Iguvinas
Umbrian
Indo-European > Italic > Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian) · historical / hidden variety
Umbrian was a Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian) Italic language spoken in ancient Umbria and known almost entirely from the Iguvine Tablets — seven bronze tablets from Iguvium (modern Gubbio) recording the elaborate priestly rituals of the Atiedian Brotherhood. It shows characteristic Sabellic innovations such as rhotacism of intervocalic /s/, loss of final consonants, and the development of -nd- > -nn-, distinguishing it sharply from sister Latin.
Where it is spoken
31 core words in Umbrian
Water
utur
/ˈu.tur/
Fire
pir
/pir/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Star
—
/—/
Mother
matrer
/ˈma.trer/
Father
patre
/ˈpa.tre/
I
—
/—/
You
tu
/tuː/
Name
nome
/ˈnome/
Eye
—
/—/
Hand
manuv-e
/ma.ˈnu.we/
Heart
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Tree
—
/—/
House
—
/—/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Eat
—
/—/
Drink
—
/—/
One
unu
/ˈu.nu/
Two
dur
/dur/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Buck, C. D. (1928) A Grammar of Oscan and Umbrian, with a Collection of Inscriptions and a Glossary. Boston: Ginn & Co.
- Poultney, J. W. (1959) The Bronze Tables of Iguvium. American Philological Association Monograph 18.
- Untermann, J. (2000) Wörterbuch des Oskisch-Umbrischen. Heidelberg: Winter.
- Weiss, M. (2010) Language and Ritual in Sabellic Italy: The Ritual Complex of the Third and Fourth Tabulae Iguvinae. Leiden: Brill.
- Glottolog: Umbrian
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European > Italic > Sabellic (Osco-Umbrian) languages
| Meaning | Umbrian | Faliscan | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Messapic | Oscan | Venetic | Proto-Hmong-Mien |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | utur /ˈu.tur/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | ouriom /ˈou.ri.om/ | *ʔuwm /ʔuwm/ |
| Fire | pir /pir/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | matrer /ˈma.trer/ | — /—/ | *əma /əma/ | — /—/ | maatúf /maːtof/ | matur /ˈma.tur/ | — /—/ |
| Father | patre /ˈpa.tre/ | pater /ˈpa.ter/ | *əpa /əpa/ | ana /ˈana/ | patír /patiːr/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| I | — /—/ | eko /ˈeko/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | egom /egom/ | eχo /ˈexo/ | — /—/ |
| You | tu /tuː/ | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | tú /tuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | nome /ˈnome/ | nomen /ˈnomen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | númen /nuːmen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | manuv-e /ma.ˈnu.we/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | manim /manim/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | trííbúm /triːbom/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | pipafo /ˈpi.pa.foː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | unu /ˈu.nu/ | oinos /ˈoi̯.nos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | dur /dur/ | duo /ˈduo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | dús /duːs/ | — /—/ | *ʔwei /ʔwei/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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