View source for Brittonic languages

{{Short description|Celtic language family branch}}
{{For|the individual language ancestral to the Brittonic languages|Common Brittonic}}
{{Use dmy dates|cs1-dates=ll|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox language family
| map           = Britonia6hcentury2.svg
| mapcaption    = The Brittonic-speaking community around the [[sixth century]]
| name          = Brittonic
| altname       = {{lang|cel-x-combrit|[[Linguistic reconstruction|*]]Brittonikā}}, Brythonic,<!--please read the discussion page before altering--> British Celtic
| region        = [[Wales]], [[Cornwall]], [[Brittany]], in antiquity all of [[Great Britain]], during the [[Early Middle Ages]] in [[Hen Ogledd|Northern England and Southern Scotland]] and other western parts of Britain, [[Pictland]], [[Britonia]]
| familycolor   = Indo-European
| fam2          = [[Celtic languages|Celtic]]
| fam3          = [[Nuclear Celtic languages|Nuclear Celtic]]/[[Insular Celtic languages|Insular Celtic]]
| protoname     = [[Common Brittonic]]
| child1        = [[Western Brittonic languages|Western Brittonic]]
| child2        = [[Southwestern Brittonic languages|Southwestern Brittonic]]
| child3        = ''[[Pictish language|Pictish]]'' {{Extinct}}
| glotto        = bryt1239
| glottorefname = Brythonic
}}

The '''Brittonic languages''' (also '''Brythonic''' or '''British Celtic'''; {{langx|cy|ieithoedd Brythonaidd/Prydeinig}}; {{langx|kw|yethow brythonek/predennek}}; and {{langx|br|yezhoù predenek}}) form one of the two branches of the [[Insular Celtic languages|Insular Celtic]] languages; the other is [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]].<ref>{{cite book |url= https://archive.org/details/historyenglisha01chamgoog |title=History of English: A Sketch of the Origin and Development of the English Language |date=1893 |via=[[Internet Archive]] |publisher=Macmillan |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> It comprises the extant languages [[Breton language|Breton]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], and [[Welsh language|Welsh]]. The name ''Brythonic'' was derived by [[Wales|Welsh]] [[Celtic studies|Celticist]] [[John Rhys]] from the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] word {{lang|cy|Brython}}, denoting a [[Celtic Briton]] as distinguished from [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]]s or [[Gaels|Gael]]s.

The Brittonic languages derive from the [[Common Brittonic]] language, spoken throughout [[Great Britain]] during the [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] and [[Roman Britain|Roman period]]. In the 5th and 6th centuries emigrating Britons also took Brittonic speech to the continent, most significantly in [[Brittany]] and [[Britonia]]. During the next few centuries, in [[Celtic language decline in England|much of Britain the language was replaced]] by [[Old English]] and [[Scottish Gaelic]], with the remaining Common Brittonic language splitting into regional dialects, eventually evolving into [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]], [[Breton language|Breton]], [[Cumbric]], and probably [[Pictish]]. Welsh and Breton continue to be spoken as native languages, while [[Cornish language revival|a revival in Cornish]] has led to an increase in speakers of that language. Cumbric and Pictish are extinct, having been replaced by [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] and [[Anglo-Frisian languages#Anglic languages|Anglic]] speech. There is also a community of Brittonic language speakers in {{lang|cy|[[Y Wladfa]]}} (the Welsh settlement in [[Patagonia]]).

==Name==
The names "Brittonic" and "Brythonic" are scholarly conventions referring to the [[Celtic languages]] of Britain and to the ancestral language they originated from, designated [[Common Brittonic]], in contrast to the [[Goidelic languages]] originating in Ireland. Both were created in the 19th century to avoid the ambiguity of earlier terms such as "British" and "Cymric".<ref name="OEDBrythonic">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Brythonic, adj. and n. |encyclopedia=[[Oxford English Dictionary]] |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=June 2013 |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/272106?redirectedFrom=Brythonic& |access-date=17 July 2013}}</ref> "Brythonic" was coined in 1879 by the Celticist [[John Rhys]] from the Welsh word {{lang|cy|Brython}}.<ref name="OEDBrythonic" /><ref name="Jackson">Jackson, p. 3.</ref> "Brittonic", derived from "[[Britons (Celtic people)|Briton]]" and also earlier spelled "Britonic" and "Britonnic", emerged later in the 19th century, <ref name="OEDBrittonic">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Brittonic, adj. and n. |encyclopedia=[[OED Online]] |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=June 2013 |url= http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/23485? |access-date=17 July 2013}} </ref> though being attested in French (as "brittonique") as early as in 1834.<ref>{{cite book|author=[[Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres]] |date=1834 |page=80 |publisher=Klincksieck |title=Comptes rendus des séances}}<!-- auto-translated from French by Module:CS1 translator --></ref> "Brittonic" became more prominent through the 20th century, and was used in [[Kenneth H. Jackson]]'s highly influential 1953 work on the topic, ''Language and History in Early Britain''. Jackson noted by that time that  "Brythonic" had become a dated term: "of late there has been an increasing tendency to use Brittonic instead."<ref name="Jackson" /> Today, "Brittonic" often replaces "Brythonic" in the literature.<ref name="OEDBrittonic" /> [[Rudolf Thurneysen]] used "Britannic" in his influential ''A Grammar of Old Irish'', although this never became popular among subsequent scholars.<ref name="Koch305">{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA973 |access-date=18 July 2013 |date=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=1851094407 |page=305}}</ref>

Comparable historical terms include the [[Medieval Latin]] {{lang|la-x-medieval|lingua Britannica}} and {{lang|la-x-medieval|sermo Britannicus}}<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |author-link=John T. Koch |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=f899xH_quaMC&pg=PA973 |access-date=18 July 2013 |date=2006 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=1851094407 |page=306}}</ref> and the [[Welsh language|Welsh]] {{lang|cy|Brythoneg}}.<ref name="OEDBrythonic" /> Some writers use "British" for the language and its descendants, although, due to the risk of confusion, others avoid it or use it only in a restricted sense. Jackson, and later [[John T. Koch]], use "British" only for the early phase of the Common Brittonic language.<ref name="Koch305" />

Before Jackson's work, "Brittonic" and "Brythonic" were often used for all the [[P-Celtic and Q-Celtic languages|P-Celtic languages]], including not just the varieties in Britain but those [[Continental Celtic languages]] that similarly experienced the evolution of the [[Proto-Celtic language]] element {{IPA|/kʷ/}} to {{IPA|/p/}}. However, subsequent writers have tended to follow Jackson's scheme, rendering this use obsolete.<ref name="Koch305" />

The name "Britain" itself comes from {{langx|la|Britannia~Brittania}}, via [[Old French]] {{lang|fro|Bretaigne}} and Middle English {{lang|enm|Breteyne}}, possibly influenced by [[Old English language|Old English]] {{lang|ang|Bryten[lond]}}, probably also from Latin {{lang|la|Brittania}}, ultimately an adaptation of the native word for the island, {{lang|cel-x-proto|Pritanī}}.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=Britain&allowed_in_frame=0 |title=Britain |publisher=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref><ref>Chadwick, Hector Munro, Early Scotland: The Picts, the Scots and the Welsh of Southern Scotland, Cambridge University Press, 1949 (2013 reprint), p. 68</ref>

