Faliscus
Faliscan
Indo-European > Italic > Latino-Faliscan · historical / hidden variety
Faliscan is the closest known sister language to Latin, spoken in the Ager Faliscus around Falerii (modern Civita Castellana) from roughly the 7th to 2nd c. BCE and attested in about 400 short inscriptions. It shares with Latin the conditioned change of PIE *bʰ to /f/ initially but /b/ medially, yet diverges in features such as the change of word-internal /f/ to /h/ (e.g. foied ~ Lat. hodie with reversed development) and the retention of -om in the genitive plural, prompting longstanding debate over whether it is a separate language or a divergent Latin dialect.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Faliscan
Water
—
/—/
Fire
—
/—/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Star
—
/—/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
pater
/ˈpa.ter/
I
eko
/ˈeko/
You
tu
/tuː/
Name
nomen
/ˈnomen/
Eye
—
/—/
Hand
—
/—/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
—
/—/
House
—
/—/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
—
/—/
Drink
pipafo
/ˈpi.pa.foː/
One
oinos
/ˈoi̯.nos/
Two
duo
/ˈduo/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Bakkum, G. C. L. M. (2009) The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus: 150 Years of Scholarship, 2 vols. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Giacomelli, G. (1963) La lingua falisca. Florence: Olschki.
- Joseph, B. D. & Wallace, R. E. (1991) Is Faliscan a Local Latin Patois? Diachronica 8(2): 159–186.
- Glottolog: Faliscan
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European > Italic > Latino-Faliscan languages
| Meaning | Faliscan | Messapic | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Umbrian | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | utur /ˈu.tur/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | pir /pir/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | matrer /ˈma.trer/ | *əma /əma/ |
| Father | pater /ˈpa.ter/ | ana /ˈana/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | patre /ˈpa.tre/ | *əpa /əpa/ |
| I | eko /ˈeko/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ |
| Name | nomen /ˈnomen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | nome /ˈnome/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | manuv-e /ma.ˈnu.we/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | pipafo /ˈpi.pa.foː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | oinos /ˈoi̯.nos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | unu /ˈu.nu/ | — /—/ |
| Two | duo /ˈduo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | dur /dur/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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