SAGITIDOLIA VIĐĐVIANTIAS GALATIÍEXTES ~ Uiđđuiantā's Gaulish Reference

Introduction

Suauelon! Welcome to my Gaulish website. I have compiled together a reference of vocabulary, grammar, declensions, conjugations, and miscellaneous other information for learning Gaulish. I seek to consolidate what is known of this wonderful language into an organized resource that makes every piece of information easy to find.

Learning a whole language is a major task. One way to develop familiarity with a new language is to translate things into it: prose, poems, song lyrics, or even your thoughts. Initially, this means jumping around a dictionary and a grammar, looking for all the necessary parts until such time as one memorizes the basics (or at least memorizes where to find the information!) and hopefully becomes fluent.

To facilitate this process, I have condensed a version of the reconstructed Gaulish language, from different sources, into this reference, so that all the information can be readily accessible in one place in a tabbed web page format. Additionally, I am verifying elements of the grammar and vocabulary to better reflect 1.) the attested inscriptions, as I view these to be the most important indicator of the form and style of the actual language, and 2.) the most up-to-date reconstructions of the ancestor of Gaulish, Proto-Celtic.

This reference then will inevitably diverge in some ways from the reconstructions of other enthusiasts of Gaulish, as there will be features and words that others include that I reject and vice versa. Reconstructing a language means constructing a language, therefore the truest modern approximation of Gaulish will inevitably be tantamount to a conlang full of educated guesses about unattested material. The scarcity of attested Gaulish means it is important to acknowledge how impressive it is that there are any preexisting reconstructions at all, and to recognize the work that many have done to bring this wonderful language back to life. As always, I welcome feedback on any matter where I may have erred.

uissuianta [αt] umop (đóτ) net.

The Gaulish Language

Gaulish was spoken in ancient times in western Europe, particularly in what is now France. It's a Celtic language, and is therefore related to languages such as Irish and Welsh. But the modern Celtic languages have changed much over the millennia, and Gaulish looks and sounds a lot more like other ancient European languages such as Latin, Ancient Greek, and Gothic. It is a Continental Celtic language, along with Celtiberian as well as a few poorly attested languages such as Lepontic and Noric that are sometimes considered dialects of Gaulish. This is in contrast to Insular Celtic which includes all modern Celtic languages, other than revival efforts.

Gaulish is classified as a P-Celtic language, like Welsh and Old Brittonic, meaning the ancestral */kw/ sound changed to /p/ in words like prennon (tree), from earlier *kwresno-. Indeed, Tacitus noted that the languages of the Gauls and the Brittons of his time "differ little", and many modern scholars have hypothesized a Gallo-Brythonic grouping. But this is unlikely, given that the insular Celtic languages share several grammatical features utterly absent from Gaulish, including consonant mutation, fusion of prepositions with pronouns, and VSO as the neutral word order.

Gaul was not a single unified nation, consisting instead of numerous small kingdoms or micro-nations not unlike the Insular Celtic social structure that probably also gave rise to the Irish and Scottish clans. The Gauls' lack of national identity meant there was never a standard dialect of Gaulish, so reconstructions sometimes show multiple variants of words, likely corresponding to the speech of villages distant from one another. Some present day scholars would have you believe that Gaul was a monolithic enemy of Rome for a long time, with Rome eventually conquering and wiping out the Gauls, but that is just not true. In reality Rome administered Gaul, teaching Roman customs and the Latin language to Gauls, producing a hybrid Gallo-Roman culture. Studies support the common assertion that, far from being wiped out, the Gauls form a large portion of the ancestors of modern day peoples from formerly Gallic lands.

And while Romans and Celts did fight many battles, Gaul's lack of unity and warrior-focused culture resulted in frequent infighting between neighboring Gaulish groups, and oftentimes one side of a skirmish would ask the Romans for help. Rome soon grew tired of getting dragged into petty squabbles, and since Julius Caesar believed he could settle some of his own monetary debts if Rome annexed Gaul, that's what he effected. The Gaulish chief Uercingetorīxs of the Aruernī united much of Gaul and put up a valiant opposition to Caesar, but even this partial unification came too late and Rome's expertly trained armies and greater resources ultimately won. The Gaulish language unfortunately did become extinct as a result of annexation, declining slowly over hundreds of years, as its former speakers gradually switched to speaking Latin instead. But the fact of Gaulish speakers learning Latin resulted in a unique dialect, with a distinctly Gallic flavor, which would go on to become the Gallo-Romance languages including French.

Gaulish is not particularly well attested, reaching us mostly by way of inscriptions, and efforts to decode these have historically been full of uncertainty. But reconstructions of Gaulish have been accomplished, using other Celtic languages for reference. There are some very nice Gaulish lessons on the Gaulish Polytheism website, with links to a grammar and a lexicon. It is impressive that linguists have been able to make these reconstructions, and the result is a version of Gaulish that can be revived and spoken once more.

Conventions

There are a few variable conventions regarding the orthography of Gaulish.

For the usages of the letter x, I have opted to write xs where it is pronounced /xs/, as in dexsiuos and rīxs. Most authors leave off the S, e.g. dexiuos, rīx, however this website keeps the S.

Some original inscriptions seem to use a long I, commonly transcribed by modern researchers as as í, to represent two different sounds: consonantal-I next to a vowel-I, and long vowel I, for example uediíū-mí. Some modern revival sites opt for a letter J (uediju-mi) to represent the consonantal I, while even the ancients didn't always distinguish between forms of the letter I (uediiu-mi). I have opted to use í here to represent consonantal I next to vowel I, but only as a matter of preference, and admittedly there are still sections that lack acute accents where they would go. Some writers also use W or V for consonantal U, and even K in place of C, which makes for a more robust and unambiguous orthography but isn't as true to the classical inscriptions.

Finally, when writing vowel length, some authors prefer circumflex accents, e.g. mâros, while others prefer to use a macron, e.g. māros. I will be using a macron throughout this site, but again only as a matter of preference.

Sources

My sources for the information on this site include:

Font

The Gaulish font on this website is my own creation, Gaulish.ttf, licensed CC-BY-SA 4.0. It is based on the handwritten style of Gaulish writings, which itself derives from the Roman alphabet. I also have another version of the font that's closer to the way the ancients wrote, but maybe less easily readable to modern eyes, Galaties.ttf, as well as a monospace version, all under the same CC-BY-SA license.

"Modern Gaulish"

I no longer maintain a lexicon of Galáthach hAthevíu, as I have opted to focus on the natural language of attested inscriptions rather than alternate history conlangs. Admittedly, even reconstructing "real" Gaulish involves so much guesswork that the line between that and conlanging is a blurry one, so if all you want is something connected to Gaul that sounds beautiful and is easy to learn, Galáthach is a great choice. But it is not the focus of this page. All information about Galáthach can be found on its official website.

Gaulish has a case system similar to that of Latin and Ancient Greek, and not too dissimilar from the case systems of modern languages like Finnish, Russian, German, etc. Although noun cases are unfamiliar to us in English, we do have traces of them, specifically the plain and posessive forms in the singular and plural, e.g. word, word's, words, words'. Our pronouns have cases too: nominative (I, she, he, it, us, they, and the obsolete thou and ye), oblique (me, her, him, it, you, them, and the obsolete thee), genitive (mine, hers, his, its, yours, theirs, and the obsolete thine), and possessive (my, her, his, its, your, their, and obsolete thy). Gaulish cases work very much like English cases; there are just more of them.

Nominative

Generally, this is the case for the subject of a verb, and the case of the predicate with the verb for "to be". It is also the dictionary form.

Vocative

Used for addressing the listener.

Accusative

The case of the direct object of transitive verbs. Also used with certain prepositions and certain constructs having to do with motion towards.

Genitive

Used for possessives and for partitives (e.g. "a quantity of air", "some of the meat"). For the most part, this can be thought of as the equivalent for when in English we would say "of". It is also used with certain prepositions. In the Celtic languages, the genitive also has another function, as the direct object of a verbal noun. Since there are no infinitives (e.g. "to see") in Celtic, there is no way to directly say e.g. "I want to see the stars", so instead you would word it as "I want the seeing of stars."

Dative

Functions as an indirect object, e.g. the recipient of giving. It is also used for the meaning of "to have", since there is no verb for this meaning. Instead of "I have", in Gaulish you would say "to me there is", etc. This is actually just like how it is phrased in Ancient Greek.

Instrumental

Originally, this case, as the name suggests, referred to the instrument or means by which an action was carried out. Over time, it also gained other related meanings, and in Proto-Celtic, it merged with the old ablative, becoming one of the most frequently used cases. In Gaulish, many prepositions govern the instrumental, and with nouns of place or time, the instrumental has even taken over some of the functions of the locative case. It is also the case used with comparatives of nouns.

Besides the partitive genitive, there is also a partitive preposition u that takes the instrumental case, e.g. ibete-suīs u-ciū = drink (plural) of this.

Locative

The locative is pretty much what it sounds like: expressions of being at or in, or even near, a time or place, but also of being figuratively within something intangible like a situation. From the latter meaning comes the sense of the locative absolute, which is a construction that means "A being the case, B happened," implying that the condition had a role in causing or facilitating the events of the main clause.

Note the last sentence includes a locative of place as well as a locative absolute.

Attestations

Not much ancient written material exists in Gaulish, since the culture was generally against writing most things down, so the few inscriptions that do exist are extremely valuable for studying the language. Most Gaulish inscriptions have disputed meanings, largely due to inconsistent spelling and the near lack of punctuation, made worse in many cases by the untidy handwriting and ambiguous letters the Gauls preferred.

Here is a selection of inscriptions whose meanings are relatively clear, or whose size makes them particularly important. Where meanings are debated I may offer the most likely or best fitting interpretation, as well as interpretations of my own.

L-35.1
La Graufesenque à Millau, Aveyron
The site where this was found also has evidence of firing pottery in a large kiln, probably a place where many workers handled large orders from several customers at once. This note seems to pertain to one specific customer's preferred style of furniture, so perhaps furniture was also being made there.
  1. aricani lubitias
  2. ris tecuandoedo
  3. tidres trianis
  1. Aricanī lubitiās
  2. rīs tecoandosedon
  3. tedrās trīanīs
Aricanos likes his good furniture to be made in three equal parts.
L-13
Alise-Sainte-Reine, Côte-d’Or
A dedication to the deity worshipped by the locals. This plaque was found at the site of a rather large building that must have been built for the smiths in the area, a place known in its time for metalworking.
  1. MARTIALIS · DANNOTALI
  2. IEVRV · VCVETE · SOSIN
  3. CELICNON ETIC
  4. GOBEDBI · DVGIÍONTIO
  5. VCVETIN
  6. IN [...]ALISIÍA
    Martialis Dannotalī īeurū Ucuetē sosin cēlicnon etic gobedbi dugiíont-io Ucuetin in Alisiā
Martialis son of Dannotalos dedicated to Ucuetis this banquet hall along with the smiths who worship Ucuetis in Alise.
L-50
Banassac, Lozère
Engraved on a drinking cup.
  1. neddamon
  2. delgu linda
    neđđamon delgū lindā
I hold the drinks of the closest.
Note: neddamon (*neđđamon), gen. pl., may mean nearest, but may also have the connotation of those one is close to socially.
L-51
Banassac, Lozère
An advertisement for liquor (whisky?) made by the people of the Ruteni kingdom. Ads such as this were apparrently often engraved on items such as drinkware to try to drum up further business.
  1. lubi rutenica onobiía
  2. tiedi ulano celicnu
    lubī rutenicin onobiíin tieđi ulanon cēlicnū
Taste Ruthenian liquor; you have plentitude in the banquet hall.
The inscription shows loss of final -n, which in this case must have caused the accusative singular ending of A-stems to change from -in to -ā.
L-112
area of Autun, Saône-et-Loire
  1. NATA VIMPI CVRMI DA
Beautiful girl, give (me) beer.
L-120
Sens, Yonne
GENETTA IMI DAGA VIMPI
I’m a girl good and pretty.
L-127
Thiaucourt, Meurthe-et-Moselle
Inscribed on a ring, apparently to prevent others from coveting its wearer.
ADIA|NTVN|NENI|EXVE|RTIN|INAP|PISET|V
adiantun neni exuertin in appisetū
desire nor unfaithfulness in the beholder
L-132
Villa d’Ancy à Limé, Aisne
Inscribed on a vessel for holding liquid.
IBETIS VCIV · ANDECARI · BIIETE
ibetis u-ciū andecārī biíete
Drink (pl.) of this (and) you (pl.) become merry.
L-93
Châteaubleau, Seine-et-Marne
A marriage proposal, late Gaulish (ca. 4th century CE).
  1. ne mna liíumi beni ueíonna in coro bouido
  2. neí anmanbe gniíou ape ni te me uelle íexsetesi
  3. sue-regenia tu o quprinnopetamebissi íeteta
  4. miíi íegumi suante ueíommi petamassi papissone
  5. sui-rexetesi íegiíinna anmanbe íeguisini
  6. siaxsiou beíiassu nebiti motu piíummi ateri
  7. xsi ín dore core muana íegumisini beíassu se te
  8. sue cluiou se dagisamo cele uiro íono ue
  9. ííobiíe beíiassu se te rega íexstumi sendi
  10. me se tingi papi-ssone beíiassu se te me tingi se
  11. tingi beíiassu se te regarise íexstumi sendi
  • ne mnās liíū-mī. benī ueionnā in coron bouidon,
  • nei anuanbe gniíū-io, ape ni te me uellē iexsetes-i,
  • sue-regeniā, tū io comprinnon petami bissietes meiē iegū-mī.
  • suantē ueiommi petamassi pāpissonē sue-rexsetes-i iegionnā anuanbi
  • iegū-mī-sindi siaxsiū-io. bissiū nebiti motū.
  • piíū-mī ateren ixse in dorē corē. moianā iegū-mī-sindi.
  • bissiū sī te sue cluiū. sue dagisāmos celē, uiros iānos, ueíiobiíe.
  • bissiū sī te regā iexs-tū-mī sindi.
  • me sī tinges pāpissonē bissiū. sī te me tinges. sī tinges.
  • bissiū sī te regari se iexs-tū-mī sindi.
  1. I do not bring blame upon women. A woman, to be married in a contract funded by cattle,
  2. I will not name, so that no one would say that she wants me.
  3. I will ask your parents if I can marry you, you all will be,
  4. gently I call. By desire I would marry, having asked in sight of everyone.
  5. Would that you all extend to be called by name, I call this
  6. all I could ask for. (I will be virile?). I will see the father
  7. himself about entering into a contract. I call this a valuable thing. I will be if from you
  8. I hear so. As a best candidate for a companion, a just man,
  9. I would be married. I will be if in courtship you tell me this.
  10. If you accept me in sight of everyone, if you accept me, if
  11. you accept, I will be, if you call, if you tell me this.
Notes:
  • The many instances of se appear to be borrowed from Latin sī, "if", replacing the earlier Celtic mā.
  • Line 2: Meid (2014) suggests ueííe as an alternative reading of uelle, with the same overall meaning to the sentence.
  • Line 9: Irish has a verb meaning "to court" or "to make love" derived from OIr. so + rige, the latter element from PC. *regeti, extend.
  • The words se tingi (*sī tinges) are written three times in succession, presumably for magical effect.
  • The last few lines seem to have several examples of using "if" with an imperative: se íexstumi (*sī iexs-tū-mī), se te regari (*sī tū re-gari). This may be a later Gaulish development, or it may be a symptom of the overall degradation of late Gaulish grammar, as evidenced by the total lack of -s and -n endings in the entire inscription.
L-100
Chamalières, Puy-de-Dôme
A magical incantation, written on behalf of several men to protect against magic. The tablet implies that legal proceedings are in progress between at least one of the men and someone else, who apparently has enlisted the help of several women to cast a magic spell on the men. The author refers to the adversaries by an ambiguous term anderon that might mean either "young women" (from anderā) or "infernal" (andernos). Though we unfortunately don't also hear the women's side of the story, this document presents evidence of a battle of magic spells between a group of women and a group of men.
  1. andedíon uediíumí diíiuion ri sun
  2. aritu mapon arueriíatin
  3. lotites sní eđđic sos brixtía anderon
  4. clucion floron nigrínon adgarion aemilí
  5. on paterin claudíon legitumon caelion
  6. pelign claudío pelign marcion uictorin asiatí
  7. con addedillí etic se couitoncnaman
  8. tonc siíontío meíon ponc sesit bue
  9. tid ollon reguc cambion exsops
  10. pissíiumí tsoc cantí rissuis onson
  11. bissíet luge dessummiíis luge
  12. dessumíis luge dessumíís luxe
  • andedion uediíū-mī dēuion rīs sunāritū Mapon areueriíatin.
  • lotites snīs eđđic sos brixtiā anderon
  • Clucion Floron Nigrīnion adgarion, Aemilion pateren,
  • Claudion Legitumon, Caelion pelignos, Claudio pelignos,
  • Marcion Uictorin Asiatīcon ađđedillī, etic secouitoncnaman toncsiíont-io
  • meion ponc sesit buetid ollon.
  • regū-c cambion.
  • exsops pissiíū-mī.
  • tso-c canti rīs suis anson bissiet Lugē.
  • dessū-mī-íis Lugē. dessū-mī-íis Lugē. dessū-mī-íis Lugē.
      I beseech of underworld gods for
      strengthening, and Mapon(os) the satisfier.
      Effect (pl.) us and also these men from magic of young women
      Clucius Florus Nigrinus the accuser, Aemilius
      the father, Claudius Legitumus, Caelius
      born far away, Claudius born far away, Marcius Victoris Asiatīcus,
      inhabitants (dimin.) and this wronged soul
      whom they make oaths against. The small, when sowed, would be
      all, and I straighten what is crooked, (though) blind
      I see. And (this?) together for us ours
      will be to Lugus, I prepare him for Lugus,
      I prepare him for Lugus, I prepare him for Lugus.
Notes:
  • Line 7: secoui toncnaman toncsiíont-io might mean "those following an oath who vow an oath".
  • Or it may be se couiton-c anaman toncsiíont-io "and this twisted (i.e. wronged) soul whom they cast spells (against)".
  • Or even se couiton cnaman toncsiíont-io "that twisted bone (with) which they cast spells".
  • The three statements of weak turned to strong: the small, when sowed, becomes all; and I straighten what is crooked; though deprived of vision, I see, all are relevant to the subject: small seeds grew into all the life in the entire natural world; so too words, so small when written, have immense power in the magical realm. The author deems the women's magic crooked; with this spell, he views himself as straightening things out. The author accuses the women magicians of pulling the wool over the men's eyes, so to speak, but the author sees through the perceived deception.
  • Line 11: dessū-mī is related to dexsiuo- "right" (both meanings), Irish déas, lit. "I make him/it(m.) right for Lugus," three times for magical effect.