An early written reference to the British Isles may derive from the works of the Greek explorer [[Pytheas]] of [[Marseille|Massalia]]; later Greek writers such as [[Diodorus of Sicily]] and [[Strabo]] who quote Pytheas' use of variants such as {{lang|grc|πρεττανική}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|Prettanikē}}), "The Britannic [land, island]", and {{lang|grc|νησοι βρεττανιαι}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|nēsoi brettaniai}}), "Britannic islands", with {{lang|cel-x-combrit|Pretani}} being a Celtic word that might mean 'painted ones' or 'tattooed folk', referring to body decoration.<ref>{{cite book |last=Cunliffe |first=Barry |author-link=Barry Cunliffe |date=2012 |title=Britain Begins |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=4}}</ref>

==Evidence==
Knowledge of the Brittonic languages comes from a variety of sources. The early language's information is obtained from coins, inscriptions, and comments by classical writers as well as place names and personal names recorded by them. For later languages, there is information from medieval writers and modern native speakers, together with place names. The names recorded in the Roman period are given in Rivet and Smith.<ref>*{{cite book |last1=Rivet |first1=A. |last2=Smith |first2=C. |date=1979 |title=The Placenames of Roman Britain |publisher=[[B. T. Batsford]] |isbn=978-0713420777}}</ref>

==Characteristics==
The Brittonic branch is also referred to as ''[[P-Celtic]]'' because [[linguistic reconstruction]] of the Brittonic reflex of the Proto-Indo-European phoneme {{lang|ine-x-proto|*kʷ}} is ''p'' as opposed to [[Goidelic]] ''k''. Such nomenclature usually implies acceptance of the P-Celtic and Q-Celtic hypothesis rather than the Insular Celtic hypothesis because the term includes certain Continental Celtic languages as well.
Other major characteristics include:
* The retention of the Proto-Celtic sequences {{lang|cel-x-proto|am}} and {{lang|cel-x-proto|an}}, which mostly result from the Proto-Indo-European syllabic nasals.
* Celtic {{IPA|/w/}} (written ''u'' in Latin texts and ''ou'' in Greek) became ''gw-'' in initial position, ''-w-'' internally, whereas in Gaelic it is ''f-'' in initial position and disappears internally:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|windos}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘white’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|wastos}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘servant’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*gwɨnn}}
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*gwass}} 
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|gwenn}}
|{{lang|br|gwas}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|gwynn}}
|{{lang|kw|gwas}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|gwyn}} m., {{lang|cy|gwen}} f.
|{{lang|cy|gwas}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|fionn}}
|MIr. {{lang|mga|foss}}
|}

=== Initial ''s-'' ===
* Initial ''s-'' followed by a vowel was changed to ''h-'':

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|senos}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘old’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|sīros}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘long’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|samalis}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘similitude’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*hen}}
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*hir}} 
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*haβ̃al}} 
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|hen}}
|{{lang|br|hir}}
|{{lang|br|hañval}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|hen}}
|{{lang|kw|hir}}
|{{lang|kw|haval}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|hen}}
|{{lang|cy|hir}}
|{{lang|cy|hafal}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|sean}}
|{{lang|ga|síor}}
|{{lang|ga|samhail}}
|}

* Initial ''s-'' was lost before {{IPA|/l/}}, {{IPA|/m/}} and {{IPA|/n/}}:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|slimonos}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘polished, smooth’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|smēros}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘marrow’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|sniyeti}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘to turn, twist’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*llɨvn}}
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*mer}} 
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*nɨðid}} 
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|levn}}
|{{lang|br|mel}}
|{{lang|br|nezet}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|leven}}
|{{lang|kw|mer}}
|{{lang|kw|nedha}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|llyfn}}
|{{lang|cy|mêr}}
|{{lang|cy|nyddu}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|sleamhain}}
|{{lang|ga|smior}}
|OIr. {{lang|sga|sníid}}, Mod. {{lang|ga|sníomh}}
|}

* The initial clusters ''sp-, sr-, sw-'' became ''f-, fr-, chw-'':

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|sɸerā}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘heel’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|srognā}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘nose’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|swīs}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘you (pl.)’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*fer}}
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*froɨn}} 
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*hwi}} 
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|fer}}
|{{lang|br|froen}}
|{{lang|br|c’hwi}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|fer}}
|{{lang|kw|frig}}
|{{lang|kw|hwi}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|ffêr}}
|{{lang|cy|ffroen}}
|{{lang|cy|chwi}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|seir}}
|{{lang|ga|srón}}
|OIr. {{lang|sga|síi}}, Mod. {{lang|ga|sibh}}
|}

=== Lenition ===
* Voiceless plosives become voiced plosives in intervocalic position.
{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!
!{{IPA|/t/}}
!{{IPA|/k/}}
|-
|Lenited
|{{IPA|/d/}}
|{{IPA|/g/}}
|-
|(contrast Old Irish)
|{{IPA|/θ/}}
|{{IPA|/x/}}
|}

* Voiced plosives became soft spirants in intervocalic position and before liquids:
{{Table alignment}}
{| class="wikitable defaultcenter col1left" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!
!{{IPA|/b/}}
!{{IPA|/m/}}
!{{IPA|/d/}}
!{{IPA|/g/}}
|-
|Welsh
| colspan="2" |{{IPA|/v/}}<br/>{{lang|cy|f}}
|{{IPA|/ð/}}<br/>{{lang|cy|dd}}
| rowspan="2" |∅<br/>(earlier {{IPA|/ɣ/ /j/}})
|-
|Cornish
| colspan="2" rowspan="2" |{{IPA|/v/}}<br/>{{lang|kw|v}}
|{{IPA|/ð/}}<br/>{{lang|kw|dh}}
|-
|Breton
|{{IPA|/z/}}<br/>{{lang|br|z}}
|{{IPA|/ɣ/}}<br/>{{lang|br|c’h}}
|-
|(contrast Old Irish)
|{{IPA|/β/}}<br/>{{lang|ga|bh}}
|{{IPA|/β̃/}}<br/>{{lang|ga|mh}}
|{{IPA|/ð/}}<br/>{{lang|ga|dh}}
|{{IPA|/ɣ/ /j/}}<br/>{{lang|ga|gh}}
|}

=== Voiceless spirants ===
* Geminated voiceless plosives transformed into spirants:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!
!{{ipa|/pp/}}
!{{ipa|/tt/}}
!{{ipa|/kk/}}
|-
|Breton
| rowspan="3" |{{ipa|/f/}}
|{{ipa|/z/}}
| rowspan="3" |{{ipa|/x/}}
|-
|Cornish
| rowspan="2" |{{ipa|/θ/}}
|-
|Welsh
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{ipa|/p/}}
|{{ipa|/t/}}
|{{ipa|/k/}}
|}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!
!{{lang|la|cippus}}
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|cattos}}
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|bucca}}
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|kef}}
|{{lang|br|kazh}}
|{{lang|br|boc’h}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|kyf}}
|{{lang|kw|kath}}
|{{lang|kw|bogh}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|cyff}}
|{{lang|cy|cath}}
|{{lang|cy|boch}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|ceap}}
|{{lang|ga|cat}}
|—
|}

