Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume IV.djvu/185

CELTS (LANGUAGES AND LITERATURE) 177 Germanic, and mixed races that overran Eu- rope daring the centuries which followed the beginning of the period of authentic history. In this way they became merely an element in the formation of the nations now popula- ting the European continent, and as a distinct power entirely disappeared from all the region they once had occupied. But although they no longer form an independent nation or peo- ple, there remain in the British isles, and in a district of Brittany in France, descendants of the race who retain many of its prominent characteristics, and who continue to make use of different dialects of the ancient Celtic lan- guages. In Wales, Ireland, and the Scottish highlands are found the most marked and dis- tinct types of these ; while but a short time has passed since the dying out of a branch of the Celtic race in Cornwall. (See BELG.E, CELTIBERIANS, CIMBEI, CIMMEEII, and GAUL.) CELTS, Languages and Literature of the. The various families of the race described in the preceding article termed themselves Celts (pronounced Kelts, for in all their languages and dialects the letter was always hard, and K was absent from their alphabets). Omitting Spain and the north of Italy (the so-called Celtic plain, whose inhabitants be- came thoroughly Eomanized, and of whose ancient literary remains in their own tongue there are no specimens existing), it may be stated generally that two distinct languages were spoken and written by these people, each divided into several dialects. These two lan- guages are still living, spoken and written. They are : 1, the Breton (Breizad), including the Welsh, the Cornish, which has become ex- tinct only within the memory of men, and the Bas Breton, now spoken in the western half of Brittany in France ; and 2, the Gaedhilic (Gaelic), which includes the speech of the Scottish Highlanders, of the aboriginal Irish, and of the Manx. To avoid confusion, it must be understood that the Welsh call their own language, not Welsh, but Cymraeg (a term perhaps related to the ancient Cim- merian and Cimbric) ; and it is only in speak- ing English that they ever accept the name of Welsh at all. Their language is still to be heard commonly spoken throughout the principality, having held its ground better than any of the other Celtic tongues. The other Cymric language, the Bas Breton, is retiring by degrees before the French, and now exists as a living tongue only in that western region of Brittany which the French call la Bretagne bretonnante. As for the other family of Celtic languages, it is properly termed the Gaelic; but the Scottish highlanders call it the Erse (pronounced Erish), that is, Irish. The Irish themselves, however, speak of it only as the Gaelic. This is one and the same language, only varying slightly from Caithness to Kerry. The course of ages has introduced some dia- lectic differences ; but even at the present day the speech of the highlanders of Argyle is as readily understood in Donegal as that of Kerry or Cork. The language of the Isle of Man differs slightly from all these, but in its roots and general structure it is the same. The Celtic languages, then, distribute themselves into the Cymric and the Gaelic. The BAS BEETON, even within its limited range, has four distinct dialects, those of Tr6- guier, Leon, Vannes, and Cornouaille ; in each of these there are remains existing, in the shape of ballads and romantic or fairy legends. Modern scholars connected with that portion of France, especially the count de la Villemarqu6, have done much for the preservation of these singular literary relics of a bygone civilization. There are also dictionaries and grammars : stu- dents may consult Le Gonidec, Dictionnaire breton-francais et francais-breton, with a val- uable introduction by La Villemarqu6 (2 vols. 4to, St. Brieuc, 1850) ; also the dictionary of the dialect of Vannes, by M. Leide, published in 1774. Rostrenen published both a diction- ary and a grammar of his native tongue, so far back as 1734. But the most indispensable aid to investigation, not only as to the Breton but as to all other Celtic tongues, is the work of J. C. Zeuss, Grammatica Celtica, e Monu- mentis veteribus tarn HiberniccB Linguae quam Britannicce, necnon e Gallic priscce Reli- quiis (2 vols. 8vo, Leipsic, 1853). For the gen- eral character of the literary remains of Brit- tany, see La Villemarque, Barzaz-Breiz (popu- lar songs printed in the original, with a French translation). All the four dialects of the Bas Breton have been more modified by the Latin than other Celtic tongues, owing to the length of Eoman domination. It employs Roman letters, some of which (a, b, d, e, f, g, Ji, *, I, m, n, o, p, r, *, , , v) sound as in the ancient Latin, others (&, w, z) as in English, two (J and the combination cK) as in French, and the com- bination c'Ji like the German ch (strongly gut- tural) ; I and n are sometimes what the French call mouille, and n is sometimes nasal ; w is also used; as a vowel ; the diphthongs are genuine and distinct. Some initials of nouns and of verbs are altered after the finals of the preceding words, viz. : b to v and p, as bdz (Lat. baculus), ar vdz, the stick ; Tc to g, c'h, as ki (canis), ar c'hi, the dog ; cur (curia), eur ger, a city ; d to , z; gw to lew, w ; mto v, as mamm (mater), ar vamm, the mother ; p to b, f, as penn, head, tri fen, three heads ; t to d, z ; s to z. The definite article has three forms, ann before- vowels and before d, n, t, al before I, ar every- where else; the indefinite article also varies, eunn, eul, eur, in the same positions as the defi- nite. Both are thus used in the singular and plural sense. The genitive is denoted by edz, the dative by d, in both numbers. The plural is made by suffixing ou or ion (atel-ou, winds ; Irezel-iou, wars), or ien, ed, en (kaneri-en, sing- ers; Uen-ed, animals; stered-en, stars). Irregu- lar are : Breizad, plural Breiziz ; askoum, bone, askern, bones ; mdb, son, plural mipien. There are two genders, masculine and feminine. The