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
87 core words in Faliscan
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 languages in the same classification: Indo-European (Italic, Latino-Faliscan)
| Meaning | Faliscan | Proto-Japonic-Koreanic | Venetic | Messapic | Nicaraguan Sign Language | Tartessian | Liburnian |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water | — /—/ | — /—/ | ouriom /ˈouriom/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fire | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Sun | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Moon | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Star | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Night | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Mother | mate /ˈmate/ | *əma /əma/ | matur /ˈmatur/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Father | pater /ˈpater/ | *əpa /əpa/ | — /—/ | ana /ˈana/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Daughter | filea /ˈfilea/ | — | — | bilia /ˈbilia/ | — | — | — |
| I | eko /ˈeko/ | — /—/ | eχo /ˈexo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| You | tu /tuː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| We | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Name | nomen /ˈnomen/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Eye | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tooth | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tongue | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hand | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Heart | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Bone | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Blood | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Love | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Tree | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Dog | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Cat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Fish | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| House | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Wine | uinom /ˈwiːnom/ | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Eat | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Drink | pipafo /ˈpipafoː/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| One | oinos /ˈoi̯nos/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Two | duo /ˈduo/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Three | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Hello | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Thank you | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Good | duenom /ˈduenom/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
| Red | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ | — /—/ |
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