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Brithenig
Created by Andrew Smith
Date 1996
Setting and usage A thought experiment in alternate history, Ill Bethisad, if Latin had replaced Celtic
Purpose
Sources constructed languages
 a posteriori languages
(Romance language based on Celtic)
Linguist List bzt

Brithenig is a constructed language created by Andrew Smith from New Zealand. He made it in 1996. The main idea behind Brithenig is to imagine something special. What if the Welsh language had grown from Latin? This is instead of its real Celtic roots.

So, Brithenig would be like a cousin to French, Spanish, and Italian. But it would still look a lot like Welsh. This language is very important in a made-up world called Ill Bethisad. In that world, Latin became the main language in Great Britain. This led to Brithenig developing there.

Brithenig is a famous example of "alternative languages." These are languages that could have existed. They would appear if history had taken a different path. Another well-known example is Wenedyk. Wenedyk imagines what Polish would be like if it were a Romance language.

Brithenig Words

This section shows how Brithenig words look. You can compare them to words in other Romance languages. It helps you see the similarities and differences.

Ten Romance languages compared
English Latin Portuguese Spanish French Italian Rhaeto-Romance Romanian Brithenig Wenedyk
arm brachium braço brazo bras braccio bratsch braţ breich brocz
black nĭger negro negro noir nero nair negru nîr niegry
city, town cīvĭtas cidade ciudad cité città citad oraş ciwdad czytać
death mŏrs morte muerte mort morte mort moarte morth mroć
dog canis cão perro chien cane chaun câine can kań
ear auris orelha oreja oreille orecchio ureglia ureche origl urzykła
egg ovum ovo huevo œuf uovo ov ou ew ów
eye ŏcŭlus olho ojo œil occhio egl ochi ogl okieł
father pater pai padre père padre bab tată padr poterz
fire ignis, fŏcus fogo fuego feu fuoco fieu foc ffog fok
fish pĭscis peixe pez, pescado poisson pesce pesch peşte pisc pieszcz
foot pĕs pie pied piede pe picior pedd piedź
friend amīcus amigo amigo ami amico ami prieten, amic efig omik
green vĭrĭdis verde verde vert verde verd verde gwirdd wierdzi
horse ĕquus, cabăllus cavalo caballo cheval cavallo chaval cal cafall kawał
I ĕgo eu yo je io jau eu eo jo
island īnsŭla ilha isla île isola insla insulă ysl izła
language, tongue lĭngua língua lengua langue lingua linguatg, lieunga limbă llinghedig, llingw lęgwa
life vīta vida vida vie vita vita viaţă gwid wita
milk lac leite leche lait latte latg lapte llaeth łoc
name nōmen nome nombre nom nome num nume nôn numię
night nŏx noite noche nuit notte notg noapte noeth noc
old vĕtus velho viejo vieux vecchio vegl vechi gwegl wiekły
school schŏla escola escuela école scuola scola şcoală yscol szkoła
sky caelum céu cielo ciel cielo tschiel cer cel czał
star stēlla estrela estrella étoile stella staila stea ystuil ścioła
tooth dĕns dente diente dent dente dent dinte dent dzięć
voice vōx voz voz voix voce vusch voce gwg wucz
water aqua água agua eau acqua aua apă ag jekwa
wind vĕntus vento viento vent vento vent vînt gwent więt

Brithenig Sample

Here is an example of Brithenig. It is the Lord's Prayer. This shows how the language sounds and looks.

Nustr Padr, ke sia i llo gel:
sia senghid tew nôn:
gwein tew rheon:
sia ffaeth tew wolont,
syrs lla der sig i llo gel.
Dun nustr pan diwrnal a nu h-eidd;
e pharddun llo nustr phechad a nu,
si nu pharddunan llo nustr phechadur.
E ngheidd rhen di nu in ill temp di drial,
mai llifr nu di'll mal.
Per ill rheon, ill cofaeth e lla leir es ill tew,
per segl e segl. Amen.

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