*Voiceless stops become spirants after liquids:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|uɸor‑kʷenno}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘end’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|nertos}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘strength, force’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*wo'''rp'''enn}}
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*ne'''rt'''o}}
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|gourfenn}}
|{{lang|br|nerzh}}
|-
|Cornish
|{{lang|kw|gorfen}}
|{{lang|kw|nerth}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|gorffen}}
|{{lang|cy|nerth}}
|-
|(contrast Old Irish)
|{{lang|sga|forcenn}}
|{{lang|sga|nert}}
|}

=== Nasal assimilation ===
* Voiced stops were assimilated to a preceding nasal:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|amban}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘butter’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|landā}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘open land’</span>
|-
|Proto-Brythonic
|
|{{lang|cel-x-combrit|*llann}}
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|amann}}
|{{lang|br|lann}}
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|(y)menyn}}
|{{lang|wlm|llann}}, {{lang|cy|llan}}
|-
|(contrast Old Irish)
|{{lang|sga|imb}}
|{{lang|sga|land}}
|}

* Brittonic retains original nasals before {{ipa|/t/}} and {{ipa|/k/}}:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin-left: 1.6em"
|+
!Proto-Celtic
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|kantom}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘hundred’</span>
!{{lang|cel-x-proto|ankus}}<br/><span style="font-weight: normal">‘death’</span>
|-
|Breton
|{{lang|br|kant}}
|{{lang|br|Ankou}}<br/>(personification)
|-
|Welsh
|{{lang|cy|cant}}
|{{lang|cy|angau}}
|-
|(contrast Irish)
|{{lang|ga|céad}}
|{{lang|ga|éag}}<br/>‘to die’
|}

==Classification==
The family tree of the Brittonic languages is as follows:

{{tree list}}
*[[Common Brittonic]]
**[[Western Brittonic languages|Western Brittonic]]
***[[Cumbric]]<ref>{{cite book |title=The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: From Columba to the Union (until 1707) |last=Brown |first=Ian |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |isbn=978-0-7486-1615-2 |page=57 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VBUZumo2TqEC&q=Cumbric%2BBritish&pg=PA57 |access-date=5 January 2011}}</ref>
***[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
**[[Southwestern Brittonic languages|Southwestern Brittonic]]
***[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
***[[Breton language|Breton]]
{{tree list/end}}

Brittonic languages in use today are [[Welsh language|Welsh]], [[Cornish language|Cornish]] and [[Breton language|Breton]]. Welsh and Breton have been spoken continuously since they formed. For all practical purposes Cornish died out during the 18th or 19th century, but a revival movement has more recently created small numbers of new speakers. Also notable are the extinct language [[Cumbric language|Cumbric]], and possibly the extinct [[Pictish language|Pictish]]. One view, advanced in the 1950s and based on apparently unintelligible [[ogham]] inscriptions, was that the Picts may have also used a non-[[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language.<ref>Jackson, 1955</ref> This view, while attracting broad popular appeal, has virtually no following in contemporary linguistic scholarship.<ref>Driscoll, 2011</ref>

==History and origins==
[[File:Map Gaels Brythons Picts.png|thumb|right|250px|Britain & Ireland in the early to mid-first millennium, before the [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|founding of Anglo-Saxon kingdoms]]
{{legend|#DE3333|outline=#676767|Mainly Brittonic areas.}}
{{legend|#2272C4|outline=#676767|Mainly [[Pictish language|Pictish]] areas.}}
{{legend|#548556|outline=#676767|Mainly [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] areas.}}]]
The modern Brittonic languages are generally considered to all derive from a common ancestral language termed ''Brittonic'', ''British'', ''Common Brittonic'', ''Old Brittonic'' or ''Proto-Brittonic'', which is thought to have developed from Proto-Celtic or early Insular Celtic by the 6th century BC.<ref>{{cite book |title=An Atlas for Celtic Studies |first=John T. |last=Koch |publisher=Oxbow Books |location=Oxford |date=2007 |isbn=978-1-84217-309-1}}</ref>

A major [[archaeogenetics]] study uncovered a migration into southern Britain in the [[Bronze Age Britain|middle to late Bronze Age]], during the 500-year period 1,300–800 BC.<ref name="Patterson">{{cite journal |last1=Patterson |first1=N. |last2=Isakov |first2=M. |last3=Booth |first3=T. |title=Large-scale migration into Britain during the Middle to Late Bronze Age |journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] |date=2021 |volume=601 |issue=7894 |pages=588–594 |doi=10.1038/s41586-021-04287-4 |pmid=34937049 |pmc=8889665 |bibcode=2022Natur.601..588P |s2cid=245509501}}</ref> The newcomers were genetically most similar to ancient individuals from [[Gaul]].<ref name="Patterson" /> During 1,000–875 BC, their genetic markers swiftly spread through southern Britain,<ref name="YorkUni">{{cite news |title=Ancient DNA study reveals large scale migrations into Bronze Age Britain |url= https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2021/research/ancient-dna-study-migration-bronze-age/ |access-date=21 January 2022 |publisher=[[University of York]] |date=22 December 2021}}</ref> but not northern Britain.<ref name="Patterson" /> The authors describe this as a "plausible vector for the spread of early Celtic languages into Britain".<ref name="Patterson" /> There was much less inward migration during the Iron Age, so it is likely that Celtic reached Britain before then.<ref name="Patterson" /> [[Barry Cunliffe]] suggests that a [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic]] branch of Celtic may already have been spoken in Britain, but that this middle Bronze Age migration would have introduced the Brittonic branch.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ancient mass migration transformed Britons' DNA |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59741723 |access-date=21 January 2022 |work=[[BBC News]] |date=22 December 2021}}</ref>

Brittonic languages were probably spoken before the Roman invasion throughout most of [[Great Britain]]. It might have been spoken on the [[Isle of Man]],{{cn|date=August 2025}} although by the early Middle Ages it had a Goidelic language, [[Manx language|Manx]]. During the period of the Roman occupation of what is now [[England]] and [[Wales]] (AD 43 to {{circa|410}}), Common Brittonic borrowed a large stock of [[Latin]] words, both for concepts unfamiliar in the pre-urban society of Celtic Britain such as urbanization and new tactics of warfare, as well as for rather more mundane words which displaced native terms (most notably, the word for 'fish' in all the Brittonic languages derives from the Latin {{lang|la|piscis}} rather than the native {{lang|cel-x-proto|ēskos}} – which may survive, however, in the Welsh name of the [[River Usk]], {{lang|cy|Wysg}}). Approximately 800 of these Latin loan-words have survived in the three modern Brittonic languages. Pictish may have resisted Latin influence to a greater extent than the other Brittonic languages.<ref name="UGlas">{{cite web |last1=Rhys |first1=Guto |title=Approaching the Pictish language: historiography, early evidence and the question of Pritenic |url= http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6285/7/2015RhysPhD.pdf |archive-url= https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://theses.gla.ac.uk/6285/7/2015RhysPhD.pdf |archive-date=9 October 2022 |url-status=live |website=University of Glasgow}}</ref>

