Faliscan language

Faliscan
Faliscan red-figure vase
Native to	ancient Italy
Region	Southern Etruria (Northern Lazio)
Extinct	about 150 BC
Language family	Indo-European Italic Latino-Faliscan Faliscan
Early forms	Proto-Indo-European Proto-Italic Proto-Latino-Faliscan
Writing system	Faliscan, Etruscan, and Latin alphabets
Language codes
ISO 639-3	xfa
Linguist List	xfa
Glottolog	fali1291
Map of Italy showing where Faliscan was spoken
Faliscan is an Extinct language according to the criteria of the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Faliscan language is the extinct Italic language of the ancient Falisci, who lived in Southern Etruria at Tiber Valley. Together with Latin, it formed the Latino-Faliscan languages group of the Italic languages. It seems probable that the language persisted, being gradually permeated with Latin, until at least 150 BC.

Corpus

An estimated 355 inscriptions survive, mostly short and dating from the 7th to the 2nd centuries BC. Some are written from right to left in a variety of the Old Italic alphabet, derived from the Etruscan alphabet, but they show some traces of the influence of the Latin alphabet. An inscription to Ceres of c. 600 BC, found in Falerii, usually taken to be the oldest example, is written left to right.

A specimen of the language appears written around the edge of a picture on a patera, the genuineness of which is established by the fact that the words were written before the glaze was put on: foied vino pipafo, cra carefo, Latin: hodie vinum bibam, cras carebo, lit. 'today I will drink wine; tomorrow I will not have any'. That sample indicates that Faliscan was less conservative in some respects than Latin, with the wearing down of final case endings and the obscuring of the etymology of foied "today", which is more obvious in Latin hodie (from hoc die).The iscrptions (foied uino pafo cra carefo), Italian: “oggi berrò il vino, domani farò senza”, was made over a kilyx red figure vase found in Penna's Necropolis of Falerii Veteres at Tiber Valley, now is conservate at Etruscan National Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome.

There are remains found in graves, which belong mainly to the period of Etruscan domination and give ample evidence of material prosperity and refinement. Earlier strata have yielded more primitive remains from the Italic epoch. Many inscriptions with mainly proper names may be regarded as Etruscan rather than Faliscan; they have been disregarded in the account of the dialect just given.

The town of Feronia, in Sardinia, was named probably after their native goddess by Faliscan settlers. A votive inscription from some of them is found at S. Maria di Falleri.

Phonology

Here are some of the phonetic characteristics of the Faliscan language:

1. The retention of medial f, which Latin changed to b (FHEFHAKED /fefaked/ in the Praeneste fibula may be Proto-Latino-Faliscan);
2. The palatalization of d followed by consonantal i into some sound, denoted merely by i-, the central sound of foied, from fo-died;
3. The loss of final s, at least before certain following sounds (cra = Latin cras);
4. The retention with Latin of the labiovelars (cuando = Latin quando, compare Umbrian pan(n)u);
5. The assimilation of some final consonants to the initial sound of the next word: pretod de zenatuo sententiad (Conway, lib. cit. 321) = Latin praetor de senatus sententia (zenatuo for senatuos, an archaic genitive).

Problem of f and h

The question of irregular, unexpected developments of the Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirates in Faliscan, as opposed to the normal Latin rendering, is the appearance of both h and f as reflexes of *bh/*dh and *gh: filea 'daughter' and hileo 'son' = Latin filius < Proto-Indo-European *dheh₁-lyo- and fe 'here' and hec = Latin hic < Proto-Indo-European *ghey-ke.

In 1991, Rex E. Wallace and B. D. Joseph offered an explanation. They suggested that while it is documented also in Latin, it is the Faliscan material that provides a clearer picture of the supposed developments.

They remark that the unexpected outcomes are absent from the archaic Faliscan inscriptions and that the regular outcomes largely outnumber the irregular ones in the Faliscan epigraphic corpus. The unexpected outcomes show up only in middle and late Faliscan. The following are the only instances:

h for expected f:

hileo (son) Middle Faliscan

hirmia (gentilicium) Middle Faliscan (firmio is also attested)

hirmio (gentilicium) Late Faliscan

holcosio (gentilicium) Late Faliscan

haba 'a kind of bean' < *bhabo- (cited by grammarian Quintus Terentius Scaurus as Faliscan)

f for expected h:

foied 'today' Middle Faliscan < *gho:d d(i)ed

fe 'here' Late Faliscan < *ghey-ke

Wallace and Joseph suppose that the first change is a natural sound change that can be seen in many languages (Spanish hijo 'son' from Latin filium 'son' [accusative]), which in Faliscan affected only a few possible candidate words. The second outcome cannot be explained as a sound change and so they argue it is a hypercorrect form caused by the other development. While the change from f to h was taking place and awareness of the correct forms was being lost, some speakers started restoring f even when it was not etymologically appropriate.

