Venetic is an extinct Indo-European language that was spoken in ancient times in the Veneto region of Italy, between the Po River delta and the southern fringe of the Alps. The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe and western Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ... Veneto is a region in northeastern Italy, bordering on Lombardy, Trentino-South Tyrol, Austria, Friuli Venezia Giulia, and Emilia-Romagna, between the Alps and the Adriatic Sea. ... The Po river The Po River (Padus in ancient times) flows 652 kilometers from west to east across northern Italy, from Mount Monviso (in the Cottian Alps) to the Adriatic Sea near Venice. ... Delta can signify: Δ or δ, a letter of the Greek alphabet. ... The Alps is the collective name for one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east, through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west. ...

The city of Venice may have been founded by Venetic-speaking people, who were called Veneti by the Romans and Enetoi by the Greeks. Location within Italy Venice (Italian Venezia), the city of canals, is the capital of the region of Veneto and of the province of Venice, 45°26′ N 12°19′ E, population 271,663 (census estimate 2004-01-01). ... City motto: Senatus Populusque Romanus – SPQR (The Senate and the People of Rome) Founded 21 April 753 BC mythical, 1st millennium BC Region Latium Mayor Walter Veltroni (Democratici di Sinistra) Area  - City Proper  1290 km² Population  - City (2004)  - Metropolitan  - Density (city proper) 2,546,807 almost 4,000,000 1...

The language is attested by over 250 short inscriptions dating between the 5th century BC and 1st century. It became extinct around the 1st century when the local inhabitants were assimilated into the Roman sphere. (6th century BC - 5th century BC - 4th century BC - other centuries) (2nd millennium BC - 1st millennium BC - 1st millennium AD) The 5th and 6th centuries BC are a period of philosophical brilliance among advanced civilizations. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100. ... (1st century BC - 1st century - 2nd century - other centuries) The 1st century was that century which lasted from 1 to 100. ...

Venetic should not be confused with Venetian, a Romance language presently spoken in that region. Venetian is a Romance language spoken by over two million people in and around Venice. ...

Linguistic classification

Venetic is a centum language. The inscriptions use a variety of the Northern Italic alphabet one, similar to the Old Italic alphabet. Centum is the collective name for the branches of Indo-European in which the so-called Satem shift, the change of palato-velar *k^, *g^, *g^h into fricatives or affricates, did not take place, and the palato-velar consonants merged with plain velars (*k, *g, *gh). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Old Italic refers to a number of related historical alphabets used on the Italian peninsula which were used for some non-Indo-European languages (Etruscan and probably North Picene), various Indo-European languages belonging to the Italic branch (Faliscan and members of the Sabellian group, including Oscan, Umbrian, and South...

The exact relationship of Venetic to other Indo-European languages is still being investigated, but the majority of scholars agree that Venetic was closest to the Italic languages (a group that includes Latin, Oscan and Umbrian). Venetic may also have been related to the Illyrian languages language once spoken in Northeastern Italy, though the theory that Illyrian and Venetic were closely related is debated by current scholarship. Some important parallels with the Germanic languages have also been noted, especially in pronominal forms: The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Oscan, the language of the Osci, is in the Sabellic branch of the Italic language family, which is a branch of Indo-European and includes Umbrian, Latin and Faliscan. ... Umbrian, an Indo-European language of the Italic family, is a dead language formerly spoken in Umbria, Italy. ... The Illyrian languages are a group of Indo-European languages that were spoken in the western part of the Balkans in pre-Roman times. ... The Germanic languages form one of the branches of the Indo-European (IE) language family, spoken by the Germanic peoples who settled in northern Europe along the borders of the Roman Empire. ...

Venetic: ego = I, accusative mego = me

Gothic: ik, accusative mik

German: ich, accusative mich

(Latin: ego, accusative me)

Venetic: sselboisselboi = to oneself

Old High German: selb selbo

German: sich selber

(Latin: sibi ipsi)

Source:

Pokorny, Julius (1959): Indogermanisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch. Bern, 1959. Pages 708-709, 882-884.

Features

Venetic had about six or even seven noun cases and four conjugations (similar to Latin). About 60 words are known, but some were borrowed from Latin or Etruscan. Many of them show a clear Indo-European origin, such as fraterei < PIE *bhraterei = to the brother. Latin is the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. ... Etruscan was a language spoken and written in the ancient region of Etruria (current Tuscany) and in what is now Lombardy (where the Etruscans were displaced by Gauls), in Italy. ...

Language sample

A sample inscription in Venetic, found on a bronze nail at Este (Es 45): Bronze figurine, found at Öland Bronze is the traditional name for a broad range of alloys of copper. ... The word nail has several meanings: an enhanced mailx command In anatomy, a nail is a hard covering to the tip of fingers or toes In engineering, a nail is a metal pin-shaped object used to hold things together The Nails, a Boulder, Colorado New Wave band This is... For Tolkiens fictional character, see Estë To know more about the city, see Este Este, Italian princely family, rulers of Ferrara (1240–1597), Modena and Reggio (1288–1796). ...

Venetic: mego donasto śainatei reitiiai porai egeotora aimoi ke louderobos

Latin (literal): me donavit sanatrici Reitiae bonae Egetora pro-Aemo que liberis

English: Egetora gave me to Good Reitia the Healer on behalf of Aemus and the children

A sample inscription in Venetic, found on a situla (vessel such as an urn or bucket) at Cadore (Ca 4 Valle):

Venetic: eik goltanos doto louderai kanei

Latin (literal): hic Goltanus dedit Liberae Cani

English: Goltanus sacrificed this for the virgin Kanis

See also

• Italic languages
• Indo-European languages

The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. ... The Indo-European languages include some 443 (SIL estimate) languages and dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe and western Asia, which belong to a single superfamily. ...

External link

• Venetic from Voices of Stone site.
• Venetic inscriptions index by Adolfo Zavaroni.
• Indo-European database: The Venetic language by Cyril Babaev.
• Víteliú: The Languages of Ancient Italy.