Aquitanian language in the context of paleohispanic languages in 200 BCE[1]. The Paleohispanic languages were the languages used in the Iberian peninsula before Latin became the dominant language

The Aquitanian language was spoken in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, the region later known as Gascony) before the Roman conquest and, probably much later, until the Early Middle Ages. Novempopulania ( Latin for "country of the nine peoples" was one of the provinces created by Diocletian out of Gallia Aquitania, being also The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés The Garonne (Garonne in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Garumna is a River in southwest France and northern Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France

Archaeological, toponymical and historical evidence strongly suggest that it was a dialect or group of dialects of the Basque language. Toponymy refers to the scientific study of place-names ( toponyms) their origins meanings use and Typology. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain The most important of this is a series of votive and funerary texts in Latin which contain about four hundred personal names and seventy names of gods.

History

Aquitanian and Basque languages are most commonly considered nowadays to be a remnant of the Paleolithic languages spoken in Western Europe before the arrival of Neolithic colonists (5th millennium BCE) and the Indo-Europeans (c. The 5th millennium BC saw the spread of Agriculture from the Near East throughout southern and central Europe 1300 BCE, Celts most probably). Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts

Aquitanian origins may possibly be traced more or less directly to the Chalcolithic culture of Artenac. The Chalcolithic (Greek khalkos + lithos ' Copper stone' period or Copper Age period known as the '''Eneolithic''' ('''Æneolithic''' is a Artenacian culture, named after the archaeological site of Artenac in Charente appeared in the Late Chalcolithic, c

For other more marginal theories see Basque language:Hypotheses on connections with other languages. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain

Persons' names and Gods' names

Almost all the Aquitanian inscriptions had been found at the north of the Pyrenees in the territory that Greek and Roman sources assign to Aquitanians. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Ancient Rome was a Civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC The Aquitani ( Latin for Aquitanians) were a people living in what is now southwestern France, between the Pyrenees and the Garonne

• Anthroponyms: BELEXEIA, LAVRCO, BORSEI, ANDERESENI, NESCATO, CISSONBONNIS, SEMBECCONI, GEREXO, BIHOSSI, TALSCONIS, HALSCOTARRIS, etc. A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person.
• Theonyms: BAIGORIXO, ILVNNO, ARIXONI, ARTAHE, ILVRBERRIXO, ASTOILVNO, HARAVSONI, LEHERENNO, etc.

But some also had been found at the south of the Pyrenees in the territory that Greek and Roman sources assign to Vascones:

• Anthroponyms: VMMESAHAR, EDERETTA, SERHVHORIS, DVSANHARIS, ABISVNHAR, etc. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés The Vascones (Latin singular VASCO) were an ancient people who at the arrival of the Romans, inhabited the region of present day Navarre A personal name is the Proper name identifying an individual Person.
• Theonyms: LARRAHE, LOXAE / LOSAE, LACVBEGI, SELATSE / STELAITSE, HELASSE, ERRENSAE.

Relations with other languages

If the relationship with Basque is accepted, then the language would have no other known related languages. Many of the names on the inscriptions contain some elements that are without a doubt Basque:

The use of these words and elements in names in Medieval Basque is known well enough to conclude that there was a historical continuity between the pre-Roman era and the Middle Ages. However, some of the Aquitanian names have no modern equivalent, and it seems that during the pre-Roman and Roman era an ancient form of Basque was spoken in Aquitania.

Geographical extent

In red the pre-Indo-European tribes that might have spoken Aquitanian, Basque or other maybe related languages in the 1st century

Since ancient times there are clues that indicate the relation between Southwestern France and the Basques. The 1st century was the Century that lasted from 1 to 100 according the Julian calendar. During the Roman conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, Aquitania was the territory between Garonne and the Pyrenees. Gaul (Gallia was the Roman name for the region of Western Europe comprising present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western The Garonne (Garonne in Occitan, Catalan and Spanish: Garona; Garumna is a River in southwest France and northern The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés Inhabited by a tribe of horsemen, Caesar said that they were very distinct in customs and language from the Celts of Gaul. Celts (ˈkɛlts or /ˈsɛlts/, see Names of the Celts During the Middle Ages, this territory was named Gascony, a name derived from Vasconia, and cognate with the word Basque. Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France

There are many clues that indicate that Aquitanian was spoken in the Pyrenees, at least as far east as Val d'Aran. The Aran Valley (Era Val d'Aran la Vall d'Aran El Valle de Arán is a small valley (620 The placenames that end in -os, -osse, -ons, -ost and -oz are considered to be of Aquitanian origin.