It is probable that at the start of the Post-Roman period, Common Brittonic was differentiated into at least two major dialect groups – Southwestern and Western. (Additional dialects have also been posited, but have left little or no evidence, such as an Eastern Brittonic spoken in what is now the [[East of England]].) Between the end of the Roman occupation and the mid-6th century, the two dialects began to diverge into recognizably separate varieties, the Western into Cumbric and Welsh, and the Southwestern into Cornish and its closely related sister language Breton, which was carried to continental [[Armorica]]. Jackson showed that a few of the dialect distinctions between West and Southwest Brittonic go back a long way. New divergencies began around AD 500 but other changes that were shared occurred in the 6th century. Other common changes occurred in the 7th century onward and are possibly due to inherent tendencies. Thus the concept of a Common Brittonic language ends by AD 600. Substantial numbers of Britons certainly remained in the expanding area controlled by [[Anglo-Saxons]], but over the fifth and sixth centuries they mostly adopted the [[Old English]] language and culture.<ref>{{cite book |last=Fleming |first=R. |title=Britain After Rome |date=2011 |pages=45–119}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Tristram |first=H. |contribution=Why Don't the English Speak Welsh? |editor-last=Higham |editor-first=Nick |title=Britons in Anglo-Saxon England |date=2007 |pages=192–214 |url= http://www.hildegard.tristram.de/media/tristram_manchester_30-07-07.pdf |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110719095347/http://www.hildegard.tristram.de/media/tristram_manchester_30-07-07.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011}}</ref><ref name="White" />

=== Decline ===
{{Main|Celtic language decline in England}}
The Brittonic languages spoken in what are now [[Scotland]] and [[England]] began to be displaced in the 5th century through the settlement of Irish-speaking [[Gaels]] and [[Germanic peoples]]. [[Henry of Huntingdon]] wrote {{circa|1129}} that Pictish was "no longer spoken".<ref name="UGlas" />

The [[Celtic language-death in England|displacement of the languages of Brittonic descent]] was probably complete in all of Britain except [[Cornwall]], [[Wales]], and the English counties bordering these areas such as [[Devon]], by the 11th century. Western [[Herefordshire]] continued to speak Welsh until the late nineteenth century, and isolated pockets of [[Shropshire]] speak Welsh today.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025}}

=== Sound changes ===
The large array of Brittonic sound changes has been documented by Schrijver (1995),{{sfn|Schrijver|1995}} building upon Jackson (1953).{{sfn|Jackson|1953}}

====Changes to long vowels and diphthongs====
Brittonic has undergone an extensive remodeling of Proto-Celtic diphthongs and long vowels. All original Proto-Celtic diphthongs turned into monophthongs, albeit a number of these re-diphthongized at later stages.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=192-4}}
{|class="wikitable
|+ Brittonic default outcomes of long vowels and diphthongs
! Proto-Celtic 
! Proto-Brythonic
! Welsh
! Cornish
! Breton
|-
|*ū
|*i
|i
|i
|i
|-
|*ē
|*i
|i
|i
|i
|-
|*ī
|*i
|i
|i
|i
|-
|*eu
|*ọ̄>ʉ
|u
|u/uy
|u
|-
|*ou
|*ọ̄>ʉ
|u
|u/uy
|u
|-
|*oi
|*ọ̄>ʉ
|u
|u/uy
|u
|-
|*ei
|*ẹ̄>uɨ
|wy
|o/oy
|oue/oe/oa
|-
|*ai
|*oɨ
|oe
|o/oy
|oa
|-
|*ā
|*ọ
|aw/o
|ue/u 
|eu/e
|-
|*au
|*ọ
|aw/o
|ue/u 
|eu/e
|}

====Changes to short vowels====
The distribution of Proto-Celtic short vowels were reshuffled by various processes in Brittonic, such as the two i-affections, a-affection, raisings, and contact with lenited consonants like ''*g'' > {{IPA|/ɣ/}} and ''*s'' > ''*h''.

The default outcomes of stressed short vowels in Brittonic are as follows:

{|class="wikitable
|+ Brittonic default outcomes of stressed short vowels
! Proto-Celtic short vowel
! Welsh
! Cornish
! Breton
|-
|*a
|a
|a
|a
|-
|*e
|e
|e
|e
|-
|*i
|ɨ {{gpm|y}}
|ɪ {{gpm|y, e}} (Old Cornish)<br> e (later)
|ɪ {{gpm|i, e}} (Old Breton)<br> e (later)
|-
|*o
|o
|o
|o
|-
|*u
|u {{gpm|w}}
|o
|o(u)
|}

=====Raisings of ''*e'' and ''*o''=====
Welsh exhibits raisings of ''*e'' to ''*i'' > ''{{IPA|*ɪ}}'' > ''{{IPA|ɨ}}'' {{gpm|y}} and ''*o'' > {{IPA|/u/}} {{gpm|w}} before a nasal followed by a stop.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=27-8}}

It is difficult to determine whether the raising from ''*o'' to ''*u'' also affected Cornish and Breton, since both of those languages generally merge ''*o'' with ''*u''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=28-9}}

The raising of ''*e'' to ''*i'' occurred in all three major Brittonic languages:{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=29}}
*Proto-Celtic ''*sentus'' "path" > ''*hɪnt'' > Middle Welsh ''hynt'', Middle Cornish ''hyns'', and Old Breton ''scoiu-hint'' "side-passage".

Other raising environments identified by Schrijver include:
* When the vowel is preceded by ''*m'' and followed by ''*n''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=43}}
* When the vowel is in a pretonic syllable, preceded by an alveolar consonant and followed by a nasal.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=43-4}}
* When the vowel is followed by an ''*r'' which in turn is followed by either ''*n'' or a velar consonant.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=65}}

This raising preceded a-affection, since a-affection reverses this raising whenever it applied.

All these raisings not only affected native vocabulary, but also affected Latin loanwords.

