Venetkens
Venetic
Indo-European > Italic (or independent IE branch — debated) · historical / hidden variety
Venetic is an Indo-European language attested in roughly 300 inscriptions from the eastern Po Plain (Este, Padua, Lagole, Vicenza) dating ~6th–1st c. BCE. Its precise affiliation is debated — many treat it as a separate IE branch, others as Italic or specifically a near-relative of Latin. It used a distinctive North-Etruscan-derived alphabet with the unusual feature of syllabic punctuation, in which non-initial vowels and consonant clusters are marked with surrounding dots.
Where it is spoken
20 core words in Venetic
Water
ouriom
/ˈou.ri.om/
Fire
—
/—/
Sun
—
/—/
Moon
—
/—/
Mother
matur
/ˈma.tur/
Father
—
/—/
Eat
—
/—/
Drink
—
/—/
Love
—
/—/
Heart
—
/—/
Tree
—
/—/
House
—
/—/
Dog
—
/—/
Cat
—
/—/
Hand
—
/—/
Eye
—
/—/
Hello
—
/—/
Thank you
—
/—/
One
—
/—/
Good
—
/—/
Sources
- Lejeune, M. (1974) Manuel de la langue vénète. Heidelberg: Winter.
- Pellegrini, G. B. & Prosdocimi, A. L. (1967) La lingua venetica, 2 vols. Padua/Florence: Istituto di Glottologia.
- Marinetti, A. (1999) Venetico 1976–1996. Acquisizioni e prospettive. In Protostoria e storia del «Venetorum angulus», Atti del XX Convegno di Studi Etruschi ed Italici, Pisa-Rome: Istituti Editoriali.
- Wallace, R. E. (2004) Venetic. In Woodard (ed.) The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages. Cambridge: CUP, 840–856.
- Glottolog: Venetic
Words compared
Compared with related Indo-European > Italic (or independent IE branch — debated) languages
| Meaning | Venetic | Goguryeo | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Damin (Lardil ceremonial register) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | ouriom /ˈou.ri.om/ | 買 /*mai/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | l!ii /lǃiː/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | matur /ˈma.tur/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *əma /əma/ | — /—/ |
| Father | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | *əpa /əpa/ | — /—/ |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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