Phonology

Every language has its own accent, and it's naive to assume that any given ancient language had a simple 5-vowel or 7-vowel system with the same vowel qualities and consonant articulations as whatever modern language the author of a textbook or website speaks. Gaulish must have had many accents, since it was a dialect continuum, so any attempt to reconstruct its accent can at best arrive at a consensus accent that hopefully resembles as much of the continuum as accurately as is reconstructible. Based on which sounds are often interchanged in the lexica, I have reconstructed the following TENTATIVE phonology of Gaulish. I invite others to check my work and come up with their own analyses and compare. Everything in this tab after this sentence should be regarded as an informed guess.

In this section I will be using IPA symbols. The IPA symbols are clickable and will play a recording of their sound.

A modern speaker of English, on hearing Gaulish properly spoken, would notice that the consonants are different from what they are used to hearing. For one thing, the voiceless stops p, t, and c would sound lighter and more gentle than in most languages; whatever their actual sound, the Romans frequently mistook them for b, d, and g, as in Brittania from original Pritannī. Indeed, even the Gauls themselves would mix up d with n, m with consonantal u, and would leave out s between vowels and, in the later stages of the language, at the ends of words, suggesting that all these sounds were pronounced lightly.

Vowels in stressed syllables were probably pronounced clearly and distinctly, as well as having qualitative contrasts, e.g. long E was not simply a longer version of short E. But unstressed vowels would have sounded more muddled, and sometimes disappeared altogether. Even the distinction of short vs. long was not so much one of length, since stressed vowels would have been pronounced long anyway, so a "long" vowel would have just meant one that didn't sound lax and didn't get mumbled if it wasn't stressed.

In recognizing spoken language, the acoustic "shapes" of words and phrases are important. Think of how it is possible in English to say "ah-uh-oh" and be understood as meaning "I don't know", as opposed to something else like "Idaho". Such features as the vowel qualities and quantities and pitch intonation and loudness contour may have been more important to understanding spoken Gaulish than the consonants.

While it is easy to make informed guesses about the exact pronunciation of an extinct language, and write these guesses in IPA letters, that still doesn't capture the distinctive accent of the language. There are no recordings of an L1 Gaulish speaker, so we have to infer from related languages and, to a lesser extent, languages influenced by Gaulish, in order to figure out what it would have sounded like. Without getting too into the details, the answer seems to be: Kind of like Welsh, but lighter on the consonants, a greater inventory of vowels, and perhaps with the same raised-up closed-off [i:] and [u:] that French has.

Accentuation

Over the span of time while Gaulish was originally spoken, the accent changed, apparently from a pitch accent to a stress accent. It was also heavily influenced by Latin and possibly Greek. There is evidence from place names in France that the same Gaulish word could be accented either of two ways, even independently of vowel length, meaning this wasn't caused by the inflence of Latin. The stress also moved across boundaries between components of compound words, contradictory to current reconstructions of Gaulish pronunciation.

The map at right shows the approximate locations of placenames showing one or the other stress pattern. Every single antepenult stress (burgundy dots) is unexpected, since it takes the accent away from the last part of a compound word. All of the indicated placenames would be expected to show a penult accent according to the consensus understanding of Gaulish. On the other hand, penult stresses (green dots) are much more common in the north, in regions closer to Britain where contact with the Brythonic language would have been strongest.

The original accent of Gaulish may have resembled the penult stress of Common Brythonic, or the initial stress of Primitive Irish, or may even have lacked stress altogether like modern French does (but note modern French lost its stress accent about a thousand years after the last Gaulish speakers lived). For good or bad, there is no Gaulish without external influences, especially Latin influences, and for consistency I am applying a few rules to how accentuation is depicted in this reference.

Gaulish has a stress accent that usually falls on the antepenult (the third from last syllable), as evidenced by the strong tendency to delete vowels in the penult (the next to last syllable), which can happen whether the ultima (last syllable) is long or short. But if the word has a long penult, then the penult has the stress. And in compound nouns, the stress always falls within the last part of the compound, for example catuuiros ( catus + uiros) which is stressed on the I. But if the last element of the compound has only one syllable, then this last rule doesn't apply, and the stress falls wherever it otherwise would, for example Uercingetorīxs ( uer- + cingetos + rīxs ), genitive Uercingetorīgos.

Stressed vowels tend to be pronounced longer than unstressed, but there is still a short-long distinction. For example, uiros means man but uīros means true.

Vowels

Each vowel could be short or long. There may or may not have always been a difference in the length it was pronounced, but sometimes there was a difference in the quality of the vowel.

The letter A would have sounded something like [ɑ] most of the time, though unstressed short A probably became [ə]. But when short A was directly followed by L, M, N, or R, it may have sounded something closer to [æ], for example in the word bannā, or the word entar, a variant of enter.

Short E was probably sounded as [ɛ], based on its tendency to be exchanged with both short A and short I. In unstressed syllables short E may have approached the sound of [ə]. Long Ē seems to have been pronounced more closed, less lax, probably as [e:].

Short I was often confused for short E, especially before M and N. It may have been pronounced [ɪ], even approaching the sound of [ɛ] before M or N, as in cinget and pimpe. Otherwise, unstressed short I may have at times approached the sound of [ə]. Short E and short I are almost never confused at the ends of words, so in the word-final position short I may have been pronounced [i]. Long Ī was almost certainly pronounced [i:] in all environments.

Short O was often exchanged for short A, for example locu, lacu, indicating not only that short A usually had a backed sound but also that short O generally had an open sound, probably something like [ɔ]. An exception was in the inflected endings of words such as the very common -os and -on (or -om) endings, where the short O may have been pronounced similarly to the vowel in French comme. Long Ō, on the other hand, is frequently confused for long Ū, indicating that Ō probably had a very backed and rounded pronunciation such as [o:], such as in the preposition , also attested as .

Short U probably had a lax sound such as [ʊ], since it sometimes traded places with short O in word endings, even causing individual nouns to fall freely into either of two declensions. Long U was almost certainly pronounced very close and rounded. There's some debate as to whether it was pronounced [u:] or fronted like the French U: [y:]. It's unclear whether the French U is due to Gaulish influence, but that seems unlikely. Contact with Germanic languages such as Frankish can explain the existence of front rounded vowels in French, and their existence in Germanic languages is a result of assimilating a front vowel or Y-glide in the next syllable, e.g. fōtus/fōtjus > fōtus/fœ̄tjus > fōt/fœ̄t > fōt/fēt > foot/feet. And if Gaulish had this sound, it probably would have changed to [i:] before the extinction of the language and the modern [y:] would be a later development anyway.

Interestingly, Ancient Greek, a language the Gauls had contact with and held in positive esteem, had the [y:] sound, so the pronunciation of Gaulish U may have been influenced by that. However, the somewhat common error of substituting ō for ū (and vice versa) seems to indicate that if ū was ever pronounced [y:], it was only pronounced that way in some words and syllables, and must have retained its older [u:] value elsewhere. The most parsimonious interpretation is that no, Gaulish did not have the [y:] sound.

Diphthongs

Gaulish diphthongs are ei, ai, oi, eu, au, and ou.

Ei was probably pronounced identically to ē, or else the diphthong merged with the single long vowel as the language evolved. Many words that contain ei are also found with ē in its place, for example leinos / lēnos.

Ai was probably pronounced [aɪ], however in later development of the language its pronunciation began to merge with [ɛ]. The au and eu diphthongs seem to have had a more centralized sound, probably approaching [əʊ], and they began to be confused with each other and sometimes with the ou diphthong.

There aren't many clues to the pronunciation of the oi diphthong, so it's reasonable to assume that it had an [oɪ] pronunciation, since that seems to be the most common way to pronounce oi across a variety of languages. The diphthong ou probably sounded like the English long O, somewhere between [oʊ] and [əʊ].

Consonants

The letter L was always clear and always palatalized (pronounced with the tongue near the roof of the mouth like the sound of the letter Y): [lʲ]. In English we have the so called dark L in words like "full", compared to a clear L in words like "lift", though some English speakers only use a dark L. It's interesting that the letter L in French is also always clear and (almost) always palatalized, but it is not certain whether this feature came from Gaulish or was lost and reintroduced later from Frankish, since Latin had both clear and dark L sounds and the Gallo-Romance language descended from Vulgar Latin, and since the exact pronunciation of the Frankish L is not known. But in Gaulish, L behaves like a palatal consonant in the way it affects nearby sounds.

The letters P, T, and C were pronounced very lightly, almost inaudibly. This caused Romans to mistake them for B, D, G in loan words and names. In Gaulish these sounds were tenuis (lacking aspiration, that is, no puff of air was released) and very gently enunciated. The letter C was also very much subject to palatalization when it came next to a palatal consonant or a front vowel (I or E), such as in melicā, a variant of, and perhaps a hypercorrection for, melatiā. The same alternation is seen in the name Diviciacus/Divitiacus, and it's likely that either T or C followed by consonantal I makes the same sound, or almost the same sound. Sometimes, the letters CL in a word would be interchangeable with TL, for example oclon with variant otlon, also pointing to the same sound or similar sounds.

The letters B, D, and G also represented lightly pronounced sounds, so that they sometimes switched with M and N. In fact, some of the vowel changes (see above) that happened before M or N also occasionally happened before B, D, or G, such as ligā, variant of legā.

The letters M and N were also gently enunciated, at times sounding almost like a W sound and an R sound, respectively.

The letter S was similarly gentle in its pronunciation, often disappearing between vowels or next to a voiced consonant. It probably had a voiced [z] quality between voiced sounds when it didn't disappear. There doesn't seem to be much evidence about whether or not S after O or U was pronounced backed, with the tip of the tongue near the hard palate and away from the teeth, like it it is thought to have been in classical Latin. However, modern Celtic languages don't do this, and neither does French, so early Gallo-Romance probably didn't, despite being a form of Latin, so Gaulish probably didn't.

The letters I and U could function either as vowels or consonants; when they were consonants they sounded like the letters Y and W in English. Generally, an I or a U is a consonant if it is immediately followed by a vowel. (Occasionally a word like auiíī, "grandson [genitive]" comes along and bends this rule.) When a consonantal I followed a dental consonant (such as T [t], D [d], S [s], or N [n]), it seems to have served to palatalize the consonant to [tʲ], [dʲ], [sʲ], [nʲ], respectively, perhaps without the I having a separate sound of its own. This results in many words with a dental followed by consonantal I having a variant that lacks the consonantal I, such as dolā, dulā as variants of doliā.