{|class="wikitable
|+ Raising of ''*e'' and ''*o'', examples derived from Schrijver (1995)
! Proto-form
! Late Proto-Brittonic
! Welsh
! Cornish
! Breton
|-
! colspan=5| Raising before a nasal followed by a stop{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=27}}
|-
! ''*kentus'' "first, early"
| ''*kɪnt''
| ''cynt''
| ''kens''
| ''kent''
|-
! ''*kʷenkʷe'' "five"
| ''*pɪmp''
| ''pymp''
| ''pemp''
| ''pemp''
|-
! ''*sondos'' "this"
| ''*hunn''
| ''hwn(n)''
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! colspan=5| Raising in ''*mVn-'' sequences
|-
! ''*menmens'' "mind"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=33}}
| ''*mɪnw''
| ''mynw''
| N/A
| ''meno''
|-
! ''*moniklos'' "neck"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=32}}
| ''*munugl''
| ''mwnwgl''
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! colspan=5| Raising between alveolar and nasal consonants in pretonic syllables
|-
! ''*[[Demetae|Demet-]]'' (tribal name){{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=31}}
| ''*Dɪβ̃ed''
| ''[[Dyfed]]''
| N/A
| N/A
|-
!''*nemetos'' "venerated"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=34-5}}
|''*nɪβ̃ed''
|''-nivet'' (Old Welsh) <br> ''-nyfet'' (Middle Welsh)
|N/A
|''-nimet'', ''-nemet'' (Old Breton)
|-
! ''*temes(e)los'' "dark(ness)"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=35}}
| ''*tɪβ̃uɪl''
| ''tywyll''
| N/A
| ''timuil'' (Old Breton) <br> ''teñval'' (modern Breton)
|-
! Latin ''sonus'' "sound"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=35-6}}
| ''*son'' (sg.) <br> ''*sunow'' (pl.)
| ''son'', ''swn''
| ''son''
| ''so(u)n''
|-
! colspan=5| Raising in ''*Vrn'' and ''*VrK'' sequences
|-
! ''*ast-kornu'' "bone"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=53-5}}
| ''*askurn''
| ''asgwrn''
| ''ascorn''
| ''asko(u)rn''
|-
! ''*tigernos'' "lord"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=63-5}}
| ''*tɪɣɪrn''
| ''teyrn''
| ''mech-deyrn''
| ''mach-tiern'' (Old Breton)
|-
! ''*borg-'' "throw"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=55-6}}
| ''*burɣ''
| ''bwrw''
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! ''*org-'' "to strike down"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=58}}
| ''*urɣ''
| ''dygyfwrw'' <br>(prefixed with ''to-kom-'')
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! ''*yorkos'' "roebuck"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=61}}
| ''*jurx''
| ''iwrch''
| ''yorch'' (Old Cornish)
| ''yourc'h''
|}

=====Interactions of vowels followed by ''*g''=====
Multiple special interactions of vowels occurred when followed by ''*g''. 
* ''*e'' in such environments can be raised to ''*ɪ'' or lowered to ''*a'' depending on the following sound.
* ''*ig'' > ''*ɪɣ'' had a special Welsh development in which it would become ''e'' in any environment where internal i-affection would apply. This development affected not only ''*ig'' > ''*ɪɣ'', but also ''*eg'' > ''*ɪɣ''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=69}}
* The ''-a-'' in Welsh ''Cymraeg'' "Welsh language" and ''Cymraes'' "Welshwoman" (both from a base ''*kom-mrog-'') has been explained from a special development of ''*-og-'' to ''*-ag-'' pre-apocope antepenultimate syllables.

{|class="wikitable"
|+ Outcomes of vowels before ''*g'' in Brittonic
! Proto-form
! Late Proto-Brittonic
! Welsh
! Cornish
! Breton
|-
! colspan=5| ''*ege'', ''*egi'' > ''*age'', ''*agi''
|-
! ''*segetlā'' "plough-handle"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=134}}
| ''*haɣeðl''
| ''haeddel''
| N/A
| ''hae(z)l''
|-
! ''*dregenom'' "blackthorn"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=135}}
| ''*draɣen''
| ''draen''
| N/A
| ''draen''
|-
! colspan=5| ''*egV'' > ''*ɪgV'' if not lowered to ''*ag''{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=138, 68}}
|-
! ''*tegos'' "house"
| ''*tɪɣ''
| ''tŷ''
| ''chy''
| ''ti''
|-
! ''*segos'' "bold, brave"
| ''*hɪɣ''
| ''hy''
| N/A
| N/A
|-
! colspan = 5| ''*ig-'' > ''*ɪɣ'' > ''*e'' in Welsh in internal i-affection environments
|-
!''*tigernos'' "lord"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=63-5}}
|''*tɪɣɪrn''
|''teyrn''
|''mech-deyrn''	
|''mach-tiern'' (Old Breton)
|-
!''*brigantī'' "privilege"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=70}}
|''*brɪɣẹnt''
|''bryeint'' (Old Welsh) <br> ''breint'' (Middle Welsh) <br> ''braint'' (Modern Welsh)
|N/A
|''Brient'' (Old Breton)
|-
!''*wegatikos'' "woven"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=69}}
|''*gwɪɣẹdɪg''
|''gweedig''
|N/A
|N/A
|-
!Latin ''[[Segontium]]''){{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=69}}
|''*sɪɣönt''
|''Segeint'' (Old Welsh) <br> ''Seint'' (Middle Welsh)
|N/A
|N/A
|}

=====Assimilation of ''*oRa'' to ''*aRa''=====
Closely paralleling the common Celtic change of ''*eRa'' > ''*aRa'' (Joseph's rule) is the change of ''*oRa'' to ''*aRa'' in Brittonic, with ''R'' standing for any lone [[sonorant]]. Unlike Joseph's rule, ''*oRa'' to ''*aRa'' did not occur in Goidelic. Schrijver demonstrates this rule with the following examples:{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=94-7}}
* Proto-Celtic ''*kolanV-'' "corpse": Welsh ''celain'', plural ''calanedd'' vs. Irish ''colainn''{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=95}}
* Proto-Celtic ''*toranos'' "thunder": ''taran'' in all three Brittonic languages vs. Irish ''torann''{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=96}}

Assuming that Welsh ''manach'' (borrowed from Latin ''monachus'' "monk") also underwent this assimilation, Schrijver concludes that this change must predate the raising of vowels in ''*mVn-'' sequences, which in turn predates a-affection (an early fifth-century process).{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=97}}

=====/je/ > /ja/=====
In Brittonic, Celtic ''*ye'' generally became /ja/. Some examples cited by Schrijver include:
* Proto-Celtic ''*yegis'' > Brittonic ''*jaɣ'' > Welsh ''iâ'' "ice" vs. Old Irish ''aig'', genitive ''ega'' (the ''a'' in the Irish word arose via an unrelated development involving ''*g''){{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=102-3}}
* Proto-Celtic ''*yestu'' "boiling" > Brittonic ''*jas'' > Welsh ''ias'' vs. early Irish ''ess'' "cataract"{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=105-6}}
* Proto-Celtic ''*gyemos'' "winter" > Brittonic ''{{IPA|*gəijaβ̃}}'' > Welsh ''gaeaf'' vs. Irish ''gaim, gem'' (''-a-'' analogical){{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=101}}

=====''*wo''=====
The sequence ''*wo'' was quite volatile in Brittonic. It originally manifested as ''*wo'' in unlenited position and ''*wa'' in lenited position. Word-initially, this allomorphy was gone in medieval times, leveled out in various ways. Whichever of ''*o'' or ''*a'' to be generalized in the reflexes of a word in a given Brittonic language is completely unpredictable, and occasionally both ''o'' and ''a'' reflexes have been attested within the same language. [[Southwest Brittonic languages]] like Breton and Cornish usually generalize the same variant of ''*wo'' in a given word while Welsh tends to have its own distribution of variants.

