All other consonants remain unchanged.
These prefixes carry the following connotations:
1. “sú-“ expresses favourable notions of quality. It is used with nouns (swáiedh) and verbal nouns, denuded of any word final vowels (suchwidh), and creates adjectives.
swáiedh: good looking < su-agedos < agedos “face” = “good-face”
súchwidh: clever < su-uidu < uidu “to understand” = “good-understanding”
2. “du-“ expresses unfavourable notions of quality. It is used with nouns (dwáiedh) and verbal nouns (duchwidh) and creates adjectives.
dwáiedh: ugly < du-agedos = “bad face”
dúchwidh: stupid < du-uidu = “bad understanding”
3. “athé-“ expresses a repetition of something, comparable to English/French “re-“, “again”. It is only used with verbal forms and creates new verbs.
Before a vowel the final –é is dropped:
athé + ávó “to do” > athávó: to repeat, do again
athé + ápis “to see” > athápis: to see again
Before a consonant the –é is retained:
athé + men “to think” > athémen: to rethink
athé + gar “to call” > athéiar: to recall, call again
athé + brís “to break” > athévrís: to re-break, break again
athé + réthi “to run” > athéréthi: to re-run
The word “athé” is also used by itself and means “again”. This provides two alternative ways of expressing a repetition:
gwéla mi ávó ichí athé: I want to do it again
gwéla mi athávó ichí: I want to do it again
4. “ané-“ expresses an intensification of something. It is only used with verbal nouns and adjectives, and creates new verbs and adjectives:
ané + car “to love” > anéchar “to love very much” > to adore
ané + bói “to hit” > anévói “to hit very hard” > to smash
ané + már “big” > anémár “very big” > huge
ané + méi “small” > anéméi “very little” > tiny
5. “di-“ is the equivalent of English un-, im-, non-, and expresses the absence or opposite of something. It is used with verbal nouns and nouns and creates new verbs and nouns.
di + ái “to go” > diái: to come
di + antha “to end” > diantha: to begin
di + sá “to stand” > disá: to fall
di + techi “to leave” > dithechi: to arrive
di + menvéthi “to remember” > dimenvéthi: to forget
di + anthu “end” > dianthu: beginning
di + panthu “suffering” > dipanthu: enjoyment
6. “an-“ is synonymous with “di-“ discussed above, and expresses the opposite or absence of something. It translates as un-, im-, non-, and is used with adjectives only.
an + math “fine” > anwath: bad, poor
an + gwír “true” > anchwír: untrue
an + anóghn “indigenous” > ananóghn: non-indigenous
an + caráthach “loveable” > ancharáthach: unloveable
Substantivising suffix for adjectives
In the section dealing with adjectival formation it was discussed how nouns and verbal forms can be turned into adjectives by means of a variety of suffixes (see section 6 “adjectives”). It is also possible to turn an adjective into a noun. The Late Gaulish text of Chateaubleau includes the following:
suante ueiommi petamassi Papissone = for wanting I desire perdition for Papissona
siaxsiou beiíassu ne biti = let her not be seeking [my] punishment
(in Mees 2010)
In the above examples, “petamassi” (with Tau Gallicum) is analysed as representing “an abstract (accusative) form” (Mees 2010, p. 101). Comparison is made with the Irish suffix –as and the Gothic suffix –assus (Mees 2010, p. 101). Of the word “beiíassu” it is suggested that its suffix “–assu” (also with Tau Gallicum) also seems to “represent an abstracting form”(Mees 2010, p. 102).
In the first case the root “pet-“ is thought to be derived from “pant-“, “suffering”, hence the translation of “petamassi” as “perdition”. In the first case the root “bei-“ is thought to be related to “bei-“, “strike”, and “beiassu” is translated as “punishment”.
While it is true that in neither of the two cases illustrated above an adjective is involved in the formation of these abstract forms, a suffix similar to the one attested above is nevertheless found in the modern Celtic languages, where it creates an abstract form from an adjective. Examples are:
Breton “levenez”: happiness
Cornish “lowena”: happiness (<*lowenas (?))
