The Italo-Celtic Question

[Tadhg Gaelach]

Since the mid 19th Century, linguists noticed that Celtic and Italic \ Latin are much closer together than any other languages in the Indo-European family. Until the 1920s, it was accepted that there must have been a common Italo-Celtic language, with Latin breaking off and diverging due to being cut off from the Celtic world by the Etruscans and coming under the influence of the Greeks. While it is still accepted that these languages are closer than any other languages, the debate about a common Italo-Celtic language has been hotly contested since the late 1920s, with many linguists suggesting that the common features are the result of "intense contact" over centuries rather than a common ancestor language - other than Proto Indo-European.

This paper looks at the morphology of word endings and comes down in favor of a common ancestor. The full pdf can be downloaded for free.

(PDF) The Italo-Celtic question: new perspectives on historical phylogeny and linguistic reconstruction

PDF | On Jun 22, 2012, Keith Tse published The Italo-Celtic question: new perspectives on historical phylogeny and linguistic reconstruction | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGate

www.researchgate.net

 

[Tadhg Gaelach]

Indo-European language tree, as accepted by the majority of historical linguists today.