iltiŕ
Iberian
Paleo-Hispanic (unclassified, isolate) · historical / hidden variety
Iberian was a non-Indo-European language spoken along the Mediterranean coast of pre-Roman Iberia, written in a unique semi-syllabary (signs for vowels and resonants, plus syllabic signs for stops). The script was deciphered by Manuel Gómez-Moreno in 1922, but the language itself remains largely unreadable: only onomastics, a few lexemes (iltiŕ "city", śalir "silver/coin", eban "he made"), and the numerals one through ten (ban, bi, iŕur, laur, borste...) are securely identified.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Iberian
Water
—
/—/
Fire
—
/—/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Mother
—
/—/
Father
—
/—/
Eat
—
/—/
Drink
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Heart
—
/—/
Tree
—
/—/
House
iltiŕ
/iltir̥/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
—
/—/
Eye
—
/—/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
ban
/ban/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Untermann, J. (1990) Monumenta Linguarum Hispanicarum III: Die iberischen Inschriften aus Spanien. Wiesbaden: Reichert.
- de Hoz, J. (2010) Historia lingüística de la Península Ibérica en la Antigüedad. Madrid: CSIC.
- Orduña, E. (2005) Sobre algunos posibles numerales en textos ibéricos. Palaeohispanica 5.
- Ferrer i Jané, J. (2009) El sistema dual de l'escriptura ibèrica sud-oriental. Veleia 26.
- Glottolog: Iberian
Words compared
Compared with related Paleo-Hispanic (unclassified, isolate) languages
| Meaning | Iberian | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Goguryeo | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) | Messapic |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | 買 /*mai/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ana /ˈana/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | iltiŕ /iltir̥/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | ban /ban/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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