Nouns: O-declension Animate

Example: etnos, bird.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. etn-os etn-ō etn-ī, etn-oi
Voc. etn-e etn-ō etn-ūs
Acc. etn-on etn-ō etn-ūs
Gen. etn-ī etn-ōs etn-on
Dat. etn-ū etn-obon etn-obo
Ins. etn-ū etn-obin etn-ūs/-obi
Loc. etn-ē etn-ou etn-obi

O-stem animate nouns ending in -ios share the same endings, e.g. anaganntios (fourth month of the year), anaganntie, anaganntion, anaganntii, anaganntiū, etc.

Nouns: O-Declension Neuter

Example: prennon, tree.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. prenn-on prenn-oi prenn-ā
Gen. prenn-ī prenn-ōs prenn-on
Dat. prenn-ū prenn-obon prenn-obo
Ins. prenn-ū prenn-obin prenn-ūs/-obi
Loc. prenn-ē prenn-ou prenn-obi

O-stem neuter nouns ending in -ion share the same endings, e.g. cridion (heart), cridíī, cridiū, etc.

Nouns: A-Declension

Examples: abonā, river; blēdnī, year.

  Singular Dual Plural Singular Dual Plural
Nom. abon-ā abon-ī abon-ās blēdnī blēdnī blēdniías
Voc. abon-a abon-ī abon-ās blēdni blēdnī blēdniías
Acc. abon-in abon-ī abon-ās blēdnīn blēdnī blēdniías
Gen. abon-iās abon-iōs, abon-ious abon-ānon blēdniās blēdnious blēdniānon
Dat. abon-ī abon-ābon abon-ābo blēdníī blēdniābon blēdniābo
Ins. abon-ī, abon-iā abon-ābin abon-ābi blēdniā blēdniābin blēdniābi
Loc. abon-ī abon-ābin abon-ābi blēdníī blēdniābin blēdniābi

The irregular noun benā, woman, has the following declension:

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. benā mnāi mnās
Voc. bena mnāi mnās
Acc. benin, banin mnāi mnās
Gen. mnās baniōs, banious mnānon
Dat. mnāi mnābon mnābo
Ins. mnāi mnābin mnābi
Loc. mnāi mnābin mnābi

Nouns: I-Stem Animate

Example: elantis, deer.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. elant-is elant-ī elant-īs
Voc. elant-i elant-ī elant-īs
Acc. elant-in elant-ī elant-īs
Gen. elant-ēs elant-iōs, elant-ious elant-iíon
Dat. elant-ē elant-ibon elant-ibo
Ins. elant-ī elant-ibin elant-ibi
Loc. elant-ī elant-ibin elant-ibi

Nouns: I-Stem Neuter

Example: boudi, victory.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. boud-i boud-ī boud-iíā
Gen. boud-ēs boud-iíōs boud-iíon
Dat. boud-ē boud-ibon boud-ibo
Ins. boud-ī boud-ibin boud-ibi
Loc. boud-ī boud-ibin boud-ibi

Nouns: U-Declension Animate

Example: britus, thought.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. brit-us brit-ū brit-oues
Voc. brit-u brit-ū brit-oues
Acc. brit-un brit-ū brit-ūs
Gen. brit-ous, -ōs brit-ouō brit-uion
Dat. brit-ou, -ō brit-oubon brit-oubo
Ins. brit-ū brit-oubin brit-oubi
Loc. brit-ū brit-oubin brit-oubi

Nouns: U-Declension Neuter

Example: locu, lake.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. loc-u loc-ū loc-uā
Gen. loc-ous, -ōs loc-ouō loc-uion
Dat. loc-ou, -ō loc-oubon loc-oubo
Ins. loc-ū loc-oubin loc-oubi
Loc. loc-ū loc-oubin loc-oubi

A few U-declension nouns have diphthong roots which cause irregular declension, for example:

Nom. dīus (day) bous (cow) cnous (nut)
Acc. dīun būn cnoun
Gen. dīuos bouos cnouos

Nouns: Dental-Stem Animate

Example: caranđ, friend.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. carans, carant-s, caranđ carant-e carant-es
Voc. carans, carant-s, caranđ carant-e carant-es
Acc. carant-en carant-e carant-ās
Gen. carant-os carant-ou, carant-ō carant-on
Dat. carant-ē carant-obon, carand-bon carant-obo, carand-bo
Ins. carant-ī carant-obin, carand-bin carant-obi, carand-bi
Loc. carant-ī carant-obin, carand-bin carant-obi, carand-bi

A few of these nouns have irregular nominatives, such as noxs, night, gen. noxtos, and moritexs, sailor, gen. moritextos.

Only one neuter dental-stem noun is known:

Declension of dant, tooth.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. dant dant-e dant-ā
Gen. dant-os dant-ou, dant-ō dant-on
Dat. dant-ē dant-obon, dand-bon dant-obo, dand-bo
Ins. dant-ī dant-obin, dand-bin dant-obi, dand-bi
Loc. dant-ī dant-obin, dand-bin dant-obi, dand-bi

For purposes of inclusivity, I propose using the dental declension as a gender neutral alternative to the -os/-ā endings. An example might be to say mou caranđ eđđi andecāređ instead of andecāros or andecārā. This can also apply if the works of a certain bardeđ appeal to you, rather than a bardos or bardā: sondieđ eđđi bardeđ meliđđeđ. lubiíū-mī cantlūs sondietos bardetos instead of sondios/ā bardos/ā and sondī/iās bardī/iās.

Nouns: Velar Declension

Example: rīxs, king.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. rīx-s rīg-e rīg-es
Voc. rīx-s rīg-e rīg-es
Acc. rīg-en rīg-e rīg-ās
Gen. rīg-os rīg-ou, rīg-ō rīg-on
Dat. rīg-ē rīg-(o)bon rīg-(o)bo
Ins. rīg-ī rīg-(o)bin rīg-(o)bi
Loc. rīg-ī rīg-(o)bin rīg-(o)bi

Nouns: Nasal Declension - Animate

Example: , dog.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. cun-e cun-es
Voc. cun-e cun-es
Acc. cun-en cun-e cun-ās
Gen. cun-os cun-ou, cun-ō cun-on
Dat. cun-ē cun-obon cun-obo
Ins. cun-i cun-obin cun-obi
Loc. cun-i cun-obin cun-obi

Nouns: Nasal Declension - Neuter

Example: anuan, name.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. anuan anuan-e anuan-ā
Gen. anuēs* anuan-ou, anuan-ō anuan-on
Dat. anuan-ē anuam-bon anuam-bo
Ins. anuan-i anuam-bin anuam-bi
Loc. anuan-i anuam-bin anuam-bi

*The genitive singular -ēs ending descents from the Proto-Celtic *anmens, genitive of *anman.

Nouns: R Declension

Examples: mātīr, mother; suiūr, sister.

  Singular Dual Plural
Nom. mātīrsuiūr māter-esuior-e māter-essuior-es
Voc. mātīrsuiūr māter-esuior-e māter-essuior-es
Acc. māter-ensuior-en māter-esuior-e māter-āssuior-ās
Gen. mātr-ōssuior-ōs mātr-ou, mātr-ōsuior-ou, suior-ō mātr-onsuior-on
Dat. mātr-ēsuior-ē mātr-ebonsuior-ebon mātr-ebosuior-ebo
Ins. mātr-isuior-i mātr-ebinsuior-ebin mātr-ebisuior-ebi
Loc. mātr-isuior-i mātr-ebinsuior-ebin mātr-ebisuior-ebi

R-stem nouns vary in how much the root reduces in the oblique cases. Noting the genitive form from the lexicon will help to know how to decline the remaining cases.

Nouns: S-Declension Neuters

Example: nemos, sky.

  Singular Dual Plural
NVA. nem-os nem-ie nem-iā
Gen. nem-ios nem-iō nem-ion
Dat. nem-es nem-obon nem-obo
Ins. nem-es nem-obin nem-obi
Loc. nem-es nem-obin nem-obi

Combining Forms of Nouns

When nouns are combined, such as in personal names, the combining stem's suffix depends on the noun's declension:

Declension Nom. Gen. Combining Stem
O -os -i -
A -iās -
I -is -i-
U -us -ous -u-
Nasal -nos -on-
Dental -n(t)s, -nđ -ntos -nt-
Velar -xs -cos, -gos -c-, -g-

Examples:

Adjectives: O/A Declension

Example: māros, great.

  Singular Plural
  Feminine Masculine Neuter Feminine Masculine Neuter
Nom. mār-ā mār-os mār-on mār-ās mār-ii, -oi mār-ā
Voc. mār-a mār-e mār-on mār-ās mār-ūs mār-ā
Acc. mār-in mār-on mār-on mār-ās mār-ūs mār-ā
Gen. mār-ās mār-ī mār-ī mār-ānon mār-on mār-on
Dat. mār-ī mār-ū mār-ū mār-ābo mār-obo mār-obo
Ins. mār-ī, mār-iā mār-ū mār-ū mār-ābi mār-obi, -ūs mār-obi, -ūs
Loc. mār-ī mār-ē mār-ē mār-ābi mār-obi mār-obi

Adjectives: I-Declension

Example: letis, wider.

(Irregular comparative of litanos.)

  Singular Plural
  Feminine Masculine Neuter Feminine Masculine Neuter
Nom. let-is let-is let-i let-ies let-ies let-iā
Voc. let-i let-i let-i let-ies let-ies let-iā
Acc. let-in let-in let-i let-īs let-īs let-iā
Gen. let-iās let-ēs let-ēs let-ion let-ion let-ion
Dat. let-ē let-ē let-ē let-ibo let-ibo let-ibo
Ins. let-ī let-ī let-ī let-ibi let-ibi let-ibi
Loc. let-ī let-ī let-ī let-ibi let-ibi let-ibi

Adjectives: U-Declension

Example: elus, much, many.

  Singular Plural
  Feminine Masculine Neuter Feminine Masculine Neuter
Nom. el-us el-us el-u el-iās el-iies el-iā
Voc. el-u el-u el-u el-iās el-iies el-iā
Acc. el-uin el-un el-u el-iās el-ūs el-iā
Gen. el-uās el-ous, el-ōs el-ous, el-ōs el-uion el-uion el-uion
Dat. el-uī el-ou, el-ō el-ou, el-ō el-uābo el-uibo el-uibo
Ins. el-uī el-ū el-ū el-uābi el-uibi el-uibi
Loc. el-uī el-ū el-ū el-uābi el-uibi el-uibi

Adjectives: Consonant Declension

Example: trūxs, doomed.

  Singular Plural
  Feminine Masculine Neuter Feminine Masculine Neuter
Nom. trūx-s trūx-s trūx-s, trūc trūc-es trūc-es trūc-ā
Voc. trūx-s, trūc trūx-s, trūc trūx-s, trūc trūc-es trūc-es trūc-ā
Acc. trūc-en trūc-en trūx-s, trūc trūc-ās trūc-ās trūc-ā
Gen. trūc-os trūc-os trūc-os trūc-on trūc-on trūc-on
Dat. trūc-ē trūc-ē trūc-ē trūc-obo trūc-obo trūc-obo
Ins. trūc-ī trūc-ī trūc-ī trūc-obi trūc-obi trūc-obi
Loc. trūc-ī trūc-ī trūc-ī trūc-obi trūc-obi trūc-obi

Emphatic, Comparative, and Superlative

The degrees of comparison for regular adjectives are the comparative and superlative, along with an emphatic degree that is cognate to an equative prefix in Insular Celtic.

There is no evidence for an equative in Gaulish. For the meaning of the equative, use dūcī, e.g. cauaros eđđi māros dūcī moniíos "the giant is as big as a mountain."

Degree Prefix Suffix Example Gloss
Comparative - -iūs axsriūs taller than; quite tall
Superlative - -isamos axsrisamos tallest; very tall
Emphatic com- - conaxsros very tall

The comparative degree in -iūs has been assigned a unique declension of its own (see Iextis Galation), however per Wiktionary, "No gender/number/case inflection of comparative adjectives is attested in Celtic." Therefore, it seems that the -iūs suffix is indeclinable in Gaulish.

The emphatic prefix com- can become con- or co- before certain sounds for ease of pronunciation. Before l it becomes cob- as in cobletos < com- + *letos, cobrūnos < com- + rūnos.

Some adjectives have irregular gradations:

Positive Gloss Comparative Superlative Emphatic
adgođđus near neđđiūs neđđamos -
biccos small lagiūs lagisamos combiccos
cintus first cintiūs cintusmos -
dagos good uellos dagisamos condagos
drucos bad uextos uextamos condrucos
elus much, many lēiūs - comantis
iđđelos low iđđiūs iđđamos coniđđelos
iouincos young iouiūs iouamos coniouincos
lagos small lagiūs lagisamos coblagos
letanos wide letis letisamos cobletos
māros great māios māiamos comantis
sīros long sīriūs sīramos cosīros
tresnos powerful trexsiūs trexsamos contresnos
uxselos high uxsiūs uxs(is)amos conuxselos

Declension rules:

  1. All of the irregular degrees ending in -os are declined as normal O/A adjectives;
  2. Degrees ending in -is are declined as normal I-adjectives.
  3. All comparatives in -ūs are indeclinable.

The emphatic can be used to mean "such" or "so" in the sense of "very".

mieđi cobleton tegos.
I have such a wide house.

cauaros eđđi comantis.
The giant is so big.

Comparatives are used with the instrumental of the entity being compared. By itself, a comparative means "quite".

tou mapos eđđi iouiūs mapū īmon.
Your son is younger than my son.

tieđi iouiūs mapos.
You have quite a young son.

Superlatives take inter +instrumental plural of the class or group within which the entity is the most of something. Here, too, the superlative on its own without a class or group means "very", cf. usages such as "a painting most exquisite" or "a most curious mystery" in English.

ei-tū cū uerouos inter ollobi cunobi in magū!
You are the best dog in the park!

ei-tū cū uerouos!
You are a very good dog!

Adjectives can be made adverbial in one of two ways:

  1. By placing the preposition inte before the neuter accusative;
  2. By placing the adjective in the instrumental case.

Examples:

cingetes inte mārogalon ambi-ueuonar.
cingetes mārogalū ambi-ueuonar.
The soldiers fought bravely.

Pronouns

First and Second Person

  First Second
  Singular Plural Singular Plural
Nom. nīs suīs
Acc. me nos te suos
Gen. mou, (ī)mon anson tou, (ī)ton sueson
Dat. moi, mei, mii amē tei, tii umē
Ins. me anse te ume
Loc. me anse te ume
Possessive mouos, -ā, -on ansonos, -ā, -on touos, -ā, -on suesonos, -ā, -on

Mon and ton, when following the noun they qualify, become īmon and īton.

