Celtic languages

Celtic is split into two branches:

• Continental -- Celtiberian, Galatian, Noric, Gaulish, Lepontic, and perhaps including one dialect of Breton, which would be the only living language in this branch.
• Insular, which is further split into:
  • Q-Celtic -- Goidelic, including Irish Gaelic, Scots Gaelic and Manx
  • P-Celtic -- Brythonic, including Welsh, Breton, Cornish, Cumbric and possibly Pictish

The differences between P and Q languages are most easily seen in the word for son, mac in Q (hard K sound) and map in P languages. P-languages have a slightly simpler structure and may be younger than the Q-languages.

Characteristics of Celtic Languages

• Initial consonant mutation.
• Inflected prepositions.
• VSO word order as standard.
• Two grammatical genders.
• Definite but no indefinite article.
• Genitive construction by apposition.
• Counting by twenties.

Examples:
Ná bac le mac an bhacaigh is ní bhacfaigh mac an bhacaigh leat.
Not pay-attention to son the beggar's and nor will-pay-attention son the beggar's to-you.

• bhacaigh is the genitive of bacach. The i is the genitive inflection; the bh is a mutation.
• leat is the second person form of the preposition le.
• The order is VSO in the second half.

• bymtheg is a mutated form of pymtheg, which is pump five plus deg ten. Likewise, bedwar is mutated from pedwar.
• The multiples of ten are deg, ugain, deg ar hugain, deugain, hanner cant, trigain, deg a thrigain, pedwar hugain, deg a phedwar ugain, cant.

See also

• Language families and languages

Referenced By