Irish “sonas”: happiness
“cairdeas” (friendship).
While it it not entirely sure that the suffixes apparent in the above modern languages are descended from the same formation as “-assu”, it is nevertheless posited here that modern Gaulish will use the suffix “-assu” to form abstract nouns from adjectives, on the basis that it is necessary to be able to do so, and that the attested suffix “-assu” seems to fit the bill and will make do. It is therefore proposed here that the modern Gaulish language will use the suffix “-as” (< -assu) to form abstract nouns from adjectives:
e.g.: láen: happy > laénas: happiness
sír: long > síras: length
lithan: wide > lithanas: width
ardhu: high > ardhúas: height
már: big > máras: greatness, size
gwír: true > gwíroth: truth
ríu: free > rías: freedom (loss of intervocalic –u-)
caranach: friend > caranachas: friendship
Prepositions as prefixes
The use of a variety of prepositions in word construction is well attested in the ancient Gaulish corpus. They are found in word initial position and combine with verbs, nouns and adjectives to create new words.
e.g.: adret- = attack < ad “towards” + ret- “run” (Delamarre 2003, p. 31)
conrunos = confidant < con “together” + run- “secret” (Delamarre 2003, p. 123)
cantipisontias = witnesses < canti “with” + pisontias “those who see” (Chartres, in
Stifter 2012)
diacus = slow < di “off, away from” + “acus “speed” (Delamarre 2003, p. 145)
(“di” is preposition as well as prefix; see previous section).
exobnos = fearless < ex “without, out of” + obnos “fear” (Delamarre 2003, p. 170)
It is clear from the above examples that any preposition can be prefixed to a noun, verbal noun or adjective. It is therefore proposed here that the modern Gaulish language does exactly that, and thus creates new words.
e.g.: can: with
echan: without (< ex + canti)
ái: to go
díái: to come (see section on prefixes further above)
ur: against
gar: call
urghar: to argue
con: together, shared, common
áiedh: face
conáiedh: resemblance
> conaiédhi: to resemble
Calques
For the purpose of constructing words necessary for a modern language, it is proposed here that calques be made of words in other languages, if appropriate and justifiable. A calque is a translation of the various components of a complex word, to arrive at a complex word in another language with the same meaning.
e.g.: pwysfawr (Welsh) = important
> pwys + mawr = weight + big
pwys < pois (French) “weight”
This idiomatic expression for the abstract concept “important” is semantically related to the English adjective “weighty”, used e.g. for “a weighty decision to make”, which clearly infers a notion of importance. While the ancient Gaulish corpus does not appear to contain a word for “heavy”, it does feature the word “luxtos”, which is translated as “loaded” (Delamarre 2003; p. 212). It is possible to posit the following:
luxtos > lúith, according to the regular soundchanges of modern Gaulish
lúith: load
> lúithach: heavy
> lúithachas: heaviness, weight
The use of the word component –maros to phrase a concept is attested in ancient Gaulish: attested “iantomaros”, “with big desires”, is identical to the Old Irish “etmar”, which translates as “jealous, zealous”. This indicates that the component –maros can be used to lend an extended adjectival quality to the whole constructed word, not just to a preceding component. Therefore the following is posited:
lúith + már > lúithwár: important
> lúithwáras: importance
It is clear that the process of forming calques on words from related languages can be of considerable assistance in the construction of a sufficiently varied and diverse vocabulary for the modern Gaulish language.
23. Verbal Word Derivation
The area of derivation of words from a verbal stem is particularly rich and important for the construction of vocabulary. A number of forms exhibiting a variety of verbal suffixes which construct a number of different concepts are attested in the Gaulish corpus:
anextlo = protection
cantlo = song, music?
sedlo = seat
caranto = friend
arganto = silver
namanto = enemy
arueriatis = which gives satisfaction
orget = murderer
cinget = warrior
orgen = murder
popillos = cook
menman = thought
garman = call
toncnaman = oath/destiny
glíon = obstruction, thing that sticks
(all from Delamarre 2003)
From the above it is possible to deduce a number of verbal form substantivising suffixes and their meaning.