The reflexives of 1st and 2nd pronouns are formed by:

The pronoun oinānos, -ā, -on, declined as an O/A adjective, has the emphatic meaning as in "I myself [did the thing]."

Third Person

  Singular Dual Plural
  Fem. Masc. S.T. Neu. F/M Fem. Masc. Neu.
Nom. īs đē id, idā ī eias, iās eis, ei ī, eiā
Acc. sian in, íin, eion đen id, idā ī sies eiūs, sos ī, eiā
Gen. eiās eio eie eio eiō eion eion eion
Dat. eíī emū, eiū eiē emū, eiū eiobon eiābo eiobo eiobo
Ins. eíī emū, eiū eiē emū, eiū eiobin eiābi eiobi, eiūs eiobi, eiūs
Loc. eíī eiū eiē eiū eiou eiābi eiobi eiobi

In the interest of inclusivity, I have added to the above table my proposal for singular-they pronouns in the column marked S.T. These are neologisms not present in the ancient language.

The reflexive 3rd pronoun is made by prefixing sue-: sueíin himself, suesian herself, etc. The sue- can also be prefixed to a possessed noun, e.g. sue-tegos her/his (own) house.

The emphatic pronoun oinānos can also be used in the third person.

Pronouns

Proximal Demonstratives

Proximal demonstratives (i.e. this, these) occur both as the indeclinable so and as a system with its own pronominal declension that can be reconstructed as:

  Singular Dual Plural
  F M NB N F NB M/N F M NB N
Nom. so(s) se so, sin sās soi ses sanā
Acc. sān son sen so, sin sās sūs sas sanā
Gen. soiās soio soie soio sāsō seisē soisō sanon soison seison soison
Dat. soíī soiū soiē soiū sābon seibon soibon sābo soibo seibo soibo
Ins. soiā somū soiē somū sābin seibin soibin sābi soibi seibi soibi
Loc. soiā somi soiē somi sābin seibin soibin sābi soibi seibi soibi

Here, as with the third personal pronouns, for inclusivity's sake I have added my proposals for singular-they pronouns.

Emphatic Demonstratives

A system of emphatic demonstratives (e.g. this one!, that one!) exists based on prefixing so onto the proximal demonstrative:

  Singular Plural
  F M NB N F M NB N
Nom. sosā soso(s) sose sosin sosās sosī soses sosanā
Acc. sosiān soson sosen sosin sosās sosūs sosēs sosanā
Gen. sosiās sosi sosetos sosi sosanon soson soseton soson
D/I/L sosī, sosiā sosiū soseti sosiū - - - -

Medial Demonstratives

Medial demonstratives (e.g. "that, those") have a stem sondio- that declines like a normal O/A adjective:

  Singular Plural
  F M NB N F M NB N
Nom. sondiā sondios sondieđ sondion sondiās sondī sondietes sondiā
Acc. sondīn sondion sondieten sondion sondiās sondiūs sondietās sondiā
Gen. sondiās sondī sondietos sondī sondiānon sondion sondieton sondion
Dat. sondī sondiū sondietē sondiū sondiābo sondiobo sondiedbo sondiobo
Instr. sondī sondiū sondietī sondiū sondiābi sondiobi sondiedbi sondiobi
Loc. sondī sondiē sondietī sondiē sondiābi sondiobi sondiedbi sondiobi

Confusingly, the neuters sometimes swap the sounds around so that sondion becomes sindon, etc.

Distal Demonstratives

Distal demonstratives ("that over there", "yon", "that yonder") also decline like O/A adjectives, based on the stem sindo-:

  Singular Plural
  F M NB N F M NB N
Nom. sindā sindos sindeđ sindon, sin sindās sindī sindetes sindā
Acc. sindin sindon sindeten sindon, sin sindās sindūs sindetās sindā
Gen. sindās sindī sindetos sindī sindānon sindon sindeton sindon
Dat. sindī sindū sindetē sindū sindābo sindobo sindedbo sindobo
Instr. sindī sindū sindetī sindū sindābi sindobi sindedbi sindobi
Loc. sindī sindē sindetī sindē sindābi sindobi sindedbi sindobi

In compounds, be careful not to confuse sindos with sin- meaning "this", as in sindīū "today", sinbāregū "this morning", sinnoxti "tonight".

Miscellaneous Demonstratives

Correlatives

  Indefinite Negative Interrogative Relative Demonstrative Identitative Alternative Universal
Animate nepos
someone
ne donios
no one
peis?
who?
io(n)
who(m)
sos, īs
this, that
somos
the same
allos
another
ollos, pāpos
all, every
Inanimate nepidā
something
ne pettiā
nothing
pad?, pidā?
what?
io
what
so, idā
this, that
somon
the same
allon
another
ollon, pāpon
all, every
Locative nependo
somewhere
ne inedū
nowhere
pendo?
where?
pendo
where
endo
there
sampendo
in the same place
allopendo
elsewhere
ollopendo
everywhere
Source nepanā
from somewhere
au níinedū
from nowhere
panā?
from where?
panā
from where
auendū
from there
sampanā
from the same place
allopanā
from elsewhere
ollopanā
from everywhere
Temporal neponc
sometimes
nāiui
never
ponc?
when?
ponc
when
toni
then
samponc
at the same time
alloponc
another time
aiuī
always
Qualitative nepoiācos
some sort
ne ixsos
none, no such
poiācos?
what kind?, what sort?
cenetlī io(n)
of the kind that
ixsos
such
somiācos
the same type
allācos
another type
ollācos
all kinds
Quantitative nepeti
somewhat
ne oinos
none, no amount
peti?
how much?
peti
how much, as much
somantī
so much, so many
sammantī
as much
allomantī
a different amount
ollos
all, whole
Manner nepū
somehow
ne inte
no way
pū?
how?
how
suā, ita
so, thus
inte somon
in the same way
inte allon
another way
inte ollon
in every way
Reason nepēri
for some reason
ne uouerū
for no reason
pēri?
why?
pēri
why
canti, ita
therefore, so
sampēri
for the same reason
allopēri
for another reason
ollopēri
for every reason

Prepositions

With Accusative

With Dative

* Note that for the meaning of "something for which to [verb]", you would use the gerundive of the verb instead.

With Instrumental

With Locative

Verbs: Pronominal Enclitics

Person Subject Object
1st sg. -mī   💬 -mī   💬
1st pl. -nīs   💬 -nīs   💬

2nd sg. -tū   💬, -ti   💬 -te   💬, -ti   💬
2nd pl. -suīs   💬 -suīs   💬

3rd sg. fem. -sī   💬, -iā   💬 -ian   💬
3rd sg. masc. -īs   💬 -in   💬
3rd sg. neu. -i   💬, -id   💬, -idā   💬 -i   💬, -id   💬
3rd pl. fem. -sies   💬 -iās   💬
3rd pl. masc. -íis   💬 -iūs   💬
3rd pl. neu.   💬, -iā   💬   💬, -iā   💬

(relative) -io   💬 -io(n)   💬

The pronominal enclitics have the function of adding emphasis to the subject and/or object of the verb. If the verb is moved to the beginning of its sentence for emphasis, then some type of pronoun enclitic is mandatory. Oftentimes, a meaningless enclitic -i or -id is used in this case. This does not have the same meaning as the neuter -i(d), but is more like the Ancient Greek δε ("and"). Alternatively, the verb may be preceded by it(a), meaning roughly "thus". Both it(a) and -i(d) are optional unless the verb is at the beginning of the sentence. Compare:

Verbs: AI

Example: bināt, bibe, bītos; beiassus, -ous, to punish.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st bināiū  💬bināmas  💬bināsū  💬bināsomos  💬bināiōr  💬bināmar  💬bināsōr  💬bināsomor  💬
2nd bināi  💬bināte  💬bināses  💬bināsetes  💬binātār  💬bināte  💬bināsetār  💬bināsetes  💬
3rd bināt  💬binānt  💬bināset  💬bināsont  💬binātor  💬bināntor  💬bināsetor  💬bināsontor  💬
Future 1st bināsiū  💬bināsiomos  💬--bināsiōr  💬bināsiomor  💬--
2nd bināsies  💬bināsietes  💬--bināsietār  💬bināsietes  💬--
3rd bināsiet  💬bināsiont  💬--bināsietor  💬bināsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st bināman  💬bināmos  💬--bināmar  💬bināmor  💬--
2nd binātās  💬binātē  💬--binātār  💬binātē  💬--
3rd bināto  💬binānto  💬--binātor  💬bināntor  💬--
Preterite 1st biba  💬bibame  💬bibasīn  💬bibasīmos  💬bītos/ā/on immibītī/ās/ā emosbītos/ā/on buiūbītī/ās/ā buomos
2nd bibas  💬bibe  💬bibasīs  💬bibasīte  💬bītos/ā/on eibītī/ās/ā esuesbītos/ā/on buesbītī/ās/ā buetes
3rd bibe  💬bibant  💬bibasīt  💬bibasīnt  💬bītos/ā/on eđđibītī/ās/ā sentbītos/ā/on buetbītī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -bināmas  💬-bīxsomo  💬
2nd binā  💬binātes  💬bīxs  💬bīxsetes  💬
3rd binātū  💬bināntū  💬bīxstū  💬bīxsontū  💬

Verbs: AII

Example: cambīt, cambīsset, cambītos; cambītus, –ous, to exchange.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st cambiíū  💬cambīmas  💬cambīsū  💬cambīsomos  💬cambiōr  💬cambīmar  💬cambīsōr  💬cambīsomor  💬
2nd cambīs  💬cambīte  💬cambīses  💬cambīsetes  💬cambītār  💬cambīte  💬cambīsetār  💬cambīsetes  💬
3rd cambīt  💬cambīnt  💬cambīset  💬cambīsont  💬cambītor  💬cambīntor  💬cambīsetor  💬cambīsontor  💬
Future 1st cambīsiū  💬cambīsiomos  💬--cambīsiōr  💬cambīsiomor  💬--
2nd cambīsies  💬cambīsietes  💬--cambīsietār  💬cambīsietes  💬--
3rd cambīsiet  💬cambīsiont  💬--cambīsietor  💬cambīsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st cambīman  💬cambīmos  💬--cambīmar  💬cambīmor  💬--
2nd cambītās  💬cambītē  💬--cambītār  💬cambītē  💬--
3rd cambīto  💬cambīnto  💬--cambītor  💬cambīntor  💬--
Preterite 1st cambīssan  💬cambīssames  💬cambīssīn  💬cambīssīmos  💬cambītos/ā/on immicambītī/ās/ā emoscambītos/ā/on buiūcambītī/ās/ā buomos
2nd cambīsses  💬cambīssates  💬cambīssīs  💬cambīssīte  💬cambītos/ā/on eicambītī/ās/ā esuescambītos/ā/on buescambītī/ās/ā buetes
3rd cambīsset  💬cambīssant  💬cambīssīt  💬cambīssīnt  💬cambītos/ā/on eđđicambītī/ās/ā sentcambītos/ā/on buetcambītī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -cambīmas  💬-cambīssomo  💬
2nd cambī  💬cambītes  💬cambīss  💬cambīssetes  💬
3rd cambītū  💬cambīntū  💬cambīsstū  💬cambīssontū  💬

Verbs: BI

This is the largest class of Gaulish verbs, the plain-ending consonant-stem verbs, and there is a lot of variety in the stems as well as in the preterites. This page provides a large selection of verbs, not to pile a huge memorization task onto the reader, but to illustrate this variability, and the ways the consonants combine with the future and subjunctive endings, such as c+s = xs, p+s = xs, t+s = đđ, etc.

As with all of the other conjugations, while the first person singular passive ending is usually reconstructed as -ūr, based on known sound changes that happened in Proto-Celtic, in Gaulish this ending is consistently attested as -or, indicating that the vowel had changed from u to o by the time of known inscriptions. Therefore, I reconstruct -ōr as the 1st sg. passive ending, noting that the sounds of ō and ū were probably very close together.

Example: beret, bert, britos; bertā, -iās, to bear.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st berū  💬beromos  💬berasū  💬berasomos  💬berōr  💬beromor  💬berasōr  💬berasomor  💬
2nd beres  💬beretes  💬berases  💬berasetes  💬beretār  💬berete  💬berasetār  💬berasetes  💬
3rd beret  💬beront  💬beraset  💬berasont  💬beretor  💬berontor  💬berasetor  💬berasontor  💬
Future 1st berasiū  💬berasiomos  💬--berasiōr  💬berasiomor  💬--
2nd berasies  💬berasietes  💬--berasietār  💬berasietes  💬--
3rd berasiet  💬berasiont  💬--berasietor  💬berasiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st bereman  💬beremos  💬--beremar  💬beremor  💬--
2nd beretās  💬beretē  💬--beretār  💬beretē  💬--
3rd bereto  💬berento  💬--beretor  💬berentor  💬--
Preterite 1st beran  💬berames  💬berasīn  💬berasīmos  💬britos/ā/on immibritī/ās/ā emosbritos/ā/on buiūbritī/ās/ā buomos
2nd bers  💬bertes  💬berasīs  💬berasīte  💬britos/ā/on eibritī/ās/ā esuesbritos/ā/on buesbritī/ās/ā buetes
3rd bert  💬berant  💬berasīt  💬berasīnt  💬britos/ā/on eđđibritī/ās/ā sentbritos/ā/on buetbritī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -beromo  💬-bērsomo  💬
2nd bere  💬beretes  💬bērs  💬bērsetes  💬
3rd beretū  💬berontū  💬bērstū  💬bērsontū  💬

