lying...
. It is known by only five inscriptions, dated from the year 1 A.D., and numerous names of places (toponyms) and of gods (theonyms). The language was spoken in the territory inhabited by
LusitanianLusitanian may refer to:*Lusitanians, an ancient people of western Iberian Peninsula.**Lusitanian language, the language of the ancient Lusitanians.**Lusitanian mythology, the mythology of the ancient Lusitanians....
tribes, from Douro to the
TagusFor the ancient Thessalian title, see TagusThe Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula...
rivers, territory that nowadays belongs mainly to
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, but also to
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
.
History
The Lusitanians were the most numerous people in the western area of the
Iberian peninsulaThe Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France. It is the westernmost of the three major southern European peninsulas—the Iberian, Italian, and Balkan peninsulas...
, and there are those who consider that they came from the
AlpsThe Alps are 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....
; others believe the Lusitanians were a native Iberian
tribeA tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists hold that...
. In any event, it is known that they were established in the area by the
6th century BCThe sixth century BC started the first day of 600 BC and ended the last day of 501 BC.In India, Panini, sometime during this century, composed a grammar for Sanskrit, which is the one of oldest extant grammar of any language after 15 other proto-dravidian languages like Brahmi.In the Near East,...
.
Circa 150 BC, Lusitania began being conquered by the
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
. Like all other
paleohispanic languagesThe Paleohispanic languages were the languages of the pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, excluding languages of foreign colonies, such as Greek in Emporion and Phoenician in Qart Hadast...
, except for the
Basque languageBasque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is the mother tongue of approximately one fifth of Basques, 632,000 out of nearly 3,000,000...
, the Lusitanian language succumbed to the pressure and prestige of
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Roman conquest, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe...
over time.
Classification and related languages
Lusitanian appears to have been an Indo-European language which was quite different from the languages spoken in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. It would be more archaic than the
Celtiberian languageCeltiberian is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula lying...
.
The filiation of the Lusitanian language is still in debate. There are those who endorse that it is a Celtic language. This Celtic theory is largely based upon the historical fact that the only Indo-European tribes that are known to have existed in Portugal at that time were
CeltCelts is a modern term used to describe any of the European peoples who spoke, or speak, a Celtic language...
ic tribes. The apparent "Celticity" of most of the lexicon — the anthroponyms and
toponyms — may also support a Celtic affiliation.
There is a substantial problem in the Celtic theory however: the preservation of initial /p/, as can be seen in
PORCOM. The Celtic languages had lost that initial /p/ in their evolution: comparing with
athir /
orc (Old Irish) and
pater /
porcum (Latin) meaning "father" and "pig", respectively. However, the presence of this /p/ does not necessarily preclude the possibility of Lusitanian being Celtic if Lusitanian had split off from the other Celtic languages before the loss of /p/, or when /p/ had become (before shifting to /h/ and then being lost); the letter P could be used to represent either sound.
A second theory, defended by Francisco Villar and Rosa Pedrero, relates Lusitanian with the
Italic 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 itself.In the past various definitions of "Italic" have prevailed...
. The theory is based on parallels in the names of deities (Latin
Consus / Lusitanian
Cossue, Latin
Seia / Lusitanian
Segia,
MarruciniThe Marrucini were an ancient tribe which occupied a small strip of territory around the ancient Teate , on the east coast of Abruzzo, Italy, limited by the Aterno and Foro Rivers...
an
Iovia / Lusitanian
Iovea(i)) and other lexical items (Umbrian
gomia / Lusitanian
comaiam), with some other grammatical elements.
Finally, Ulrich Schmoll proposed a new branch which he called "Galician-Lusitanian".
No Lusitanian text of sufficient length, however, has surfaced in order for its affiliation to be clearly determined, one way or the other.
Geographical distribution
Inscriptions have been found in
Arroyo de la LuzArroyo de la Luz is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2005 census , the municipality has a population of 6607 inhabitants....
(in
CáceresCáceres may refer toPlaces* Cáceres in Spain**Cáceres which covers the province* Cáceres, Spain, the capital of Cáceres Province* Cáceres, Antioquia, municipality in Colombia...