The distribution of ''*wo/wa'' is also complicated by an Old Breton development where ''*wo'' that had not turned to ''*gwa'' would split into ''go(u)-'' (Old Breton ''gu-'') in penultimate post-apocope syllables and ''go-'' in monosyllables.

=====Developments of ''*ub''=====
The sequence ''*ub'' > ''*uβ'' remained as such when followed by a consonant, for instance in Proto-Celtic ''*dubros'' "water" > ''*duβr'' > Welsh ''dwfr'', ''dŵr'' and Breton ''dour''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=149}}

However, if no consonant exists after a ''*ub'' sequence, the ''*u'' merges with whatever Proto-Celtic ''*ou'' and ''*oi'' became, the result of which is written {{gpm|u}} in the Brittonic languages. The lenited ''*b'' > ''*β'' is lost word-finally after this happens.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=146}}
* ''*dubus'' "black" > Welsh ''du'', Cornish ''du'', Breton ''du''
* ''*lubV-'' "herb" > Old Breton ''tutlub'', ''tutlob'' > Breton ''tule'', ''tulo''{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=146}}
* Latin ''cubitus'' > Middle Welsh ''kufyt'', modern Welsh ''cufydd''{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=147}}

Schrijver dates this development between the 6th to 8th centuries, with subsequent loss of ''*β'' datable to the 9th century.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=148-9}}

=====a-affection=====
In Brittonic, final a-affection was triggered by final-syllable ''*ā'' or ''*a'', which was later apocopated. This process lowered ''*i'' and ''*u'' in the preceding syllable to ''*e'' and ''*o'', respectively.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=255-7}}

A-affection, by affecting feminine forms of adjectives and not their masculine counterparts, created root vowel alternations by gender such as ''*windos'', feminine ''*windā'' > ''*gwɪnn'', feminine ''*gwenn'' > Welsh ''gwyn'', feminine ''gwen''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|p=255}}

=====i-affection=====
There were two separate processes of i-affection in Brittonic, both causing fronting of vowels: '''final i-affection''' and '''internal i-affection'''.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=257}}

'''Final i-affection''' occurred when the penultimate short vowels ''*a'', ''*e'', ''*o'', ''*u'' were followed by Proto-Celtic ''*i'', ''*ī'', and ''*ū'' in the very last syllable. The results are slightly different in three languages. {{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=257–258}}

====Simplified summary of consonantal outcomes====
The regular [[consonant]]al [[sound change]]s from Proto-Celtic to Welsh, Cornish, and Breton are summarised in the following table. Where the graphemes have a different value from the corresponding IPA symbols, the IPA equivalent is indicated between slashes. V represents a vowel; C represents a consonant.{{sfn|Schrijver|1995|pp=349-352}}

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!|Proto-Celtic
!| Late Brittonic
!|[[Welsh language|Welsh]]
!|[[Cornish language|Cornish]]
!|[[Breton language|Breton]]
|-
| *b-
| *b-
| b
| b
| b
|-
| *-bb-
| *-b-
| b
| b
| b
|-
| *-VbV-
| *-VβV- > -VvV-
| f {{IPA|/v/}}
| v
| v
|-
| *d-
| *d-
| d
| d
| d
|-
| *-dd-
| *-d-
| d
| d
| d
|-
| *-VdV-
| *-VðV-
| dd {{IPA|/ð/}}
| dh {{IPA|/ð/}}
| z {{IPA|/z/}} or lost
|-
| *g-
| *g-
| g
| g
| g
|-
| *-gg-
| *-g-
| g
| g
| g
|-
| *-VgV-
| *-VɣV- > -VjV-
| (lost)
| (lost)
| (lost)
|-
| *ɸ-
| (lost)
| (lost)
| (lost)
| (lost)
|-
| *-ɸ-
| (lost)
| (lost)
| (lost)
| (lost)
|-
| *-xt-
| *-xθ- > -(i)θ
| th {{IPA|/θ/}}
| th {{IPA|/θ/}}
| zh {{IPA|/z/}} or {{IPA|/h/}}
|-
| *j-
| *i-
| i
| i
| i
|-
| *-j
| *-ð
| -dd {{IPA|/ð/}}
| -dh {{IPA|/ð/}}
| -z {{IPA|/z/}} or lost
|-
| *k-
| *k-
| c {{IPA|/k/}}
| k
| k
|-
| *-kk-
| *-x-
| ch {{IPA|/x/}}
| gh {{IPA|/h/}}
| c'h {{IPA|/x/}} or {{IPA|/h/}}
|-
| *-VkV-
| *-g-
| g
| g
| g
|-
| *kʷ-
| *p-
| p
| p
| p
|-
| *-kʷ-
| *-b-
| b
| b
| b
|-
| *l-
| *l-
| ll {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| l
| l
|-
| *-ll-
| *-l-
| l
| l
| l
|-
| *-VlV-
| *-l-
| l
| l
| l
|-
| *m-
| *m-
| m
| m
| m
|-
| *-mb-
| *-mm-
| m
| m
| m
|-
| *-Cm-
| *-m-
| m
| m
| m
|-
| *-m-
| *-β̃-
| f {{IPA|/v/}}, w
| v
| ñv {{IPA|/-̃v/}}
|-
| *n-
| *n-
| n
| n
| n
|-
| *-n-
| *-n-
| n
| n
| n
|-
| *-nd-
| *-nn-
| n, nn
| n, nn
| n, nn
|-
| *-nt-
| *-nt-
| nt, nh /n̥/
| nt
| nt
|-
| *-pp-
| *-ɸ- > -f-
| ff /f/
| f
| f
|-
| *r-
| *r-
| rh {{IPA|/r̥/}}
| r
| r
|-
| *sr-
| *fr-
| ffr {{IPA|/fr/}}
| fr
| fr
|-
| *-r-
| *-r-
| r
| r
| r
|-
| *s-
| *h-, s
| h, s
| h, s
| h or lost, s
|-
| *-s-
| *-s-
| s
| s
| s
|-
| *sl-
| *l-
| ll {{IPA|/ɬ/}}
| l
| l
|-
| *sm-
| *m-
| m
| m
| m
|-
| *sn-
| *n-
| n
| n
| n
|-
| *sɸ-
| *f-
| ff {{IPA|/f/}}
| f
| f
|-
| *sw-
| *hw-
| chw {{IPA|/xw/}}
| hw {{IPA|/ʍ/}}
| c'ho {{IPA|/xw/}}
|-
| *t
| *t
| t
| t
| t
|-
| *-t-
| *-d-
| d
| d
| d
|-
| *-tt-
| *-θ-
| th {{IPA|/θ/}}
| th {{IPA|/θ/}}
| zh {{IPA|/z/}} or {{IPA|/h/}}
|-
| *w-
| *ˠw- > ɣw- > gw-
| gw
| gw
| gw
|-
| *-VwV-
| *-w-
| w
| w
| w 
|-
| *-V
| *-Vh
| Vch {{IPA|/Vx/}}
| Vgh {{IPA|/Vh/}}
| Vc'h {{IPA|/Vx/}} or {{IPA|/Vh/}}
|}