Example: brennet, bebronne, brentos; brennos, -ī, to burn.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st brennū  💬brennomos  💬brennasū  💬brennasomos  💬brennōr  💬brennomor  💬brennasōr  💬brennasomor  💬
2nd brennes  💬brennetes  💬brennases  💬brennasetes  💬brennetār  💬brennete  💬brennasetār  💬brennasetes  💬
3rd brennet  💬brennont  💬brennaset  💬brennasont  💬brennetor  💬brennontor  💬brennasetor  💬brennasontor  💬
Future 1st brennasiū  💬brennasiomos  💬--brennasiōr  💬brennasiomor  💬--
2nd brennasies  💬brennasietes  💬--brennasietār  💬brennasietes  💬--
3rd brennasiet  💬brennasiont  💬--brennasietor  💬brennasiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st brenneman  💬brennemos  💬--brennemar  💬brennemor  💬--
2nd brennetās  💬brennetē  💬--brennetār  💬brennetē  💬--
3rd brenneto  💬brennento  💬--brennetor  💬brennentor  💬--
Preterite 1st bebronna  💬bebronname  💬bebronnaasīn  💬bebronnaasīmos  💬brentos/ā/on immibrentī/ās/ā emosbrentos/ā/on buiūbrentī/ās/ā buomos
2nd bebronnas  💬bebronne  💬bebronnaasīs  💬bebronnaasīte  💬brentos/ā/on eibrentī/ās/ā esuesbrentos/ā/on buesbrentī/ās/ā buetes
3rd bebronne  💬bebronnant  💬bebronnaasīt  💬bebronnaasīnt  💬brentos/ā/on eđđibrentī/ās/ā sentbrentos/ā/on buetbrentī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -brennomo  💬-bebrōnnsomo  💬
2nd brenne  💬brennetes  💬bebrōnns  💬bebrōnnsetes  💬
3rd brennetū  💬brennontū  💬bebrōnnstū  💬bebrōnnsontū  💬

Example: depret, dedopre, depretos; depron, -ī, to eat.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st deprū  💬depromos  💬deprasū  💬deprasomos  💬deprōr  💬depromor  💬deprasōr  💬deprasomor  💬
2nd depres  💬depretes  💬deprases  💬deprasetes  💬depretār  💬deprete  💬deprasetār  💬deprasetes  💬
3rd depret  💬depront  💬depraset  💬deprasont  💬depretor  💬deprontor  💬deprasetor  💬deprasontor  💬
Future 1st deprasiū  💬deprasiomos  💬--deprasiōr  💬deprasiomor  💬--
2nd deprasies  💬deprasietes  💬--deprasietār  💬deprasietes  💬--
3rd deprasiet  💬deprasiont  💬--deprasietor  💬deprasiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st depreman  💬depremos  💬--depremar  💬depremor  💬--
2nd depretās  💬depretē  💬--depretār  💬depretē  💬--
3rd depreto  💬deprento  💬--depretor  💬deprentor  💬--
Preterite 1st dedopra  💬dedoprame  💬dedopraasīn  💬dedopraasīmos  💬depretos/ā/on immidepretī/ās/ā emosdepretos/ā/on buiūdepretī/ās/ā buomos
2nd dedopras  💬dedopre  💬dedopraasīs  💬dedopraasīte  💬depretos/ā/on eidepretī/ās/ā esuesdepretos/ā/on buesdepretī/ās/ā buetes
3rd dedopre  💬dedoprant  💬dedopraasīt  💬dedopraasīnt  💬depretos/ā/on eđđidepretī/ās/ā sentdepretos/ā/on buetdepretī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -depromo  💬-dedōprsomo  💬
2nd depre  💬depretes  💬dedōprs  💬dedōprsetes  💬
3rd depretū  💬deprontū  💬dedōprstū  💬dedōprsontū  💬

Example: ibet, ixset, ixtos; oclon, -ī, to drink.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st ibū  💬ibomos  💬ixsū  💬ixsomos  💬ibōr  💬ibomor  💬ixsōr  💬ixsomor  💬
2nd ibes  💬ibetes  💬ixses  💬ixsetes  💬ibetār  💬ibete  💬ixsetār  💬ixsetes  💬
3rd ibet  💬ibont  💬ixset  💬ixsont  💬ibetor  💬ibontor  💬ixsetor  💬ixsontor  💬
Future 1st ixsiū  💬ixsiomos  💬--ixsiōr  💬ixsiomor  💬--
2nd ixsies  💬ixsietes  💬--ixsietār  💬ixsietes  💬--
3rd ixsiet  💬ixsiont  💬--ixsietor  💬ixsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st ibeman  💬ibemos  💬--ibemar  💬ibemor  💬--
2nd ibetās  💬ibetē  💬--ibetār  💬ibetē  💬--
3rd ibeto  💬ibento  💬--ibetor  💬ibentor  💬--
Preterite 1st ixsan  💬ixsames  💬ixsīn  💬ixsīmos  💬ixtos/ā/on immiixtī/ās/ā emosixtos/ā/on buiūixtī/ās/ā buomos
2nd ixses  💬ixsates  💬ixsīs  💬ixsīte  💬ixtos/ā/on eiixtī/ās/ā esuesixtos/ā/on buesixtī/ās/ā buetes
3rd ixset  💬ixsant  💬ixsīt  💬ixsīnt  💬ixtos/ā/on eđđiixtī/ās/ā sentixtos/ā/on buetixtī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -ibomo  💬-īxsomo  💬
2nd ibe  💬ibetes  💬īxs  💬īxsetes  💬
3rd ibetū  💬ibontū  💬īxstū  💬īxsontū  💬

Example: orget, orxt, orxtos; orgenā, -iās, to kill.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st orgū  💬orgomos  💬orxsū  💬orxsomos  💬orgōr  💬orgomor  💬orxsōr  💬orxsomor  💬
2nd orges  💬orgetes  💬orxses  💬orxsetes  💬orgetār  💬orgete  💬orxsetār  💬orxsetes  💬
3rd orget  💬orgont  💬orxset  💬orxsont  💬orgetor  💬orgontor  💬orxsetor  💬orxsontor  💬
Future 1st orxsiū  💬orxsiomos  💬--orxsiōr  💬orxsiomor  💬--
2nd orxsies  💬orxsietes  💬--orxsietār  💬orxsietes  💬--
3rd orxsiet  💬orxsiont  💬--orxsietor  💬orxsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st orgeman  💬orgemos  💬--orgemar  💬orgemor  💬--
2nd orgetās  💬orgetē  💬--orgetār  💬orgetē  💬--
3rd orgeto  💬orgento  💬--orgetor  💬orgentor  💬--
Preterite 1st organ  💬orgames  💬orxsīn  💬orxsīmos  💬orxtos/ā/on immiorxtī/ās/ā emosorxtos/ā/on buiūorxtī/ās/ā buomos
2nd orxs  💬orxtes  💬orxsīs  💬orxsīte  💬orxtos/ā/on eiorxtī/ās/ā esuesorxtos/ā/on buesorxtī/ās/ā buetes
3rd orxt  💬organt  💬orxsīt  💬orxsīnt  💬orxtos/ā/on eđđiorxtī/ās/ā sentorxtos/ā/on buetorxtī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -orgomo  💬-ōrxsomo  💬
2nd orge  💬orgetes  💬ōrxs  💬ōrxsetes  💬
3rd orgetū  💬orgontū  💬ōrxstū  💬ōrxsontū  💬

Example: ratet, rerate, rassos; rasson, -ī, to promise.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st ratū  💬ratomos  💬rađđū  💬rađđomos  💬ratōr  💬ratomor  💬rađđōr  💬rađđomor  💬
2nd rates  💬ratetes  💬rađđes  💬rađđetes  💬ratetār  💬ratete  💬rađđetār  💬rađđetes  💬
3rd ratet  💬ratont  💬rađđet  💬rađđont  💬ratetor  💬ratontor  💬rađđetor  💬rađđontor  💬
Future 1st rađđiū  💬rađđiomos  💬--rađđiōr  💬rađđiomor  💬--
2nd rađđies  💬rađđietes  💬--rađđietār  💬rađđietes  💬--
3rd rađđiet  💬rađđiont  💬--rađđietor  💬rađđiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st rateman  💬ratemos  💬--ratemar  💬ratemor  💬--
2nd ratetās  💬ratetē  💬--ratetār  💬ratetē  💬--
3rd rateto  💬ratento  💬--ratetor  💬ratentor  💬--
Preterite 1st rerata  💬reratame  💬reratasīn  💬reratasīmos  💬rassos/ā/on immirassī/ās/ā emosrassos/ā/on buiūrassī/ās/ā buomos
2nd reratas  💬rerate  💬reratasīs  💬reratasīte  💬rassos/ā/on eirassī/ās/ā esuesrassos/ā/on buesrassī/ās/ā buetes
3rd rerate  💬reratant  💬reratasīt  💬reratasīnt  💬rassos/ā/on eđđirassī/ās/ā sentrassos/ā/on buetrassī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -ratomo  💬-rerāđomo  💬
2nd rate  💬ratetes  💬rerāđ  💬rerāđetes  💬
3rd ratetū  💬ratontū  💬rerāđtū  💬rerāđontū  💬

Example: appiset, adpepise, appissos; pissū, -onos, to see.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st appisū  💬appisomos  💬appissū  💬appissomos  💬appisōr  💬appisomor  💬appissōr  💬appissomor  💬
2nd appises  💬appisetes  💬appisses  💬appissetes  💬appisetār  💬appisete  💬appissetār  💬appissetes  💬
3rd appiset  💬appisont  💬appisset  💬appissont  💬appisetor  💬appisontor  💬appissetor  💬appissontor  💬
Future 1st piíū  💬piíomos  💬--piíōr  💬piíomor  💬--
2nd piíes  💬piíetes  💬--piíetār  💬piíete  💬--
3rd piíet  💬piíont  💬--piíetor  💬piíontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st appiseman  💬appisemos  💬--appisemar  💬appisemor  💬--
2nd appisetās  💬appisetē  💬--appisetār  💬appisetē  💬--
3rd appiseto  💬appisento  💬--appisetor  💬appisentor  💬--
Preterite 1st ad-pepisa  💬ad-pepisame  💬ad-pepisasīn  💬ad-pepisasīmos  💬appissos/ā/on immiappissī/ās/ā emosappissos/ā/on buiūappissī/ās/ā buomos
2nd ad-pepisas  💬ad-pepise  💬ad-pepisasīs  💬ad-pepisasīte  💬appissos/ā/on eiappissī/ās/ā esuesappissos/ā/on buesappissī/ās/ā buetes
3rd ad-pepise  💬ad-pepisant  💬ad-pepisasīt  💬ad-pepisasīnt  💬appissos/ā/on eđđiappissī/ās/ā sentappissos/ā/on buetappissī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -appisomo  💬-ad-pepīssomo  💬
2nd appise  💬appisetes  💬ad-pepīss  💬ad-pepīssetes  💬
3rd appisetū  💬appisontū  💬ad-pepīsstū  💬ad-pepīssontū  💬

Verbs: BII

These are verbs whose stems end with with a consonantal -i.

Example: uediíet, uāde, uessios; uediā, -iās, to entreat.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st uediíū  💬uediíomos  💬uediísū  💬uediísomos  💬uediíōr  💬uediíomor  💬uediísōr  💬uediísomor  💬
2nd uediíes  💬uediíetes  💬uediíses  💬uediísetes  💬uediíetār  💬uediíete  💬uediísetār  💬uediísetes  💬
3rd uediíet  💬uediíont  💬uediíset  💬uediísont  💬uediíetor  💬uediíontor  💬uediísetor  💬uediísontor  💬
Future 1st uediísiū  💬uediísiomos  💬--uediísiōr  💬uediísiomor  💬--
2nd uediísies  💬uediísietes  💬--uediísietār  💬uediísietes  💬--
3rd uediísiet  💬uediísiont  💬--uediísietor  💬uediísiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st uediíeman  💬uediíemos  💬--uediíemar  💬uediíemor  💬--
2nd uediíetās  💬uediíetē  💬--uediíetār  💬uediíetē  💬--
3rd uediíeto  💬uediíento  💬--uediíetor  💬uediíentor  💬--
Preterite 1st uōmi  💬uōmes  💬usīn  💬usīmos  💬uessos/ā/on immiuessī/ās/ā emosuessos/ā/on buiūuessī/ās/ā buomos
2nd uōs  💬uōtes  💬usīs  💬usīte  💬uessos/ā/on eiuessī/ās/ā esuesuessos/ā/on buesuessī/ās/ā buetes
3rd uōt  💬uōnt  💬usīt  💬usīnt  💬uessos/ā/on eđđiuessī/ās/ā sentuessos/ā/on buetuessī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -uediíomo  💬-ūsomo  💬
2nd uediíe  💬uediíetes  💬ūs  💬ūsetes  💬
3rd uediíetū  💬uediíontū  💬ūstū  💬ūsontū  💬

Notice the double-I in the stem, causing the forms with the stem uedi-.

Example: sagiet, sioxt, saxtos; sagitis, -ēs, to seek.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st sagiū  💬sagiomos  💬saxsū  💬saxsomos  💬sagiōr  💬sagiomor  💬saxsōr  💬saxsomor  💬
2nd sagies  💬sagietes  💬saxses  💬saxsetes  💬sagietār  💬sagiete  💬saxsetār  💬saxsetes  💬
3rd sagiet  💬sagiont  💬saxset  💬saxsont  💬sagietor  💬sagiontor  💬saxsetor  💬saxsontor  💬
Future 1st siaxsiū  💬siaxsiomos  💬--siaxsiōr  💬siaxsiomor  💬--
2nd siaxsies  💬siaxsietes  💬--siaxsietār  💬siaxsietes  💬--
3rd siaxsiet  💬siaxsiont  💬--siaxsietor  💬siaxsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st sagieman  💬sagiemos  💬--sagiemar  💬sagiemor  💬--
2nd sagietās  💬sagietē  💬--sagietār  💬sagietē  💬--
3rd sagieto  💬sagiento  💬--sagietor  💬sagientor  💬--
Preterite 1st siogan  💬siogames  💬sioxsīn  💬sioxsīmos  💬saxtos/ā/on immisaxtī/ās/ā emossaxtos/ā/on buiūsaxtī/ās/ā buomos
2nd sioxs  💬sioxtes  💬sioxsīs  💬sioxsīte  💬saxtos/ā/on eisaxtī/ās/ā esuessaxtos/ā/on buessaxtī/ās/ā buetes
3rd sioxt  💬siogant  💬sioxsīt  💬sioxsīnt  💬saxtos/ā/on eđđisaxtī/ās/ā sentsaxtos/ā/on buetsaxtī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -sagiomo  💬-siōxsomo  💬
2nd sagie  💬sagietes  💬siōxs  💬siōxsetes  💬
3rd sagietū  💬sagiontū  💬siōxstū  💬siōxsontū  💬

Verbs: BIII

These verbs end in a nasal (m or n) followed by a stop (b, g, t, etc.). Historically, they were formed by infixing a nasal before the end of the root, e.g. *la-m-b- from root *lab-, with the nasal disappearing in tenses other than the present and imperfect. In the Celtic languages, this nasal infix came to be kept in some or all of the tenses, so you have to know each verb's preterite in order to know whether it keeps the infix in all forms.

Example: tanget, tage, taxtos; tagon, –i, to agree.