Alphabet

Faliscan Inscription of Foglia at Tiber Valley, written in the Faliscan alphabet.

Faliscan inscriptions were typically recorded in a unique Faliscan alphabet. This alphabet appears in the earliest Faliscan inscriptions; it dates back to the 7th century BCE. It possibly derives from Western Greek alphabets. However, it may also derive from the Etruscan alphabet, which potentially served as an intermediary between the Faliscan and Greek alphabets. Regardless, the ultimate source of the Faliscan alphabet is definitively Greek. During the transition from Greek to Faliscan, the Greek letter “γ” was transformed into “𐌂.” In some examples of graffiti, the letter is instead spelled like "𐌭." The Greek letter “κ” was transformed into “𐌊” and “ϙ” was adapted as “𐌒.” However, these three letters all represented the same phoneme. Over time, this redundancy caused the Faliscan, Etruscan, and Latin alphabets to alter the role of these letters within their alphabets. Faliscan dropped the letter “𐌒” and repurposed “𐌊” to represent the /g/ phoneme instead. One Early Faliscan inscription contains the word “eqo,” however “q” likely represents the /g/ phoneme. One, likely Faliscan, inscription engraved on a bronze contains the Latin letter “g.” It contains words such as “gonlegium” and “gondecorant.” These unusual spellings likely stem from a Faliscan writer who was uncertain about the proper usage of the letter “g.”

The Greek letters “β,” “Θ,” and “δ” were not adapted into Faliscan. It is possible that “β” was never incorporated into Faliscan because the /b/ phoneme was rare in the language and the difference between /b/ and /p/ was morphologically irrelevant. However, there are several rare examples of Faliscan inscriptions containing the letter “𐌁.” One Faliscan inscription contains the text “Tito batio.” This discrepancy likely occurred due to Latin influence. The word “batio” may be a synonym for the Latin word “Battius”, which is found in Roman inscriptions. Unlike other Italic languages, Faliscan never adopted “𐌅”. Instead, it had its own unique sign, “𐋇,” for /f/. Theta, a Greek letter written as “Θ”, was also never formally incorporated into the Faliscan alphabet. However, it appears in a small number of Faliscan inscriptions. When used by the Faliscans, it was typically written like “.” The Faliscans likely opted for this method of writing the letter to avoid confusion with “𐌏.” This letter possibly represented the allophone /t/ in the few Faliscan inscriptions it appears in. The letter "𐌑," which was also common in Etruscan writing, was rare in Faliscan writing. It appears in two Faliscan inscriptions from Corchiano. Instead of the standard Etruscan "𐌑," "𐌌" was used in Early Faliscan writings. In Middle and Late Faliscan writings, "" was used instead.

Faliscan inscriptions from all time periods utilize “𐌄” as the standard symbol for the /e/ phoneme. Sometimes, “,” a less common alternative that lacked the line protrusion at the bottom of the letter was used instead. There are rare instances of the variant “” replacing the standard letter. Although this variant may be a writing error, it occurs multiple times in separate Faliscan inscriptions, indicating that it may be a legitimate alternative to the more common version. Various cursive forms of the letter are known. “II” is the most common cursive form in Faliscan inscriptions and is also the cursive form used in Latin. One bronze strigil found near the necropolis by San Antonio one inscription contains the cursive variant “.” The inscription is possibly Middle Faliscan, however it is written in the Etruscan alphabet, and may be Etruscan. This is similar to an Etruscan letter “,” which was also found in a necropolis near San Antonio. One rare form of the Faliscan “𐌄” is "." This form appears in two inscriptions. Another example of this letter was found in a Latin inscription painted on the backs of three tiles in Ardea. These more unique cursive forms may also be cursive variants of “𐌇.” The symbol "𐌇" was also used in Middle and Late Faliscan inscriptions to represent the /h/ phoneme, In some inscriptions, “" is used instead. This shape may be a simplification of "𐌇," or possibly a new symbol inspired by the Latin "H." Another variant of "𐌇" is "." This form is a possibly cursive version of the letter and appears in only one inscription.