==Remnants in England and Scotland==

===Place names and river names===
{{Further|Celtic toponymy|Toponymy in the United Kingdom and Ireland}}
The principal legacy left behind in those territories from which the Brittonic languages were displaced is that of [[Toponymy|toponyms]] (place names) and [[hydronym]]s (names of rivers and other bodies of water). There are many Brittonic place names in lowland Scotland and in the parts of England where it is agreed that substantial Brittonic speakers remained (Brittonic names, apart from those of the former Romano-British towns, are scarce over most of England). Names derived (sometimes indirectly) from Brittonic include [[London]], [[Penicuik]], [[Perth, Scotland|Perth]], [[Aberdeen]], [[York]], [[Dorchester, Dorset|Dorchester]], [[Dover]], and [[Colchester]].<ref>op. cit.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=There is no way to tell what source that is supposed to refer to. Wikipedia never uses "op. cit", because material and citations move around all the time.}} Brittonic elements found in England include {{lang|cel-x-combrit|bre-}} and {{lang|cel-x-combrit|bal-}} for 'hill', while some such as ''co[o]mb[e]'' (from {{lang|cy|[[Cwm (landform)|cwm]]}}) for 'small deep valley' and ''[[Tor (rock formation)|tor]]'' for 'hill, rocky headland' are examples of Brittonic words that were borrowed into English. Others reflect the presence of Britons such as [[Dumbarton]] – from the [[Scottish Gaelic]] {{lang|gd|Dùn Breatainn}} meaning 'Fort of the Britons', and Walton meaning (in Anglo-Saxon) a {{lang|ang|tun}} 'settlement' where the {{lang|ang|[[Walhaz|Wealh]]}} 'Britons' still lived.

The number of Celtic river names in England generally increases from east to west, a map showing these being given by Jackson. These include Avon, Chew, Frome, Axe, Brue and Exe, but also river names containing the elements ''der-/dar-/dur-'' and ''-went'' e.g. Derwent, Darwen, Deer, Adur, Dour, Darent, and Went. These names exhibit multiple different Celtic roots. One is *{{lang|cel-x-combrit|dubri-}} 'water' (Breton {{lang|br|dour}}, Cumbric {{lang|xcb|dowr}}, Welsh {{Lang|cy|dŵr}}), also found in the place-name Dover (attested in the Roman period as {{lang|la|Dubrīs}}); this is the source of rivers named Dour. Another is {{lang|cel-x-combrit|deru̯o-}} 'oak' or 'true' (Bret. {{lang|br|derv}}, Cumb. {{lang|xcb|derow}}, W. {{lang|cy|derw}}), coupled with two agent suffixes, {{lang|cel-x-combrit|-ent}} and {{lang|cel-x-combrit|-iū}}; this is the origin of Derwent, Darent, and Darwen (attested in the Roman period as {{lang|la|Deru̯entiō}}). The final root to be examined is {{lang|cel-x-combrit|went/uent}}. In Roman Britain, there were three tribal capitals named {{lang|la|U̯entā}} (modern Winchester, Caerwent, and Caistor St Edmunds), whose meaning was 'place, town'.<ref>{{cite book |last=Matasović |first=Ranko |date=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic |page=413 |publisher=Brill |location=Leiden / Boston |isbn=978-90-04-17336-1}}</ref>

===Brittonicisms in English===
{{main|Brittonicisms in English}}
{{Further|List of English words of Brittonic origin}}
Some, including [[J. R. R. Tolkien]], have argued that Celtic has acted as a substrate to English for both the lexicon and syntax. It is generally accepted that Brittonic effects on English are lexically few, aside from toponyms, consisting of a small number of domestic and geographical words, which "may" include ''bin'', ''brock'', ''carr'', ''comb'', ''crag'' and ''tor''.<ref name="Coates, Richard 2007 pp. 172">{{cite book |last=Coates |first=Richard |contribution=Invisible Britons: The view from linguistics |editor-last=Higham |editor-first=Nick |title=Britons in Anglo-Saxon England |series="Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies" series |volume=7 |location=Woodbridge, Suffolk |publisher=[[Boydell & Brewer]] |date=2007 |pages=172–191 |url= https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=rc-britons.pdf&site=1 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160314053126/https://www.sussex.ac.uk/webteam/gateway/file.php?name=rc-britons.pdf&site=1 |archive-date=14 March 2016 |via=[[University of Sussex]]}} URL is to a 2004 prepress version.</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Kastovsky |first=Dieter |contribution=Semantics and Vocabulary |title=The Cambridge History of the English Language |volume=1: The Beginnings to 1066 |editor-first=Richard M. |editor-last=Hogg |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |date=1992 |pages=318–319}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Miller |first=D. Gary |title=External Influences on English: From Its Beginnings to the Renaissance |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |date=2012 |pages=19–20}}</ref> Another legacy may be the sheep-counting system ''[[yan tan tethera]]'' in the north, in the traditionally Celtic areas of England such as [[Cumbria]]. Several words of Cornish origin are still in use in English as mining-related terms, including [[costean]], [[gunnies]], and [[vug]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms |publisher=[[American Geological Institute]] / [[US Bureau of Mines]] |pages=128, 249, 613}}</ref>

Those who argue against the theory of a more significant Brittonic influence than is widely accepted point out that many toponyms have no semantic continuation from the Brittonic language. A notable example is ''Avon'' which comes from the Celtic term for river {{lang|cel|abona}}<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=Avon&searchmode=none |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |access-date=7 July 2013}}</ref> or the Welsh term for river, {{lang|cy|afon}}, but was used by the English as a personal name.<ref name="Coates, Richard 2007 pp. 172" /> Likewise the [[River Ouse, Yorkshire]], contains the Celtic word {{lang|cel|usa}} which merely means 'water'<ref>{{cite book |editor-last=Room |editor-first=A. |date=1992 |title=Brewer's Dictionary of Names |location=Oxford |publisher=Helicon |pages=396–397}}</ref> and the name of the river Trent simply comes from the Welsh word for a 'trespasser' (figuratively suggesting 'overflowing river').<ref name="ecec">{{cite book |last=Hickey |first=Raymond |contribution=Early Contact and Parallels Between English and Celtic |title=Vienna English Working Papers}}</ref>

