Italic languages

Italic languages,

subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages that may be divided into two groups. The first group consists of the ancient Italic languages and dialects that were once spoken in Italy. The most important of these were Latin, Faliscan, Oscan, and Umbrian; Latin was the only one to survive antiquity (see Latin languageLatin language,
member of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages. Latin was first encountered in ancient times as the language of Latium, the region of central Italy in which Rome is located (see Italic languages).
..... Click the link for more information. ). From Latin are derived the Romance languagesRomance languages,
group of languages belonging to the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages (see Italic languages). Also called Romanic, they are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, but chiefly in Europe and the Western Hemisphere.
..... Click the link for more information. , which in turn comprise the second (or medieval and modern) group of the Italic subfamily; they include Catalan, Sardinian, French, Italian, Portuguese, Occitan, Rhaeto-Romanic, Romanian, and Spanish. The ancient Italic languages, with the exception of Latin, are now preserved chiefly in inscriptions, although occasional references in ancient authors and a number of proper and place names furnish added evidence. Latin, however, is amply recorded in numerous literary works as well as in inscriptions. The earliest existing inscription in an Italic language is in Latin and goes back to the 5th or 6th cent. B.C. At first the use of Latin was limited to Rome and the area around it, but the Romans spread their language throughout Italy and eventually over their vast empire. Faliscan, which is closely related to Latin, was once prevalent in an area in S Etruria, which is N of Rome. It is thought that people speaking Latin and Faliscan first entered and settled in Italy before or about 1000 B.C. and that the speakers of Oscan and Umbrian probably arrived somewhat later. Umbrian, which was current in the region of Umbria in central Italy NE of Rome, was superseded by Latin in time. Oscan was spoken in central and S Italy and NE Sicily. It too was finally absorbed by Latin. In general, the texts and records of the ancient Italic languages, including Latin, are written in alphabets that can be traced back to the Greek alphabet, often by way of the Etruscan alphabet. See Indo-EuropeanIndo-European,
family of languages having more speakers than any other language family. It is estimated that approximately half the world's population speaks an Indo-European tongue as a first language.
..... Click the link for more information. .

Bibliography

See J. Whatmough, The Foundations of Italy (1937); R. S. Conway, The Italic Dialects (2 vol., 1897, repr. 1967).

Italic Languages

a group of Indo-European languages, including the now extinct Latin, Faliscan, Umbrian, and Oscan languages, as well as a large number of dialects.

The Italic languages were spoken in the territory of central and southern Italy. About 300 inscriptions written in Oscan, Umbrian, and Faliscan (using the Latin, Etruscan, and Greek alphabets) have been preserved. The most important records of the Italic languages are the Iguvine Tables (about 4,000 words, dating from the third to second century B.C.), found in 1444 near Gubbio (in Umbria), which contain a description of Umbrian rituals. The other records consist of coin legends, grave inscriptions, dedications, and inscriptions on landmark stones.

REFERENCES

Tronskii, I.M. Ocherki iz istorii latinskogo iazyka. Moscow-Leningrad, 1953.
Tsvetaev, I. Sbornik osskikh nadpisei s ocherkom fonetiki, morfologii i glossariem. Kiev, 1877.
Vetter, E. Handbuch der italischen Dialekte. Heidelberg, 1953.
Bottiglioni, G. Manuate dei dialetti italici. Bologna, 1954.
Devoto, G. Tabulae Iguvinae, 3rd ed. Rome, 1962.
Pisani, V. Manuale storico delta lingua latina, vol. 4:Le lingue dell’Italia antica oltre il latino, 2nd ed. Turin, 1964.

M. L. VOSKRESENSKH