This verb loses the -n- in the preterite, the aorist imperative, and the past participle.
  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st tangū  💬tangomos  💬tanxsū  💬tanxsomos  💬tangōr  💬tangomor  💬tanxsōr  💬tanxsomor  💬
2nd tanges  💬tangetes  💬tanxses  💬tanxsetes  💬tangetār  💬tangete  💬tanxsetār  💬tanxsetes  💬
3rd tanget  💬tangont  💬tanxset  💬tanxsont  💬tangetor  💬tangontor  💬tanxsetor  💬tanxsontor  💬
Future 1st tanxsiū  💬tanxsiomos  💬--tanxsiōr  💬tanxsiomor  💬--
2nd tanxsies  💬tanxsietes  💬--tanxsietār  💬tanxsietes  💬--
3rd tanxsiet  💬tanxsiont  💬--tanxsietor  💬tanxsiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st tangeman  💬tangemos  💬--tangemar  💬tangemor  💬--
2nd tangetās  💬tangetē  💬--tangetār  💬tangetē  💬--
3rd tangeto  💬tangento  💬--tangetor  💬tangentor  💬--
Preterite 1st taga  💬tagame  💬tagasīn  💬tagasīmos  💬taxtos/ā/on immitaxtī/ās/ā emostaxtos/ā/on buiūtaxtī/ās/ā buomos
2nd tagas  💬tage  💬tagasīs  💬tagasīte  💬taxtos/ā/on eitaxtī/ās/ā esuestaxtos/ā/on buestaxtī/ās/ā buetes
3rd tage  💬tagant  💬tagasīt  💬tagasīnt  💬taxtos/ā/on eđđitaxtī/ās/ā senttaxtos/ā/on buettaxtī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -tangomo  💬-tāxsomo  💬
2nd tange  💬tangetes  💬tāxs  💬tāxsetes  💬
3rd tangetū  💬tangontū  💬tāxstū  💬tāxsontū  💬

Example: gandet, gegande, gāssos; gandon, –i, to permit.

This verb keeps the -n- in all forms.
  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st gandū  💬gandomos  💬ganđđū  💬ganđđomos  💬gandōr  💬gandomor  💬ganđđōr  💬ganđđomor  💬
2nd gandes  💬gandetes  💬ganđđes  💬ganđđetes  💬gandetār  💬gandete  💬ganđđetār  💬ganđđetes  💬
3rd gandet  💬gandont  💬ganđđet  💬ganđđont  💬gandetor  💬gandontor  💬ganđđetor  💬ganđđontor  💬
Future 1st ganđđiū  💬ganđđiomos  💬--ganđđiōr  💬ganđđiomor  💬--
2nd ganđđies  💬ganđđietes  💬--ganđđietār  💬ganđđietes  💬--
3rd ganđđiet  💬ganđđiont  💬--ganđđietor  💬ganđđiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st gandeman  💬gandemos  💬--gandemar  💬gandemor  💬--
2nd gandetās  💬gandetē  💬--gandetār  💬gandetē  💬--
3rd gandeto  💬gandento  💬--gandetor  💬gandentor  💬--
Preterite 1st geganda  💬gegandame  💬gegandasīn  💬gegandasīmos  💬gāssos/ā/on immigāssī/ās/ā emosgāssos/ā/on buiūgāssī/ās/ā buomos
2nd gegandas  💬gegande  💬gegandasīs  💬gegandasīte  💬gāssos/ā/on eigāssī/ās/ā esuesgāssos/ā/on buesgāssī/ās/ā buetes
3rd gegande  💬gegandant  💬gegandasīt  💬gegandasīnt  💬gāssos/ā/on eđđigāssī/ās/ā sentgāssos/ā/on buetgāssī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -gandomo  💬-gegānđomo  💬
2nd gande  💬gandetes  💬gegānđ  💬gegānđetes  💬
3rd gandetū  💬gandontū  💬gegānđtū  💬gegānđontū  💬

Verbs: BIV

Example: prinat, pipre, pritos; priton, -i, to buy.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st prinami  💬prinamos  💬priān  💬priaomos  💬prinār  💬prinamor  💬priār  💬priaomor  💬
2nd prinasi  💬prinates  💬priaisi  💬priaites  💬prinatār  💬prinate  💬priaitār  💬priaites  💬
3rd prinat  💬prinant  💬priait  💬priaont  💬prinator  💬prinantor  💬priaitor  💬priaontor  💬
Future 1st prinasiū  💬prinasiomos  💬--prinasiōr  💬prinasiomor  💬--
2nd prinasies  💬prinasietes  💬--prinasietār  💬prinasietes  💬--
3rd prinasiet  💬prinasiont  💬--prinasietor  💬prinasiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st prinaman  💬prinamos  💬--prinamar  💬prinamor  💬--
2nd prinatās  💬prinatē  💬--prinatār  💬prinatē  💬--
3rd prinato  💬prinanto  💬--prinator  💬prinantor  💬--
Preterite 1st prinassan  💬prinassames  💬prinasasīn  💬prinasasīmos  💬prītos/ā/on immiprītī/ās/ā emosprītos/ā/on buiūprītī/ās/ā buomos
2nd prinasses  💬prinassates  💬prinasasīs  💬prinasasītes  💬prītos/ā/on eiprītī/ās/ā esuesprītos/ā/on buesprītī/ās/ā buetes
3rd prinasset  💬prinassant  💬prinasasīt  💬prinasasīnt  💬prītos/ā/on eđđiprītī/ās/ā sentprītos/ā/on buetprītī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -prinamas  💬-prināssomo  💬
2nd prina  💬prinates  💬prināss  💬prināssetes  💬
3rd prinatū  💬prinantū  💬prināsstū  💬prināssontū  💬

Verbs: BV

Example: clinutor, clutos; cloustā, -iās, to hear.

This is a deponent verb, meaning it has passive voice forms only. It is the only known class BV verb.
  Deponent
Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st clinōr  💬clinumor  💬clinusōr  💬clinusomor  💬
2nd clinutār  💬clinute  💬clinusetār  💬clinusetes  💬
3rd clinutor  💬clinuntor  💬clinusetor  💬clinusontor  💬
Future 1st clinasiōr  💬clinasiomor  💬--
2nd clinasietār  💬clinasietes  💬--
3rd clinasietor  💬clinasiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st clinuman  💬clinumos  💬--
2nd clinutās  💬clinutē  💬--
3rd clinuto  💬clinunto  💬--
Preterite 1st clutos/ā/on immiclutī/ās/ā emosclutos/ā/on buiūclutī/ās/ā buomos
2nd clutos/ā/on eiclutī/ās/ā esuesclutos/ā/on buesclutī/ās/ā buetes
3rd clutos/ā/on eđđiclutī/ās/ā sentclutos/ā/on buetclutī/ās/ā buont

Preterites

Unlike most IE languages, Gaulish preterites fall into several paradigms independent of the verb's main conjugation class. It is usually easy to tell from the ending of the cited 3rd sg. preterite in the lexicon which paradigm it belongs to. The preterites for the active voice are given below, using the examples of attested verbs where either at least one preterite form is known, or the preterite can be reconstructed from the Proto-Celtic root.

Passive preterites don't have their own endings; for such meanings, use the corresponding number and gender of the past participle (O/A declension) with the corresponding present indicative or present subjunctive form of eđđi, e.g. appissā immi I was seen; auuessā buont were they (already) made.

Suffixless Preterites

Verb: appiset, ad-pepise, appissos; pisiū, -onos.: to see
  Indicative Subjunctive
  Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st adpepis-a adpepis-me adpepis-sīn adpepis-sīmos
2nd adpepis-as adpepis-e adpepis-sīs adpepis-sīte
3rd adpepis-e adpepis-ar adpepis-sīt adpepis-sīnt

S-Preterites

Verb: ibet, ixset, ixtos; oclon, -ī: to drink
  Indicative Subjunctive
  Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st ix-san ix-same ix-sīn ix-sīmos
2nd ix-ses ix-sate ix-sīs ix-sīte
3rd ix-set ix-sar ix-sīt ix-sīnt

T-Preterites

Verb: auuedet, auuōt, auuessos; auuedenā, -iās: to make
Verb: sagiet, sioxt, saxtos; sagitis, -ēs.: to seek
  Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
  Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural Singular Plural
1st auuōd-an auuōd-mes auuōđ-đīn auuōđ-đīmes siog-an siog-ames siox-sīn siox-sīmes
2nd auuō-đ auuō-te auuōđ-đīs auuōđ-đīte siox-s siox-te siox-sīs siox-sīte
3rd auuō-t auuō-nt auuōđ-đīt auuōđ-đīnt siox-t siog-ar siox-sīt siox-sīnt

The attested form sioxti is at the beginning of a clause, and consists of sioxt plus the meaningless enclitic -i, since an enclitic is normally required in verb first constructs.

U-Preterites

A number of attestations show a 3rd sg. preterite ending in -ū, plural -ūs. This is consistent with a set of reconstructed Proto-Celtic verbal preterite endings, perhaps originally deriving from an instrumental pronominal suffix. If, hypothetically, a suffixless preterite such as *īeure were suffixed as *īeure-os > *īeuros, its instrumental would be īeurū, which is exactly what we see in the dedication at Alise-Sainte-Reine:

MARTIALIS DANNOTALI IEVRV VCVETE SOSIN CELICNON ETIC GOBEDBI DUGIIONTIIO VCVETIN IN ALESIA

...which we can interpret as "Martialis [son] of Dannotalos offered-by-him to Ucuetis this banquet hall and along with the blacksmiths who worship Ucuetis in Alisia." This verb is also attested in the first person singular as īueri and third plural as īuerūs.

The -ū(s) ending is also attested for e.g. carnitū (erected) and dedū (gave), however since the preterite dede is also attested, -ū cannot be the normal 3rd sg. preterite ending of this verb.

Perfect Tense

The perfect is formed by prefixing ro- to the present or preterite. The future perfect is formed by prefixing ro- to the present subjunctive.

Participles and Nominalizers

Nominal forms of verbs can be formed directly from the dictionary form. The -os suffix has an active meaning, and the -ios suffix an inactive meaning.

All of the participles and nominal forms take -os, -ā, -on endings that decline like O/A adjectives.

The -os suffix is also attested as -is in the case of accusative arueriíātin, meaning "one who gives satisfaction". This ending could make sense of the plural form eurisēs (offerers) if it is the plural of *eurisis, a suffixed form derived from the same verb as īeurū (see the preterites section for more on this verb).

The present participle suffix is -aunos. It can be added to the present or future stem of the verb, and the prefix ro- can be used to make a past tense.

Each verb is listed in the lexicon with a past participle. This forms the basis of passive participles with imperfective, perfective, or future meanings.

Some verbs have a past participle in the dictionary that is the same as the active nominalizer, e.g. damāt "to endure", past pple damātos "endured". When this happens, the active nominal form **damāt-os (**"endurer") is not used, and what would have been its meaning is covered by the present participle, e.g. ro-damaunos.

The form ending in -innos is called a gerundive. The verb essi, "be", has no passive participle, so its gerundive is onnos.

Verbs: Irregular

tēget, ludet, itos; tixtā, -iās, to go.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st tēgū  💬tēgomos  💬tēxsū  💬tēxsomos  💬tēgōr  💬tēgomor  💬tēxsōr  💬tēxsomor  💬
2nd tēges  💬tēgetes  💬tēxses  💬tēxsetes  💬tēgetār  💬tēgete  💬tēxsetār  💬tēxsetes  💬
3rd tēget  💬tēgont  💬tēxset  💬tēxsont  💬tēgetor  💬tēgontor  💬tēxsetor  💬tēxsontor  💬
Future 1st rigāsū  💬rigāsomos  💬--rigāsōr  💬rigāsomor  💬--
2nd rigāses  💬rigāsetes  💬--rigāsetār  💬rigāsetes  💬--
3rd rigāset  💬rigāsont  💬--rigāsetor  💬rigāsontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st tēgeman  💬tēgemos  💬--tēgemar  💬tēgemor  💬--
2nd tēgetās  💬tēgetē  💬--tēgetār  💬tēgetē  💬--
3rd tēgeto  💬tēgento  💬--tēgetor  💬tēgentor  💬--
Preterite 1st ludū  💬ludomos  💬ellū  💬ellomos  💬itos/ā/on immiitī/ās/ā emositos/ā/on buiūitī/ās/ā buomos
2nd ludes  💬ludetes  💬elles  💬elletes  💬itos/ā/on eiitī/ās/ā esuesitos/ā/on buesitī/ās/ā buetes
3rd ludet  💬ludont  💬ellet  💬ellont  💬itos/ā/on eđđiitī/ās/ā sentitos/ā/on buetitī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -tēgomo  💬-lūđomo  💬
2nd tēge  💬tēgetes  💬lūđ  💬lūđetes  💬
3rd tēgetū  💬tēgontū  💬lūđtū  💬lūđontū  💬

Verbs: Irregular

gniiet, auuōt, auuessos; auuedenā, -iās, to do, make.

  Active Passive
Indicative Subjunctive Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st gniíū  💬gniíomos  💬gniísū  💬gniísomos  💬gniíōr  💬gniíomor  💬gniísōr  💬gniísomor  💬
2nd gniíes  💬gniíetes  💬gniíses  💬gniísetes  💬gniíetār  💬gniíete  💬gniísetār  💬gniísetes  💬
3rd gniíet  💬gniíont  💬gniíset  💬gniísont  💬gniíetor  💬gniíontor  💬gniísetor  💬gniísontor  💬
Future 1st gniísiū  💬gniísiomos  💬--gniísiōr  💬gniísiomor  💬--
2nd gniísies  💬gniísietes  💬--gniísietār  💬gniísietes  💬--
3rd gniísiet  💬gniísiont  💬--gniísietor  💬gniísiontor  💬--
Imperfect 1st gniíeman  💬gniíemos  💬--gniíemar  💬gniíemor  💬--
2nd gniíetās  💬gniíetē  💬--gniíetār  💬gniíetē  💬--
3rd gniíeto  💬gniíento  💬--gniíetor  💬gniíentor  💬--
Preterite 1st au-uōmi  💬au-uōmes  💬au-usīn  💬au-usīmos  💬auuessos/ā/on immiauuessī/ās/ā emosauuessos/ā/on buiūauuessī/ās/ā buomos
2nd au-uōs  💬au-uōtes  💬au-usīs  💬au-usīte  💬auuessos/ā/on eiauuessī/ās/ā esuesauuessos/ā/on buesauuessī/ās/ā buetes
3rd au-uōt  💬au-uōnt  💬au-usīt  💬au-usīnt  💬auuessos/ā/on eđđiauuessī/ās/ā sentauuessos/ā/on buetauuessī/ās/ā buont

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -gniíomo  💬-au-ūsomo  💬
2nd gniíe  💬gniíetes  💬au-ūs  💬au-ūsetes  💬
3rd gniíetū  💬gniíontū  💬au-ūstū  💬au-ūsontū  💬

Verbs: Copula

essi, būe; butā, –iās, to be.

