The Modern Gaulish Language
The revival of the Gaulish language: Galáthach hAthevíu
22. Diminutive form
The word “bardala”, attested in glossary (Delamarre 2003, p. 67), is understood to indicate a songbird with a crest (alouette huppée), and is widely thought to be a diminutive formed on the well known Gaulish word “bardos” (bard, singer, poet, musician):
bardala = bard- + al + a
The suffix –al evident in the above example may be interpreted as a late Gaulish development of an earlier suffix “–ilos”, attested elsewhere:
brogilos > breialo = small area of land or forest
Both the above terms are attested (Delamarre 2003, p. 91-92). They show the evolution from the earlier term on “-ilo” to the late Gaulish form on “-alo”. It is posited here that the modern Gaulish language uses the suffix “-al” as a diminutive marker:
ép: horse
épal: foal (cf. Welsh ebol, Cornish ebal, Breton ebeul, all “foal”)
cun: dog
cunal: puppy
avon: river
avónal: creek
naus: boat
nausal: small boat
23. Word Formation
The formation of words is a crucial aspect of the functioning of any language, and particularly so for the revival and reconstruction of a language that is imperfectly and erratically attested. The ancient Gaulish corpus bears witness to a variety of ways in which words were constructed. The following sections deal with these various ways, and indicate how they might be applied to the modern Gaulish language.
Historical compound nouns
Compound words combining two or more nouns, verbal nouns or adjectives are well attested in the ancient Gaulish material. Two components are joined by a composition vowel, and endowed with a case ending, treating the whole as one unit. Random examples are:
Noun + noun:
argantodanos > argant-o-dan-os = silver + magistrate > magistrate in charge of
minting silver coins (Delamarre 2003, p. 54)
blatomago > blat-o-mag-o = flower + field > flowerfield, field of flowers
(Delamarre 2003, p. 78)
teutoboduus > teut-o-bodu-us = people + raven > people raven > raven of the
people? (Delamarre 2003, p. 81 note that “people of the raven”
seems more plausible)
Noun + verbal nouns:
uidubion > uidu + bion = wood + cutting > axe, saw (Delamarre 2003, p. 75)
namantobogi > namanto + bogi = enemy + breaking, hitting > enemy hitter
(Delamarre 2003, p. 81)
Noun + adjective:
glisomarga > gliso + marga = white, shining + clay > shiny clay (Delamarre 2003, p.
181)
uerolamium > uero + lamium = large + hand > generous (Delamarre 2003, p. 195)
Many of the compounds attested in the corpus of the Gaulish language, including most of the above, conform to the standard Indo-European compound formula Modifier + Head. However, it is possible to discern an evolution in Late Gaulish forms:
Uerolamium > uero + lam- = large + hand > generous (uero = large; lama = hand)
Lamauerus > lama + ueru- = hand + large > generous
(Delamarre 2003, p. 195)
Attested synonymous forms such as this are thought to indicate (Delamarre 2003, p. 99) that Late Gaulish was undergoing a shift from the standard IE construction Modifier + Head towards the construction Head + Modifier. Another example is found in
calliomarcos > calli-o-marc-os = shoe-horse > horse shoe
Another word for “horseshoe” is attested as
epocalium > epo-calium = horse + shoe
It is thought that the latter, following the standard IE compound noun construction rules, is more ancient than the former, which is thought to be Late Gaulish (Delamarre 2003, p. 99). This indicates that Late Gaulish appeared to be undergoing a shift away from Modifier + Head constructions and towards constructions of Head + Modifier.
Noun-noun compounds
As the shift described above mirrors the shift in adjectival constructions (see section on adjectives), it is posited here that the concept of compound nouns is reinterpreted in the modern Gaulish language as an attributive adjectival noun-noun compound. As such, nouns and verbal nouns are interpreted as attributive adjectives modifying a preceding head noun.
To indicate the fact that the two belong together they are graphically linked with an apostrophe /’/, and pronounced together with emphasis on the second component. If the second component has only one syllable, this will receive the emphasis. If the second component has two or more syllables, the emphasis will be on the penultimate, as is habitual. They are further phonetically linked and fused together by the application of the regular modern Gaulish word-medial sound changes to the initial consonant of the adjective, as per the rules outlined in section 3 (“sound changes”). Therefore, these changes only affect t, c, b, d, g, m and gw. P, n, r, l, s and vowels are unaffected. To recap, these changes are:
t > th
c > ch
b > v
d > dh
g > gh after C, i after V
m > w after C, m after V
gw > chw
These changes happen irrespective of the gender of the head noun. Plural is marked at the end of the compound word.
