Southwestern Brittonic languages facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Southwestern Brittonic |
|
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution: |
|
| Linguistic classification: | Indo-European
|
| Proto-language: | Proto-Southwestern Brittonic |
| Subdivisions: | |
The Southwestern Brittonic languages are a group of Celtic languages. They are part of the larger Brittonic family. These languages were spoken in areas that are now South West England and Brittany. People have used them since the Early Middle Ages.
When these languages first appeared in writing, they seemed very similar. It was hard to tell them apart. But over time, they slowly changed. They grew into two separate languages: Cornish and Breton.
These languages came from an older language called Common Brittonic. This language was once spoken across most of Britain. So, Southwestern Brittonic languages are related to Welsh. They are also related to Cumbric, which was spoken in parts of Wales and northern Britain.
Early History of the Languages
The very first stage of these languages is called Primitive Cornish/Breton. We do not have any written records from this time. This means it is an unattested language. We know it existed, but we don't have old books or writings to study it directly.
Written sources started appearing later. This was during the Old Cornish/Breton period. This time was roughly from the years 800 to 1100. During this period, the languages were still very much alike. It was difficult to tell Old Cornish from Old Breton.
Some language experts, like Peter Schrijver, use the term Southwest British. They use it to describe the language when Old Cornish and Old Breton were almost the same. The main difference was just where they were spoken. They were separated by geography, not by how they sounded or were used.