  Active
Indicative Subjunctive
Present 1st immi  💬emos  💬buiū  💬buomos  💬
2nd ei  💬esues  💬bues  💬buetes  💬
3rd eđđi  💬sent  💬buet  💬buont  💬
Future 1st bissiū  💬bissiomos  💬--
2nd bissies  💬bissietes  💬--
3rd bissiet  💬bissiont  💬--
Imperfect 1st eiāman  💬eiāmos  💬--
2nd eiātās  💬eiātē  💬--
3rd eiāto  💬eiānto  💬--
Preterite 1st būa  💬būame  💬būaman  💬būamos  💬
2nd būas  💬būe  💬būatās  💬būatē  💬
3rd būe  💬būant  💬būato  💬būanto  💬

 ImperfectiveAorist
Imperative 1st -biiomo  💬--
2nd biie  💬biietes  💬--
3rd biietū  💬biiontū  💬--

Conjunctions

Conditionals

Real Conditionals

Irreal Conditionals

Conditionals can also mix tenses, e.g. ma mantalon essi ulipu, bisiet slibnon.

Numerals

Types of Numerals

Cardinals one through four agree with the gender and case of their nouns, e.g. tedres suiores "three sisters". Other cardinals take the genitive plural, e.g. sextan blēdnānon "seven years", literally "seven of years". Ordinals and multiplicatives decline like O/A adjectives; cintus is a U-stem adjective that has an alternative O/A form cintuxos.

Table of Numerals

  Cardinal  
# f. m. n. Ordinal Adverb Multiplicative Fractive Collective
1 oinā oinos oinon cintus, -u smīs oinouellos, -ā, -on cantos donios
2 duī dāu allos, -ā, -on duīs duīuellos, -ā, -on letos, santeron ambostā
3 tedres trīes trī tritos, -ā, -on trīuextā trīuellos, -ā, -on triíanis tridion
4 petedres petuares petuār petruarios, -ā, -on petruuextā petruuellos, -ā, -on petranis petrudion
5 pempe pimpetos, -ā, -on pimpeuextā pimpeuellos, -ā, -on pimpanis pimpedion
6 suexs suexos, -ā, -on suexuextā suexsuellos, -ā, -on suexsanis suedion
7 sextan sextametos, -ā, -on sextauextā sextauellos, -ā, -on sextanis sextanion
8 oxtū oxtūmetos, -ā, -on oxtūuextā oxtūuellos, -ā, -on oxtūuanis oxtūdion
9 nauan nametos, -ā, -on nauuextā nauuellos, -ā, -on nauanis nauantion
10 decan decametos, -ā, -on decuextā decauellos, -ā, -on decanis decantion
11 oindecan oindecametos, -ā, -on oindecuextā oindecauellos, -ā, -on oindecanis oindecantion
12 dāudecan dāudecametos, -ā, -on dāudecuextā dāudecauellos, -ā, -on dāudecanis dāudecantion
13 trīdecan trīdecametos, -ā, -on trīdecuextā trīdecauellos, -ā, -on trīdecanis trīdecantion
14 petrudecan petrudecametos, -ā, -on petrudecuextā petrudecauellos, -ā, -on petrudecanis petrudecantion
15 pimpedecan pimpedecametos, -ā, -on pimpedecuextā pimpedecauellos, -ā, -on pimpedecanis pimpedecantion
16 suedecan suedecametos, -ā, -on suedecuextā suedecauellos, -ā, -on suedecanis suedecantion
17 sextadecan sextadecametos, -ā, -on sextadecuextā sextadecauellos, -ā, -on sextadecanis sextadecantion
18 oxtūdecan oxtūdecametos, -ā, -on oxtūdecuextā oxtūdecauellos, -ā, -on oxtūdecanis oxtūdecantion
19 naudecan naudecametos, -ā, -on naudecuextā naudecauellos, -ā, -on naudecanis naudecantion

The number one is declined as a normal O/A adjective. Two through four have their own declensions:

  Two Three Four
  F. M/N. F. M. N. F. M. N.
Nom. duī dāu tedres trīes trī petedres petuares petuār
Voc. duī dāu tedre trīe trī petedre petuare petuār
Acc. duī dāu tedrās trīs trī petedrās peturīs petuār
Gen. duāiō duoiō tedron trīon trīon petedron peturon peturon
Dat. duābon duobon tedrobo trīobo trīobo petedrobo peturobo peturobo
I/L. duābin duobin tedrobi trīobi trīobi petedrobi peturobi peturobi

The -ā, -on endings are omitted from the below table for brevity, but ordinals and multiplicatives, and the cardinal oinos, all continue to decline like O/A adjectives. The multiples of ten ending in -contis are indeclinable.

# Cardinal Ordinal Adverb Multiplicative Fractive Collective
20 uicantī uicantometos uicantouextā uicantouellos uicantanis uicantion
21 uicantī oinos uicantometos cintus oinuicantouextā uicantouellos oinouellos oinuicantanis oinuicantion
30 trīcontis trīcontometos trīcontouextā trīcontouellos trīcontanis trīcontion
40 petrucontis petrucontometos petrucontouextā petrucontouellos petrucontanis petrucontion
50 pimpecontis pimpecontometos pimpecontouextā pimpecontouellos pimpecontanis pimpecontion
60 suescontis suescontometos suescontouextā suescontouellos suescontanis suescontion
70 sextacontis sextacontometos sextacontouextā sextacontouellos sextacontanis sextacontion
80 oxtūcontis oxtūcontometos oxtūcontouextā oxtūcontouellos oxtūcontanis oxtūcontion
90 naucontis naucontometos naucontouextā naucontouellos naucontanis naucontion
100 canton cantometos cantouextā cantouellos cantanis cantoion
101 canton oinos cantometos cintus oincantouextā cantouellos oinouellos oincantanis oincantoion
200 dāucanton dāucantometos dāucantouextā dāucantouellos dāucantanis dāucantoion
1000 mīlle mīllometos mīllouextā mīllouellos mīllanis mīlloion

The word mīlle is a borrowing from Latin. All modern Celtic languages borrow some form of this word as their term for "thousand", and Gaulish likely came to do so as well. There is a hypothesized word **gellon with the meaning of "thousand", however its etymology is dubious as the PIE root *ǵʰeslom is not attested in Celtic. A more likely reconstruction might be **tūscanton, from PIE. *tuh₂sdḱmto-, with cognates in Germanic (e.g. English "thousand") and Balto-Slavic, but this root is also not attested anywhere in the Celtic languages.

Numbers from 30 to 99 have an optional vigesimal system alongside the more common decimal system. The number uicantī, twenty, is grammatically a feminine noun of the A-declension. It occurs in the dual number in the vigesimals of 40 and 50, and the plural for the vigesimals of 60-90.

# Cardinal Ordinal Adverb Multiplicative Fractive Collective
30 uicantī decan uicantometos decametos uicantouextā decuextā uicantouellos decauellos uicantanis decanis uicantion decantion
40 duī uicantī duī uicantometos duī uicantouextā duī uicantouellos duī uicantanis duī uicantion
50 duī uicantī decan duī uicantometos decametos duī uicantouextā decuextā duī uicantouellos decauellos duī uicantanis decanis duī uicantion decantion
60 tisres uicantiās t. uicantometos t. uicantouextā t. uicantouellos t. uicantanis t. uicantion
70 tisres uicantiās decan t. uicantometos decametos t. uicantouextā decuextā t. uicantouellos decauellos t. uicantanis decanis t. uicantion decantion
80 petedres uicantiās p. uicantometos p. uicantouextā p. uicantouellos p. uicantanis p. uicantion
90 petedres uicantiās decan p. uicantometos decametos p. uicantouextā decuextā p. uicantouellos decauellos p. uicantanis decanis p. uicantion decantion

Profanity and Curses

Swear Words

Word Order

Neutral Word Order

The neutral, unmarked, non-emphatic word order is:

Subject, Verb, Indirect/Oblique Object, Predicative Direct Object, Adjunct, Source/Goal/Destination, Attributive Direct Object.
Example sentence, broken down by structure:

rīxs subject the king
rodīsset verb gave
sue-duxtrē indirect object his daughter
epon predicative direct object a horse
pon eíī ne-eiāt-īs epos adjunct because she didn't have a horse
uta gallet-iā tixtin endo ueletor-io goal so she could go where she wanted to
nertomāron attributive direct object a powerful one

SVO and VSO

SVO word order is the most common in main clauses. VSO is usual in subordinate clauses:

mātīr īton rodīsset-iā tei sondīn malenīn.
Your mother gave you that mirror.

an sosā eđđi malenā rodīsset-io mātir īton tei?
Is this the mirror your mother gave you?

When VSO order occurs in a main clause, with the verb first, it emphasizes the verb and can mean that an action happened suddenly, or as a result of earlier actions or conditions, etc. Imperatives and contrastives are usually VSO.

uoure catuslougos catulisson galinion, sepans sagitē cenī.
[Suddenly] the troop found the enemy camp, after a long search.
(Take galinion as a genitive qualifying the accusative catulisson.)

SOV order is also known, with the verb last. It has a classical poetic quality to it, as if speaking the way the ancients did.

Uercingetorixs com Caisri inte nertācon iext.
Vercingetorix with Caesar bravely spoke.

Copula Meaning "To Have"

When forms of eđđi are used to mean "have", the dative of the subject often directly precedes the verb. This is attested in a reduced form: tīeđi, "you have", from tei eđđi, lit. "to you there is". Other persons and numbers such as mīeđi are possible, as are forms with senti (meaning multiple things are had) instead of eđđi.

Adjectives

The usual order is for the adjective to follow the noun, especially if the adjective has more relevance or emphasis than the noun does, and/or if the adjective describes some intrinsic quality of the noun such as origin, composition, etc. Many common phrases have the adjective always following the noun.

Adjectives of quantity or size, such as ollos, allos, papos, magios, elus, māros, etc., generally precede the noun, but if they follow, they have an indefinite meaning. Nepos belongs to this class but it follows the noun because it is indefinite by definition.

Possessives such as mouos, touos, sueios, can freely precede or follow the noun, but the possessives mon and ton can only precede the noun, and the possessives īmon and īton can only follow the noun.

Otherwise, genitives, or datives of belonging, normally follow the noun, e.g. toutios namausatis citizen of Nîmes, caranđ ueníī friend of the family.

Numerals most often precede the noun, but can follow the noun in order to emphasize the number. In expressions of time, ordinals follow their nouns.

Demonstratives normally precede the noun. The demonstrative sī/(e)iā (f.), is (m.), idā (n.) can refer to an earlier noun in the same way as saying "the aforementioned".

An adjective that would normally follow the noun may precede for purposes of contrast, e.g. an dagā mentiīū eđđi an drucā?, "is it a good idea or a bad one?".

The normal order of stacked adjectives is to place intrinsic or inalienable attributes of essence closer to the noun than adjectives denoting temporary or mutable attributes of status.

Genitives

For the most part, genitives can freely precede or follow the head noun. Unlike with adjectives, a preceding genitive has more emphasis. Partitives follow the head noun. Genitives often occur between the head noun and an adjective.

Cantlā

Songs are a great way to learn a language. One technique is to take a familiar song and, while singing it, progressively substitute words from the original language to the target language until all the words have been translated. That requires a song with repetitive refrains, which fortunately is common in children's songs. Another benefit is that the sentence structures are simpler, without much subtext and with a focus on what the words mean instead of the complexities of the songwriter's emotional state. These are songs designed for learning, and they are part of how we all acquire our first language, so it makes sense to include them when acquiring a second language.

Most of the songs in this section use the progressive word-changing technique, but not every song lends itself to such a structure.

Būe Benā Senā Loncāđđet-io Culin

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly
But I don't know why she swallowed the culin
I guess she'll die

There was an old benā who swallowed a spider
She swallowed the corrinion to get the culin
But I don't know pari she swallowed the culin
I guess she basiet

There was an old benā who loncāđđet a mouse
She loncāđđet the sorion to get the corrinion
She loncāđđet corrinion to get the culin
Extos I don't know pari she loncāđđet culin
I guess basiet-sī

There was a benā senā who loncāđđet a bird
Loncāđđet-sī etnon to get the sorion
Loncāđđet-sī sorion to get the corrinion
Loncāđđet-sī corrinion rīs get the culin
Extos I don't uidra pari loncāđđet-sī culin
I guess basiet-sī

Būe benā senā who loncāđđet a cat
Loncāđđet-sī catton rīs gabaglī etnon
Loncāđđet-sī etnon rīs gabaglī sorion
Loncāđđet-sī sorion rīs gabaglī corrinion
Loncāđđet-sī corrinion rīs gabaglī culin
Extos I ne uidra pari loncāđđet-sī culin
Moniōr io basiet-sī

Būe benā senā loncāđđet-io dog
Loncāđđet-sī cunen rīs gabaglī catton
Loncāđđet-sī catton rīs gabaglī etnon
Loncāđđet-sī etnon rīs gabaglī sorion
Loncāđđet-sī sorion rīs gabaglī corrinion
Loncāđđet-sī corrinion rīs gabaglī culin
Extos ne uidra-mī pari loncāđđet-sī culin
Moniōr io basiet-sī

Būe benā senā loncāđđet-io horse
Loncāđđet-sī epon rīs gabaglī cunen
Loncāđđet-sī cunen rīs gabaglī catton
Loncāđđet-sī catton rīs gabaglī etnon
Loncāđđet-sī etnon rīs gabaglī sorion
Loncāđđet-sī sorion rīs gabaglī corrinion
Loncāđđet-sī corrinion rīs gabaglī culin
Extos ne uidra-mī pari loncāđđet-sī culin
Bebaie-sī.

Biccā Casnī Drū-Drū

The Gaulish name of the rabbit is derived from the adjective drūtos meaning silly or foolish, in parallel to the rabbit's English name which is suggestive of "fool" or French "fou" (crazy).

The Gaulish noun casnī is grammatically feminine, and the adjectives' and participles' endings have to agree with the noun. It doesn't mean that Biccā Casnī Drū-Drū is necessarily female, just as the word personne in French also takes feminine qualifiers regardless of the individual's actual gender.