e.g.: caliomarcos > loss of word ending, reduction of [o] to [u] in the word calíu “shoe”
> caliu+marc > regular modern Gaulish sound changes
> calíu’march: horse shoe
> plural calíu’marché: horse shoes (emphasis in bold)
Examples of such noun-noun compounds include:
gwir: man (m)
pen: head
> gwir’pen: head man
carnu: horn (m)
táru: bull
> carnu’tháru: bull horn
téi: house (m)
curu: beer
téi’churu: pub
ép: horse
ríthi: to race
> ép’ríthi: racehorse
calíu: shoe (f)
march: horse
> calíu’march: horseshoe
march: horse (f)
cathu: battle
> march’chathu: battlehorse (warhorse)
ben: woman (f)
launi: to wash
> ben’launi: washer woman
In the above examples, second components on p, r, l do not undergo changes. Plurals are marked regularly:
gwir’pen > gwir’péné: head men
carnu’tháru > cernu’tharúé: bull horns
téi’churu > téi’churúé: pubs
ép’ríthi > ép’rithíé: racehorses
calíu’march > calíu’marché: horse shoes
march’cháthu > march’chathúé: war horses
ben’launi > ben’launíé: washer women
The noun-noun compound construction discussed here closely resembles the appositional genitival construction, but is distinguished from it by the internal fusing of the initial consonant of the second component:
pen: head
bó: cow
> pen’vó: cow-head
> pen bó: head of a cow
As is the case above, for some words the distinction will be clear due to the internal sound change.However, in cases where the second component of the compound starts with n, r, l, p or s or intervocalic m it wil not be possible to distinguish phonetically between a compound word and a genitival noun phrase:
ben: woman
launi: washing
> ben’launi: washer woman
ben launi: woman of washing
The compound and the noun phrase above sound exactly the same. However, this is not an issue as the meaning of the two phrases is identical.
Compound adjectives
If the second component of a compound is a true adjective, it is possible for the whole compound to be interpreted as a true adjective:
lam: hand
gwéru: broad
> lamchwéru: wide hand > generous
> lamchwérúas: generosity
For the above example, an opposite is attested in
corolamus = closing-hand > avaricious (Delamarre 2003, p. 195)
In this case not a true adjective is used, but a verbal noun acting as an adjective. Nevertheless the entire compound becomes adjectival:
lamchor: avaricious
> lamchóras: avarice
This is a good example of the ability of a verbal noun to express adjectival qualities, and of the flexibility of the Celtic languages, ancient and modern.
Prefixes
The attested material shows a number of prefixes were used in ancient Gaulish to construct words. Examples are:
sú: good < suauelo- = su + auelo “wind” = good wind > “welcome”
(Delamarre 2003, p. 284)
dú: bad < ducarius = du + car- “love” = unpopular, unpleasant
(Delamarre 2003, p. 157)
di: un-, off, from < diacus = di + acu- “speed” = slow, lazy
(Delamarre 2003, p. 143)
athé: re-, again < ate- < atespatus = ate + spa- “saying” = reply, answer
(Delamarre 2003, p. 57)
an: un-, im-, non- < anandogna = an + andogna “indigenous” = non-indigenous
(Delamarre 2003, p. 43)
ané: very < ande < anderoudus = ande + roud- “red” = very red
As is clear from the above examples, these prefixes were used in combination with nouns (auelo, acu), verbal stems/nouns (car-, spa-) and adjectives (andogna, roud-). It is proposed here that modern Gaulish does exactly the same thing, and uses these prefixes with nouns, verbal nouns and adjectives to construct words as required.
Because these prefixes become fused onto the words they combine with and form one contiguous word with, the first consonant of the word they fuse onto becomes subject to the rules of word internal sound changes detailed in section 3 (“sound changes”). These are as below:
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
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
Summary of verbal word formation paradigm
All verbal nouns ending in Consonant+i lose the final –i before the abstract noun ending. Verbal nouns on –a retain the final –a before the agentive ending.
Derivation of verbs from nouns and adjectives
It is posited here that the modern Gaulish language can form verbs from nouns by the simple expedient of adding the verbal ending –i to a noun or adjective:
már: big
mári: to grow (get bigger)
sír: long
síri: lengthen
cró: blood
crói: to bleed
When –i is added to words ending in –u, this –u becomes the semi-vowel –w- and the ending becomes –wi. This ending is retained in the present tense: the tense marker –a is suffixed after the –i:
máru: death
marwi: to die
marwía in cun: the dog dies
bóru: hot spring
borwi: to bubble > to boil
borwía in duvr: the water boils
For words ending in –i or in a diphthong, a suffix –ni is applied. This suffix is attested in the classical material (Delamarre 2003, p. 106 “carnitu”).
brau: mill
brauni: to mill
Words ending on –gh take the regular ending –e and its attendant forms
bulgh: bag
bulghe: to bag (put in a bag)
> bulgha mi: I bag
bulgheth: bagger
bulghen: baggage
