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TEXT I
Linguists start compiling first ever complete
dictionary of ancient Celtic
It is not likely to be a hefty volume because
the vast majority of the material has been lost in the mists of time. But the
remnants of a language spoken in parts of the UK and Ireland 2,000 years ago
are being collected for what is being billed as the first complete dictionary
of ancient Celtic.
Sources for the dictionary will range from
Julius Caesar's account of his conquest of parts of northern Europe to ancient
memorial stones.
Dr Simon Rodway, a senior lecturer in the
department of Welsh and Celtic studies at Aberystwyth, said it was exciting to
be involved in compiling the first dictionary of its kind.
He said: “These disparate sources have
never before been brought together in a way that offers such an insight into
the nature of Celtic languages spoken in these islands at the dawn of the
historical period.
“The picture of the linguistic landscape
of Britain and Ireland will be of interest not only to linguists but to
historians, archaeologists and archaeogeneticists.”
The team compiling the dictionary say that
while modern Celtic languages are often different from each other, similarities
can be seen between words.
Rodway said: “With the exception of a very
small number of inscriptions from Roman Britain in Celtic languages, we're
dependent on documents that are written either in Latin or Greek, but which
contain names of places, ethnic groups or individuals that we can say are
Celtic.
“People have studied, place names before and a
few inscriptions but we're going to try and get everything together and see
what patterns emerge.”
He said the bulk of the material would come
from the Roman period in Britain, from the first to the fourth centuries AD,
and from the middle of the second century onwards in Ireland. Another source is
inscriptions on stones in places such as Cornwall and Ireland that use the
Ogham alphabet, a system of straight lines designed to be carved on to stone,
metal, bone or wood.
Adapted from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/dec/08/linguists-start-compiling-first-ever-complete-dictionary-of-ancient-celtic
