Siculian

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Sicel language
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Siculian
Sicel
RegionSicily
Eraattested late 6th century to 4th century BCE[1][2]
Indo-European
  • Roman expansion and conquest of Italy

Siculian (or Sicel) is an extinct Indo-European language spoken in central and eastern Sicily by the Sicels. It is attested in less than thirty inscriptions from the late 6th century to 4th century BCE, and in around twenty-five glosses from ancient writers.[1]

Classification

Ancient sources state that

Siculians entered Sicily from the Italian Peninsula either around the 13th century or the middle of the 11th century BCE (or in two waves), driving the prior inhabitants, the Sicanians and Elymians, to the west of the island.[4]

The prevalent modern view is that Siculian was an

Italic language, although the scarcity of sources and the difficulties in interpreting inscriptions and glosses make it impossible to come to a definitive conclusion.[5]

Attestations

They used the Greek alphabet, along with a native one based upon Western Greek scripts, probably the Euboic-Chalkidic version.[1] According to scholar Markus Hartmann, "of the fewer than thirty inscriptions in total, only six appear to be at least in part intelligible and to be Siculian (i.e., most certainly neither Greek nor belonging to some other Italic or pre-Italic language)."[6]

ΝΕΝΔΑΣ Π̣Υ̣[----]Σ ΤΕΒΕΓ ΠΡΑΑΡΕΙ ΕΝ ΒΟ[.]ΡΕΝΑΙ ϜΙΔΕ ΠΑΓΟΣΤΙΚΕ ΑΙΤΕ[--]ΛΥΒΕ
nendas ˌ puṛẹṇọṣ ˌ tebeg ˌ praarei ˌ en ˌ bo?renai ˌ vide ˌ pagostike ˌ aite?ṇ?ụbe.

— Stele from Sciri Sottano (c. 600 BCE)[7][6]

tamuraabesakedqoiaves ˌ eurumakes ˌ agepipokedḷutimbe levopomanatesemaidarnakei- buṛeitaṃomịaetiurela

— Amphora from Montagna di Marzo (late 6th–early 5th century BCE)[6]

ΙΑΜ ΑΚΑΡΑΜ ΕΠΟΠΑΣ ΚΑΑΓΙΙΕΣ ΓΕΠΕΔ ΤΟΥΤΟ FΕΡΕΓΑΙ ΕΣΗΕΙΚΑΔ[.] ΑΛΑ
iamˌakaramˌe?p??asˌkaag?esˌgẹpẹḍ2te?toˌveregai- es? ˌ eka ˌ doara[ịẹạḍ]

— Block of sandstone from Mendolito (late 6th century BCE)[8][6]

nunus ˌ teṇti ˌ mím ˌ arustainam ˌ íemitom ˌ esti ˌ durom ˌ nanepos ˌ durom ˌ íemitom ˌ esti ˌ velíom ˌ ned ˌ emponitantom ˌ eredes ˌ vịino ˌ brtome

— Guttus (or askos) from Centorbi (early 5th century BCE)[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c Hartmann 2017, p. 1854.
  2. the Linguist List
  3. ^ Giacomo Devoto (1951). Gli antichi Italici (second ed.). Florence: Vallecchi. p. 68.
  4. ^ de Simone 1999, p. 500; de Simone 2006, p. 690; Hartmann 2017, p. 1854.
  5. ^ Palmer 1988, pp. 43–45; Agostiniani 1992, p. 538; Tribulato 2012, p. 167; Hartmann 2017, p. 1854.
  6. ^ a b c d e Hartmann 2017, p. 1855.
  7. ^ "Inscribed Stele inscribed in the Sikel language". Voci di Pietra. Castello Ursino Civic Museum.
  8. .

Bibliography

Further reading