Scholars supporting a Brittonic substrate in English argue that the use of [[periphrastic]] constructions (using [[auxiliary verb]]s such as ''do'' and ''be'' in the continuous/progressive) of the English [[verb]], which is more widespread than in the other [[Germanic languages]], is traceable to Brittonic influence.<ref name="White">{{cite book |last=White |first=David L. |chapter=On the Areal Pattern of 'Brittonicity' in English and Its Implications |chapter-url= http://opus.kobv.de/ubp/volltexte/2010/4090/pdf/CelticEnglishesIV.pdf |title=The Celtic Englishes |volume=IV: The Interface Between English and the Celtic Languages |date=2010 |editor-first=Hildegard |editor-last=Tristram |publisher=[[University of Potsdam]] Press}}.</ref><ref name="Digloss">{{cite journal |last=Tristram |first=Hildegard |date=2004 |url= http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Diglossia+in+Anglo-Saxon+England,+or+what+was+spoken+Old+English+like%3F-a0125953281 |title=Diglossia in Anglo-Saxon England, or what was spoken Old English like? |journal=Studia Anglica Posnaniensia |volume=40 |pages=87–110}}</ref> Others, however, find this unlikely since many of these forms are only attested in the later Middle English period; these scholars claim a native English development rather than Celtic influence.<ref>{{cite book |last=Insley |first=John |contribution=Britons and Anglo-Saxons |title=Kulturelle Integration und Personnenamen in Mittelalter |publisher=[[De Gruyter]] |date=2018}}</ref> Ian G. Roberts postulates Northern Germanic influence, despite such constructions not existing in Norse.<ref name="roberts">{{cite book |last=Roberts |first=Ian G. |title=Verbs and Diachronic Syntax: A Comparative History of English and French |volume=28 |series=NATO ASI Series C, Mathematical and Physical Science: Studies in Natural Language and Linguistic Theory}}</ref> Literary Welsh has the simple present {{lang|cy|Caraf}} = 'I love' and the present stative (al. continuous/progressive) {{lang|cy|Yr wyf yn caru}} = 'I am loving', where the Brittonic syntax is partly mirrored in English. (However, English ''I am loving'' comes from older ''I am a-loving'', from still older {{lang|enm|ich am on luvende}} 'I am in the process of loving'). In the Germanic sister languages of English, there is only one form, for example {{lang|de|Ich liebe}} in German, though in ''colloquial'' usage in some German dialects, a progressive aspect form has evolved which is formally similar to those found in Celtic languages, and somewhat less similar to the Modern English form, e.g. 'I am working' is {{lang|de|Ich bin am Arbeiten}}, literally: 'I am on the working'. The same structure is also found in modern Dutch ({{lang|nl|Ik ben aan het werk}}), alongside other structures (e.g. {{lang|nl|Ik zit te werken}}, lit. 'I sit to working'). These parallel developments suggest that the English progressive is not necessarily due to Celtic influence; moreover, the native English development of the structure can be traced over 1000 years and more of English literature.

Some researchers (Filppula, et al., 2001) argue that other elements of English syntax reflect Brittonic influences.<ref name="ecec" /><ref name="Gelderen">{{cite book |last=van Gelderen |first=Elly |title=A History of the English Language}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=July 2024|reason=At bare minimum, needs page number(s) and publication year.}} For instance, in English [[tag question]]s, the form of the tag depends on the verb form in the main statement (''aren't I?'', ''isn't he?'', ''won't we?'', etc.). The German {{lang|de|nicht wahr?}} and the French {{lang|fr|n'est-ce pas?}}, by contrast, are fixed forms which can be used with almost any main statement. It has been claimed that the English system has been borrowed from Brittonic, since Welsh tag questions vary in almost exactly the same way.<ref name="ecec" /><ref name="Gelderen" />

===Brittonic effect on the Goidelic languages===
Far more notable, but less well known, are Brittonic influences on [[Scottish Gaelic]], though Scottish and Irish Gaelic, with their wider range of preposition-based periphrastic constructions, suggest that such constructions descend from their common Celtic heritage. Scottish Gaelic contains several P-Celtic loanwords, but, as there is a far greater overlap in terms of Celtic vocabulary than with English, it is not always possible to disentangle P- and Q-Celtic words. However, some common words such as {{lang|gd|monadh}} = Welsh {{lang|cy|mynydd}}, Cumbric {{lang|xcb|monidh}} are particularly evident.

The Brittonic influence on Scots Gaelic is often indicated by considering [[Irish language]] usage, which is not likely to have been influenced so much by Brittonic. In particular, the word {{lang|gd|srath}} ([[Anglicisation|anglicised]] as "strath") is a native Goidelic word, but its usage appears to have been modified by the Welsh cognate {{lang|cy|ystrad}} whose meaning is slightly different.

==References==
{{Ibid|date=May 2025}}
{{Reflist|30em}}

===Sources===
*{{cite book |last=Alinei |first=Mario |date=1996 |title=Origini delle lingue d'Europa |volume=1: La teoria della continuità |language=it |location=Bologna |publisher=Il Mulino |isbn=9788815077158}}
*{{cite book |last=Alinei |first=Mario |date=2000 |title=Origini delle lingue d'Europa |volume=2: Continuità dal Mesolitico all'età del Ferro nelle principali aree etnolinguistiche |language=it |location=Bologna |publisher=Il Mulino |isbn=9788815073860}}
*{{cite book |last1=Dillon |first1=Myles |author1-link=Myles Dillon |last2=Chadwick |first2=Nora K. |author2-link=Nora K. Chadwick |date=1967 |title=Celtic Realms |location=London |publisher=[[Weidenfeld & Nicolson]]}}
*{{cite book |last1=Filppula |first1=M. |last2=Klemola |first2=J. |last3=Pitkänen |first3=H. |date=2001 |title=The Celtic Roots of English |series="Studies in Languages" series |volume=37 |publisher=[[University of Joensuu]], Faculty of Humanities |isbn=952-458-164-7}}
*{{cite book |last=Hawkes |first=J. |date=1973 |title=The First Great Civilizations: Life in Mesopotamia, the Indus Valley and Egypt |series="The History of Human Society" series |location=London |publisher=Hutchinson |isbn=0-09-116580-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth H. |author-link=Kenneth H. Jackson |date=1953 |title=Language and history in Early Britain: A Chronological Survey of the Brittonic Languages, 1st to 12th c. A.D. |series="Celtic Studies" series |location=Dublin |publisher=[[Four Courts Press]] |isbn=1-85182-140-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Jackson |first=Kenneth H. |author-link=Kenneth H. Jackson |date=1955 |contribution=The Pictish Language |editor-last=Wainwright |editor-first=F. T. |title=The Problem of the Picts |location=Edinburgh |publisher=Nelson |pages=129–166}}
*{{cite book |last=Schrijver |first=Peter |author-link=Peter Schrijver |date=1995 |title=Studies in British Celtic Historical Phonology |location=Amsterdam |publisher=Rodopi |isbn=90-5183-820-4}}
*{{cite book |last=Willis |first=David |date=2009 |contribution=-Old and Middle Welsh |editor1-last=Ball |editor1-first=Martin J. |editor2-last=Müller |editor2-first=Nicole |title=The Celtic Languages |pages=117–160 |edition=2nd |series="Language Family" series |location=New York |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-203-88248-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Driscoll |first=S. T. |date=2011 |contribution=Pictish archaeology: pPersistent problems and structural solutions |editor1-last=Driscoll |editor1-first=S. T. |editor2-last=Geddes |editor2-first=J. |editor3-last=Hall |editor3-first=M. A. |title=Pictish Progress: New Studies on Northern Britain in the Early Middle Ages |location=Leiden / Boston |publisher=[[Brill Publishers|Brill]] |pages=245–279}}

{{Celtic languages}}
{{Celts}}
{{Subject bar|auto=1|Cornwall|Wales|v=Brythonic Celtic Languages Division}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Brittonic languages| ]]
[[Category:Iron Age Britain]]
[[Category:Ancient Britain]]