), Cabeço das Fragas (in
GuardaGuarda Municipality is located in Guarda District, Beira Interior Norte sub-region in Centro Region in Portugal. It has a total area of 712.1 km² and a total population of 44,149. It contains the city of Guarda, Portugal....
) and in Moledo (
ViseuViseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 100,167 , and the city proper has 47,250...
) and most recently in Ribeira da Venda. Taking into account Lusitanian theonyms, anthroponyms and toponyms, the Lusitanian sphere would include modern northeastern
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
and adjacent areas in
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
, with the centre in
Serra da EstrelaSerra da Estrela is the highest mountain range in Portugal and includes mainland Portugal's highest point . The range is at above mean sea level at its highest point...
.
There are fundamental suspicions that the area of the Gallaecian tribes (North of Portugal and Galicia), Asturian and, probably, Vettonian; that is, all the northwestern area of the Iberian peninsula, spoke languages related with the Lusitanian and not with the Celtic language, as it is commonly believed.
Writing system
The most famous inscriptions are those from Cabeço das Fráguas and Lamas de Moledo in Portugal and Arroyo de la Luz in Spain. Ribeira da Venda is the most recently discovered (2008). All the known inscriptions are written in the
Latin alphabetThe Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in the world today. It evolved from the western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, and was initially developed by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language.During the...
.
| Lamas de Moledo: |
Cabeço das Fráguas: |
Arroyo de la Luz (I & II): |
Arroyo de la Luz (III): |
Ribeira da Venda: |
RUFUS ET
TIRO SCRIP
SERUNT
VEAMINICORI
DOENTI
ANGOM
LAMATICOM
CROUCEAI
MACA
REAICOI PETRANOI R(?)
ADOM PORCOM IOUEAS(?)
CAELOBRICOI |
OILAM TREBOPALA
INDO PORCOM LAEBO
COMAIAM ICONA LOIM
INNA OILAM USSEAM
TREBARUNE INDI TAUROM
IFADEM REUE...
A sheep [lamb?] for Trebopala
and a pig for Laebo,
[a sheep] of the same age for Iccona Loiminna,
a one year old sheep for
Trebaruna and a fertile bull...
for Reve... |
AMBATVS
SCRIPSI
CARLAE PRAISOM
SECIAS ERBA MVITIE
AS ARIMO PRAESO
NDO SINGEIETO
INI AVA INDI VEA
VN INDI VEDAGA
ROM TEVCAECOM
INDI NVRIM INDI
VDEVEC RVRSENCO
AMPILVA
INDI
LOEMINA INDI ENV
PETANIM INDI AR
IMOM SINTAMO
M INDI TEVCOM
SINTAMO |
ISACCID·RVETI ·
PVPPID·CARLAE·EN
ETOM·INDI·NA.[
....CE·IOM·
M·
|
[- - - - - -] XX•OILAM•ERBAM
HARASE•OILA•X•BROENEIAE•H
OILA•X•REVE AHARACVI•T•AV[...]
IEATE•X•BANDI HARACVI AV[....]
MVNITIE CARIA CANTIBIDONE•
APINVS•VENDICVS•ERIACAINV[S]
OVOVIANI[?]
ICCINVI•PANDITI•ATTEDIA•M•TR
PVMPI•CANTI•AILATIO
|
Further reading
- Gorrochategui, Joaquín (1987): «En torno a la clasificación del lusitano», Actas del IV coloquio sobre lenguas y culturas paleohispanicas, pp. 2-3.
- Untermann, Jürgen (1997): «Lusitanisch, keltiberisch, keltisch», Veleia 2-3, pp. 57-76.
- Untermann, Jürgen (1997): Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum. IV Die tartessischen, keltiberischen und lusitanischen Inschriften, Wiesbaden.
- Villar, Francisco (1996): Los indoeuropeos y los orígenes de Europa, Madrid.
- Villar, Francisco; Pedrero Rosa (2001): «La nueva inscripción lusitana: Arroyo de la Luz III», Religión, ´Lengua y Cultura Prerromanas de Hispania, pp. 663-698.
See also
External links