Abstract noun suffixes: -tlo, -lo, -anto, -eno, -man, -naman, -on
-tlo: aneg- > an-eg = to go-along > to accompany > to protect
> + tlo = protection
-lo: sed- = to sit
> + -lo = seat
-anto: car- = to love
> caranto = friend (someone who loves / is loved)
arg- = to shine
> arganto = silver (something that shines / is shiny)
nama- = to dislike
> namanto = enemy (someone who dislikes / is disliked)
(-anto is an ancient present particple suffix that has lost its verbal connotations and has become fixed as a substantivising suffix; see Delamarre 2003, p. 107)
-eno: org- = to murder
> orgeno = murder
-man: men- = to think
> menman = thought
gar- = to call
> garman = call
-naman: tonc- = to swear, pledge
> toncnaman = oath
-ion: gli- = to stick, get stuck, obstruct
> glion = something that sticks, obstruction
Agentive noun suffixes: -iatis, -eto, -ilo
-iatis: aruer- = to please
> arueriatis = that which pleases
-eto: org- = to murder
> orgeto = murderer
cing- = to go to war (to advance) > to fight
> cingeto = warrior
-ilo: pop- = to cook
> popilo: cook
Using the above information it is possible to compose a verbal word derivation paradigm based on verbal morphology. From each verbal root will be derived:
a verbal noun
an agentive form
an abstract noun
adjectives if possible
nouns derived from these adjectives
The above suffixes will take the following modern Gaulish forms:
-tlo > -thl: loss of final vowel, spirantisation of stop
-lo > -l: loss of final vowel
-anto > an: loss of final vowel and wordfinal t (> –th) after -n
-eno > en: loss of final syllable
-man > u: lenition of –man to –uan, loss of final syllable (*-man > *-uan > *-ua >
*-u), cf. attestation of “garuo”, Delamarre 2003, p. 176
-naman > -na: loss of final syllable
-on > -on: no change
-iatis > -íath: loss of final syllable, spirantisation of stop
-eto > -eth: loss of final syllable, spirantisation of stop
-ilo > -il: loss of final syllable
Verbal noun formation
It is proposed here that the use of the above suffixes will be determined by the morphology of the verbal stems they complement. A number of verbal noun classes can be outlined:
1) verbal stems on –th, -dh, -ch, -p, -v form their verbal nouns on –i:
ret- > réthi: to run
sed- > sédhi: to sit
derc- > derchi: to watch
pop- > popi: to bake
gab- > gávi: to take
Justification for this is found in attested forms on –i, e.g. “gabi”, “lubi”, “exugri”,
“carni-“. While several of these examples are imperative forms, it is posited here that this imperative ending has spread to the verbal noun by analogy. While verbal nouns are sufficiently attested in the ancient Gaulish corpus (e.g. at Chateaubleau and Chartres), their formation is heterogenous (see Mees 2010) and poorly understood. Nevertheless, the following forms are commonly proposed and accepted (Bello 2012; Bhrghros 2012):
gabi, imperative, *gabion, verbal noun
> *gabion > *gavion > gávi: to take (loss of final syllable)
lubi, imperative, *lubion, verbal noun
> *lubion > *luvion > lúvi: to adore (loss of final syllable)
2) verbal stems on –Consonant+g form their verbal nouns on –e:
org- > orghe: to murder
delg- > delghe: to hold
cing- > cinge: to go to war, fight, march, advance
The above is based on the attestation of “orge” as the imperative of a verbal stem “org-“, “to murder”, which is broadened to include all verbal stems on –Consonant+g.