The transition from Early Faliscan to Middle Faliscan was accompanied by numerous changes to the Faliscan alphabet. Early Faliscan “A” or “𐌀” was changed into “,” a variant with an extended line and a slightly convex upper part. This variant was often confused with the letter “ᚱ.” During this time period, various cursive forms of “𐌀" emerged, such as "," ","," "𐌡," or ".” Another letter, "," is found in two Faliscan inscriptions. This may be a cursive form of the Latin letter "a." In the Early Faliscan alphabet, "𐌍" was used to represent the /n/ phoneme. However, by Middle and Late Faliscan, the variant "" was utilized. During the transition to Middle Faliscan, the letter “𐤨” was transformed into the larger variant "𐌊.” “𐌔,” “,” and “” are the standard forms of the letter “s” in Middle and Late Faliscan. It is extremely common for inscriptions to reverse the direction of their letters. In some inscriptions “” is used instead. This likely occurs due to a writing error. Greek “ζ” appears in a small number of Faliscan inscriptions. It is unclear if this letter represented a separate phoneme from “𐌔” or if it was exclusively an orthographic difference. It is possible that in some of the inscriptions containing “ζ” the letter represents the “/z/“ phoneme. However, the usage of this letter may result from Etruscan influence.

Throughout all of Faliscan history, “,” “,” and “𐊄” were used to represent the /t/ phoneme. The basic sign for /l/ was "𐌋," although sometimes a variant with a flattened bottom was used."" has various other forms, including "." The letter “𐌐” was typically used for the "/p/" phoneme. It has rare alternatives such as "Ρ" or "." The Faliscan letter “𐌏” which represented the “/o/“ phoneme, sometimes has a cursive variant with two open slits at the top and bottom.

Sample text

The following Faliscan text was engraved on a bronze tablet fastened with rivets. It is the youngest known inscription in the Faliscan alphabet; it is not significantly older than 150 BCE. It was a public dedication and utilizes the same language used by local officials. The left half was found in 1860 and the right half was found in 1870, the same year the full text was assembled and published:

"menerua· sacru

la·cotena·la·f·pretod·de

zenatuo·sententiad·uootum

dedet·cuando·datu·rected

cuncaptum"

Although it contains an almost entirely Faliscan orthography, it still several distinctly non-Faliscan features. Such as the "oo" in "uootum."

Another Faliscan inscription was identified on an impasto pitcher dating back to the 7th century BCE. The original text contained no word separation. It reads:

"ecoqutoeuotenosiotitiasduenomduenassalue[to]duoltene:"

If it were written with word separation the text would read:

"eco quto(n)e uotenosio titias duenom duenas salue[to]d uoltene."

Translated, it means:

"I the-good pitcher of-Voltenus (and) of-the-good Titia. Let-it/he-greet, Voltenus."

The following Faliscan inscription dates back to the 7th or 6th century BCE and was identified on shards from a vase found in a tomb:

"ceres : far me[re]tom/me[lc]tom or me[lq]tom/me[le]tom or me[la]tom : *[3-5]uf[1-4]ui[..]m : p[ore]kad or a[dkap]iad euios : mama z[e]xtos med f[if]iqod/f[ef]iqod : prau[i]os urnam : soc[iai] porded karai : eqo urnel[a] [ti]tela fitai dupes : arcentelom huti[c?]ilom : pe:para[i] (por)douiad ["

Translated, it reads:

"May Ceres extend/accept deserved/honeyed/ground spelt [3-5]uf[1-4]ui[..]m. Euius Mama Sextus fashioned/made me. Prauius/a-good?-(man) gave the-vase for-(his)-dear girlfriend."

Sources

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Conway, Robert Seymour (1911). "Falisci". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 148.

Further reading

• Adams, Douglas Q., and James P. Mallory. 1997. "Italic languages." In The encyclopedia of Indo-European culture. Edited by James P. Mallory and Douglas Q. Adams, 314–19. Chicago: Fitzroy Dearborn.
• Bakkum, Gabriël C. L. M. 2009. The Latin dialect of the Ager Faliscus: 150 years of scholarship. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
• Baldi, Philip. 2002. The foundations of Latin. Berlin: de Gruyter.
• Clackson, James, and Geoffrey Horrocks. 2007. The Blackwell history of the Latin language. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
• Coleman, Robert. 1986. "The central Italic languages in the period of Roman expansion." Transactions of the Philological Society 84, no. 1: 100–131.
• Hadas-Lebel, Jean. La variante falisque. In: La variation linguistique dans les langues de l’Italie préromaine. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 2011. pp. 155–168. (Collection de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen ancien. Série philologique, 45)
• Mercado, Angelo. 2012. Italic Verse: A Study of the Poetic Remains of Old Latin, Faliscan, and Sabellic. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachen und Literaturen der Universität Innsbruck.
• Pulgram, Ernst. 1968. The tongues of Italy: Prehistory and history. New York: Greenwood.
• --. 1978. Italic, Latin, Italian, 600 B.C. to A.D. 1260: Texts and commentaries. Heidelberg, West Germany: Winter.
• Rigobianco, Luca. "Falisco". In: Palaeohispanica: revista sobre lenguas y culturas de la Hispania antigua n. 20 (2020): pp. 299–333. ISSN 1578-5386 doi:10.36707/palaeohispanica.v0i20.373