To the south of the Pyrenees, the picture is less clear, as the historical record is scant. The Caristii, Varduli and Autrigones, who occupied the greater part of the region that is now the Western Basque Country have been claimed as either Basques or Celtic depending on who you read. The Caristii were a tribe reported by Roman historians in Northern Hispania west of the Deba and east of the Nervion rivers in modern The Varduli were a tribe that Roman historians reported in Northern Hispania, west of the Vascones and east of the Caristii and the Autrigones were a tribe described by the Roman historian Orosius as neighbours of Gallaecia which is in the northwest of Hispania. The Basque Country ( Basque Euskadi, Spanish País Vasco) is an autonomous community in northern Spain. Recent archaeological findings in Iruña-Veleia^[1] have confirmed that Basque language was spoken in the area though. Veleia was an ancient Roman town in the southern Basque Country. Basque ( native name: euskara) is the Language spoken by the Basque people who inhabit the Pyrenees in North-Central Spain

Cantabrians are also mentioned as relatives of Aquitanians, as they sent troops to fight on their side against the Romans. The Cantabri were an ancient confederacy of eleven tribes either Celtic or pre-Indo European, that inhabited the north coast of Hispania in the whole

The Vascones, who occupied modern Navarra are usually identified with the Basques (Vascos in Spanish), their name being one of the most important proofs. The Vascones (Latin singular VASCO) were an ancient people who at the arrival of the Romans, inhabited the region of present day Navarre The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. In 1960, a stele with Aquitanian names was found in Lerga, which could reinforce the idea that Basques and Aquitanians were related. A stele (from Greek:, stēlē, ˈstiːli plural stelae,, stēlai, ˈstiːlaɪ also found Latinised singular stela Lerga is a town and Municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain.

See also

• Aquitani
• Gallia Aquitania
• Duchy of Vasconia
• Basque people
• Northern Basque Country
• Vasconic languages
• Pre-Indo-European
• Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula

Further reading

• Ballester, Xaverio (2001): «La adfinitas de las lenguas aquitana e ibérica», Palaeohispanica 1, pp. The Aquitani ( Latin for Aquitanians) were a people living in what is now southwestern France, between the Pyrenees and the Garonne The Duchy of Vasconia (also Wasconia, later the Duchy of Gascony) was originally a Frankish march formed in the seventh century to protect the Aquitanian The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country (Pays basque français Iparralde constitutes the North-Eastern part of the Basque Country and the Western The Vasconic languages are a controversial and hypothetical Language family. This is a list of the Pre- Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula (the Roman Hispania - modern Andorra, Portugal and Spain 21-33.
• Gorrochategui, Joaquín (1984): Onomástica indígena de Aquitania, Bilbao.
• Gorrochategui, Joaquín (1993): «La onomastica aquitana y su relación con la ibérica», Lengua y Cultura en la Hispania Preromana, pp. 609-634.
• Gorrochategui, Joaquín (1995): «The Basque Language and Its Neighbors in Antiquity», Towards a History of the Basque Language, pp. 31-63.
• Hoz, Javier de (1995): «El poblamiento antiguo de los Pirineos desde el punto de vista lingüístico», Muntanyes i Població. El passat dels Pirineus des d'una perspectiva multidisciplinària, pp. 271-297.
• Michelena, Luís (1954): «De onomástica aquitana», Pirineos 10, pp. 409-458.
• Núñez, Luis (2003): El Euskera arcaico. Extensión y parentescos,Tafalla.
• Rodríguez Ramos, Jesús (2002): «La hipótesis del vascoiberismo desde el punto de vista de la epigrafía íbera», Fontes Linguae Vasconum 90, pp. 197-219.
• Trask, L.R. (1995): «Origin and relatives of the Basque Language: Review of the evidence», Towards a History of the Basque Language, pp. For the X-Men character see Larry Trask (comics Robert Lawrence "Larry" Trask ( November 10, 1944 - March 65-99.
• Trask, L.R. (1997): The History of Basque, London/New York ISBN 0-415-13116-2 [2]
• Velaza, Javier (1995): «Epigrafía y dominios lingüísticos en territorio de los vascones», Roma y el nacimiento de la cultura epigráfica en occidente, pp. For the X-Men character see Larry Trask (comics Robert Lawrence "Larry" Trask ( November 10, 1944 - March 209-218.

External links

• Aquitanian Language by Jesús Rodríguez Ramos

References