3) verbal stems on –Vowel+g form their verbal nouns on –Vowel+i:
ag- > ái: to go
log- > lói: to establish
aneg- > anéi: to protect
4) verbal stems on –n, -r, -l, -m, -s form their verbal nouns without changing the root:
men- > men: to think
gar- > gar: to call
uel- > gwel: to want
dam- > dam: to accept
apis- > ápis: to see
5) verbal stems on –a form their stems without changing their root:
cara- > cára: to love
ama- > áma: to like
nama- > náma: to dislike
peta- > pétha: to ask
6) single syllable verbal stems on –i don’t change:
gli- > glí: to stick, get stuck, obstruct
gni- > gní: to know
lig- > lí: to lie (down)
Agentive form formation
The three agentive suffixes –íath, -eth and –il are distributed according to the morphology of the verbal nouns:
1) verbal nouns on –n, -r, -l, -m, -s, fricative stops +–i, –Vowel+i, and mono syllabic –i take the suffix –íath:
men > meníath: thinker
gar > garíath: caller
gwel > gwelíath: wanter
dam > damíath: acceptor
ápis > apisíath: see-er
réthi > rethíath: runner
sédhi > sedhíath: sitter
derchi > derchíath: watcher
gávi > gavíath: taker
ái > áiath: go-er
anéi > anéiath: protector
lói > lóiath: establisher
gní > gníath: knower
2) verbal nouns on -e take the suffix –eth:
orghé > orgheth: murderer
delghé > delgheth: holder
cingé > cingeth: warrior
3) verbal nouns on –pi take the suffix –il:
popi > popil: cook
4) verbal nouns on -ó drop the final vowel and take the suffix –íath :
ávó > ávíath: do-er, maker
5) verbal nouns on –a retain the final vowel and add on the suffix -iath
cára > caráiath: lover
pétha > petháiath: asker
Abstract noun formation
The suffixes –thl, -l, -an, -en, -u, -na, -on are also distributed according to the morphology of the verbal nouns:
1) verbal nouns on –n, -r, -l, -m take the suffix –u:
men > ménu: thought
gar > gáru: call
gwel > gwélu: will(power)
dam > dámu: acceptance
2) verbal nouns on –thi, -vi, -pi, -s and –ó drop their final vowels and take the suffix –an:
réthi > rethan: run
gávi > gavan: taking, take
popi > popan: cookery
ápis > apísan: sight
ávó > ávan: deed, action, act
3) verbal nouns on –Vowel+i take –thl:
ái > áithl: go, trip
anéi > anéithl: protection
lói > lóithl: establishment
4) verbal nouns on –dhi take –l:
sédhi > sédhl: seat
gwédhi > gwédhl: prayer
5) verbal nouns on –chi take -na
tonchi: to swear
> tonchna: oath
rinchi: to need
> rinchna: need, necessity
6) verbal nouns on –a take the suffix –n or –th
Some verbal forms on –a have attested nouns formed on ancient –anto that do not quite correspond with the paradigm proposed here. These forms are fixed and are retained as such. For these verbs secondary abstract nouns can be formed using the suffix –(a)th:
cára: to love
caran: friend
> cárath: love
náma: to dislike
naman: enemy
> námath: dislike
argha: to shine
arghan: silver
> arghath: shine
Verbal forms on –a for which no attested ancient abstract nouns on –anto are known form an abstract noun regularly on –an:
pétha: to ask
> pethan: question
7) single syllabic verbal nouns on –i take –on
gní: to know
> gníon: knowledge
glí: to obstruct, stick
> glíon: obstruction
frí: to spread (Bhrghros 2012)
> fríon: spread
Verbal adjectives
The past participle can be used as a verbal adjective:
cára: to love
> caráthu: loved (Delamarre 2003, p. 107)
Further adjectives can be derived with the regular adjectival suffix –ach:
caráthu: loved
> caráthach: lovely, loveable (Delamarre 2003, p. 107)
> caran: friend
> caranach: friendly
náma: to dislike
> namáthu: disliked
> namáthach: unlikeable
> naman: enemy
> namanach: hostile
Secondary abstract noun derivation
Secondary abstract nouns can be constructed using the suffix –íu, attested in the classical form –ione: cassidanaione = magistrateship (Delamarrae 2003, p. 108)
caran: friend
caraníu: friendship
naman: enemy
namaníu: hostility