Little bunny Foo-Foo
Hoppin' through the forest
Scoopin' up the field mice
And boppin' 'em on the head
And the Good Fairy said
Little Casnī Foo-Foo
I don't wanna see you
Scoopin' up the magē mice
And boppin' 'em on the pennū

And if you keep doing it,
I'll turn you into a loon.

And the next day...
Little Casnī Foo-Foo
Hoppin' trē the forest
Gabiaunā the magē mice
And binaunā 'em on the pennū
And the Good Sīdobenā said
Biccā Casnī Foo-Foo
I don't uelōr see you
Gabiaunā the magē soriūs
And binaunā 'em on the pennū

And mā you keep auuedes it,
I cambīsiū you into a gaudíin.

And the next dīū...
Biccā Casnī Foo-Foo
Hoppin' trē caiton
Gabiaunā magē soriūs
Binaunā 'em uer pennū
And the Sīdobenā Dagā said
Biccā Casnī Drū-Drū
I ne uelōr uriton you
Gabiaunā magē soriūs
Binaunā eiūs pennū

Mā eti auuedes-tū so,
Cambīsiū-mī-te gaudíin.

Neđđamū dīū...
Biccā Casnī Drū-Drū
Lingaunā trē caiton
Gabiaunā magē soriūs
Binaunā eiūs pennū
Sīdobenā Dagā siāpe
Biccā Casnī Drū-Drū
Ne uelōr-mī uriton ei-io
Gabiaunā magē soriūs
Binaunā eiūs pennū

Eti cambīsset-sī casnīn gaudíin.

Cauos Bundē Morēs

There's a hole in the bottom of the sea
There's a hole in the bottom of morēs
There's a hole
Eđđi hole
Eđđi cauos
Eđđi cauos
Eđđi cauos uer bottom morēs

There's a log on the cauū uer bottom morēs
Eđđi log uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi log
Eđđi log
Eđđi biliā
Eđđi biliā
Eđđi biliā uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a branch on the bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi branch uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi branch
Eđđi branch
Eđđi cacus
Eđđi cacus
Eđđi cacus uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a twig on the cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi twig uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi twig
Eđđi twig
Eđđi slattā
Eđđi slattā
Eđđi slattā uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a leaf on the slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi leaf uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi leaf
Eđđi leaf
Eđđi doliā
Eđđi doliā
Eđđi doliā uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a frog on the dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi frog uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi frog
Eđđi frog
Eđđi craxsantos
Eđđi craxsantos uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a wart on the craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi wart uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi wart
Eđđi wart
Eđđi gnobos
Eđđi gnobos
Eđđi gnobos uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a bug on the gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi bug uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi bug
Eđđi bug
Eđđi leuos
Eđđi leuos
Eđđi leuos uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a leg on the leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi leg uer leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi leg
Eđđi leg
Eđđi coxsos
Eđđi coxsos
Eđđi coxsos uer leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

There's a hair on the coxsū uer leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi hair uer coxsū uer leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs
Eđđi hair
Eđđi hair
Eđđi uoltilos
Eđđi uoltilos uer coxsū uer leuū uer gnobū uer craxsantū uer dolī uer slattī uer cacū uer bilī uer cauū uer bundū morēs

Alaudā

This version differs from the original in the phrasing of the word for "pluck"; while plumerai refers specifically to the plucking of feathers, Celtic languages generally use a word meaning "pull" or "draw", or a borrowing from English or Latin, to refer to plucking. So it is necessary in Gaulish to specify that the things pulled are feathers.

The meaning of gabiet (fut. gaxsiet) is closer to "take" or "hold", but there are modern cognates that point to gabiet being the correct verb. The other Gaulish word for "pull" is tenet which is more like to stretch taut. Besides, the attested uses of the imperative form gabi are certainly consistent with the meaning of "pull".

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au pennū tou x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au beccū tou x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au dercobin x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au moniclū x2
Eti moniclū x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au etanibin x2
Eti etanibin x2
Eti moniclū x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au coxsobin x2
Eti coxsobin x2
Eti etanibin x2
Eti moniclū x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au lostū x2
Eti lostū x2
Eti coxsobin x2
Eti etanibin x2
Eti moniclū x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías
Etaniías au cebnū x2
Eti cebnū x2
Eti lostū x2
Eti coxsobin x2
Eti etanibin x2
Eti moniclū x2
Eti dercobin x2
Eti beccū x2
Eti pennū x2
Alaudā! x2
Ā-ā-ā-ā

Ā alaudā, blandā alaudā
Ā alaudā, gaxsiū-mī ton etaniías

Steros Dunníī Senī

This song is useful for:

  • Names of common animals;
  • Demonstratives (n. and f.);
  • Nom. and loc. of -os nouns.

Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs
Sondē sterē būe epos
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so ririri
Eti sindon ririri
Eti sin ririri
Ollocu ririri
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe cū
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so rourou
Eti sindon rourou
Eti sin rourou
Ollocu rourou
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe iaris
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti sā clociā
Eti sondā clociā
Eti sindā clociā
Ollocu clociā
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe gansos
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so on-on
Eti sindon on-on
Eti sin on-on
Ollocu on-on
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe bous
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so mū-mū
Eti sindon mū-mū
Eti sin mū-mū
Ollocu mū-mū
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe moccos
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so suīx-suī
Eti sindon suīx-suī
Eti sin suīx-suī
Ollocu suīx-suī
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe cattos
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so miū-miū
Eti sindon miū-miū
Eti sin miū-miū
Ollocu miū-miū
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe multū
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so bēa-bēa
Eti sindon bēa-bēa
Eti sin bēa-bēa
Ollocu bēa-bēa
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Sondē sterē būe burdus
In biutūti ulatēs
Eti so ī-ā
Eti sindon ī-ā
Eti sin ī-ā
Ollocu ī-ā
Dunniou senū būe steros
In biutūti ulatēs

Marcā Lētā Senā

The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be,
Ain't what she used to be, ain't what eiāto-sī,
The old gray marcā ain't io eiāto-sī,
Many years ago.

Many blēdniābi ago, many blēdniābi ago,
The old marcā lētā, ne eđđi io eiāto-sī,
Eluābi blēdniābi ago.

The old marcā lētā, she kicked on the whiffletree,
Kicked uer the whiffletree, sirt uer the whiffletree,
Marcā lētā senā, sirt-sī uer cagiobi,
Ēri eluābi blēdniābi.

Ēri elābi blēdniābi, ēri elābi blēdniābi,
Marcā lētā senā, sirt-sī uer cagiobi,
Ēri eluābi blēdniābi.

Listen

Biccos Meios Corrinios

biccos meios corrinios uer beccon dubrī rext
uo cāde unnā eti leloue corrinion
sonnos monīssetor eti auuōt unnin tartin
eti biccos meios corrinios uer beccon ate rext

Listen

Eđđi Acamnā in mou Cilurnē

There's a hole in my bucket, dear Lubitiātā,
There's acamnā in my bucket.

Then mend it, dear Treborīxs,
Then dexsisiōxs it.

With what shall I mend íin, dear Lubitiātā, inte what?
inte what dexsisiaxsiū íin?

inte straw, carate Treborīxs,
inte ueltin.

The ueltā is too long, caratā Lubitiātā,
The ueltā is rocenā.

Then cut it, carate Treborīxs,
Then bebīs it.

inte what shall I cut sian, caratā Lubitiātā?
inte pidā bisiū sian?

inte a knife, carate Treborīxs,
inte scēnin.

The scēnā is ro dull, caratā Lubitiātā,
The scēnā is roladanā.

Then sharpen sian, carate Treborīxs,
Maeđid acrosiōxs sian.

inte pidā acrosiaxsiū sian, caratā Lubitiātā?
inte pidā acrosiaxsiū sian?

inte a stone, carate Treborīxs,
inte acaunon.

The acaunon is ro dry, caratā Lubitiātā,
Acaunon eđđi rotarton.

Maeđid wet id, carate Treborīxs,
Maeđid uliposiōxs id.

inte pidā uliposioxsiū id, caratā Lubitiātā?
inte pidā uliposioxsiū id?

inte water, carate Treborīxs,
inte dubron.

inte pidā shall I fetch id, caratā Lubitiātā?
inte pidā congaxsiū id?

inte a bucket, carate Treborīxs,
inte cilurnon.

Extos eđđi acamnā in my cilurnē, caratā Lubitiātā,
Eđđi acamnā in mou cilurnē.

This one is strictly for the grown-ups.

I present to you... a Gaulish drinking song! Its words are largely taken from actual inscriptions.


I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand
I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand

taste/enjoy whiskey, greatly sharp tasting
drink of this and you (m.) will be merry
taste/enjoy whiskey, greatly sharp tasting
drink of this and you (f.) will be merry

I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand
I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand

taste/enjoy this mead, honey-yellow and sweet
drink of this and you (m.) will be merry
taste/enjoy this mead, but don't drink too much*
drink of this and you (f.) will be merry

I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand
I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand

taste/enjoy this wine, red or white
drink of this and you (m.) will be merry
taste/enjoy this wine, red or white
drink of this and you (f.) will be merry

I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand
I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand

taste/enjoy this beer, clear-brown and bubbling
drink of this and you (pl.) will be merry
taste/enjoy this beer, clear-brown and bubbling
drink of this and you (pl.) will be merry

I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand
I hold the drinks of the dearest
in this cup in my hand

neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā
neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā

lubī onobiíin ollū ocelācin
ibe u-ciū andecāros biíes
lubī onobiíin ollū ocelācin
ibe u-ciū andecārā biíes

neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā
neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā

lubī sosin medu melinon meliđđon
ibe u-ciū andecāros biíes
lubī sosin medu extos ni abrū ibe
ibe u-ciū andecārā biíes

neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā
neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā

lubī sosin uīnon roudon ixse uindon
ibe u-ciū andecāros biíes
lubī sosin uīnon roudon ixse uindon
ibe u-ciū andecārā biíes

neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā
neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā

lubītes sosin curmi giluon galiaunon
ibetes u-ciū andecārī biíete
lubītes sosin curmi giluon galiaunon
ibetes u-ciū andecārī biíete

neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā
neđđamon delgū lindā
sosī annī in mou lamiā

*medu means mead, but it can also mean drunkenness, so this is a pun: "enjoy this mead but don't drink too much" or "taste this drunkenness but don't drink too much."

Write some Gaulish...




When I was first learning Gaulish, I asked about possibly setting up a modern interpretation of the Coligny calendar on my website, if someone could point me in the right direction about how the ancient calendar works. What I got was a harshly worded reply to the effect that there would be dire consequences if I did anything but contact specific persons in order to use a modern copyrighted version. I promptly dropped the subject and made damn sure to never bring it up again. I do not take kindly to random people's mean spirited K.I.s, when such language is unnecessary and uncalled for. Eventually, I did end up finding the answer I was looking for in the first place, as well as a photo and a drawing of the original artifact.

There is a really nice modern version of the Coligny calendar here, but I wanted to create one that was closer in formatting to the original, including the various notations as best as can be reconstructed, even though it's not known what all of them mean. My only copyrighted sources are Wikipedia and Skribbatous, and in obedience to the terms of my sources, my calendar is available under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

The current Gaulish date is:
(please enable Javascript) since Uercingetorixs' unification of the Gauls.


Click for calendar.

The Gaulish calendar doesn't have anything like days of the week, however it is reasonable when talking about time in the modern day to have Gaulish terms for the seven-day week. Many of the Gaulish gods and goddesses are identified with Roman and Germanic equivalents, and in the present day, Romance languages and Germanic languages name their weekdays after their respective pagan gods. In that spirit, beside existing weekday names, I propose the following Gaulish names for the days of the week in the rightmost column of the below table:

English name Germanic deity French name Roman deity Gaulish name
Monday Máni lundi Luna dīus Lugriās
Tuesday Týr/Tiw mardi Mars dīus Aisous
Wednesday Woden/Odin mercredi Mercurius dīus Lugous
Thursday Þórr jeudi Jupiter dīus Taranēs
Friday Freyja/Frigg vendredi Venus dīus Đironiās
Saturday (Njörđr) samedi Saturnus dīus Carnonī
Sunday Sól/Sunna dimanche (Sol) dīus Granni


Gaulish English (any)
Recent:    
 

Ueposritos Uiđđuiantiās Galatiíextēs ~ Uissuianta's Gaulish Dictionary

 

Vocabulary: Greetings and Courtesy

Common greetings include:

Each of the above can be followed by:

To give thanks, you can use the term brātou. If talking to one person, you can also say brāton tei, or if to more than one person, brāton umē. All of these mean "thank you" or "thanks".

The closest equivalent to "please" would be mā eđđid tou tolistos, or mā tolistos for short. This actually means "if it is your will", which parallels ways to make polite requests in related languages. However, either of these would sound overly formal or dated in all but the earliest stages of Gaulish, so it is more common to drop everything but the and follow it with the form of a verb that otherwise makes a command. Most of the time this is the same as the dictionary form but with the ending removed, and a final e added if necessary, e.g. mā gabi "please take" from gabiet, mā dā "please give" from dāt, mā uēde "please tell" from uēdet, mā cluie "please listen/please understand" from cluiet, mā anā "please stay" from anāt, mā tēge "please go" from tēget, negative mā ne gniíe "please don't" from gniíet.

To say goodbye/farewell, you can say po suessis, which means something like "until we meet again." If you are giving thanks, you can also combine brāton tei with slānon tei (or umē, as the case may be) before saying farewell.

Invocations to gods and goddesses close with a specific set of courtesies: slānon tei, brāton tei, molātun tei, tēgū/tēgomos in tancē, meaning "health to you, thanks to you, praise to you, I/we go in peace."

Expressing Wishes

To express the desire for something, you can use the verbs cobrāiū, mendū, suantū, and uelōr more or less interchangeably. Each one can be used in the following ways:

(When using a verbal noun this way, it takes the accusative case, and the object of the desired action takes the genitive case.)

All four verbs mean "want", "wish for", or "desire", but there are shades of meaning: cobrāiū is related to meanings of longing and support; mendū may have connotations of thought, mind, and intent; suantū, depending on context and usage, can have connotations of lust - though this was much more accepted and normalized in ancient Gaulish culture than in modern times; uelōr resembles words meaning "see" and "know". Both suantū and uelōr share the same verbal noun suantos, reflecting their overall interchangeability.

Two of the verbs have the most common set of personal endings. In this system, the first and second person are straightforward:

In the third person, the endings stay the same but if a pronoun is suffixed, it reflects the gender of the one who wants something:

This is also true for the plural, however like most European languages, the masculine plural is used for mixed gender groups:

The endings for cobrāiū are similar:

In the third person, the word is cobrāt (singular) and cobrānt (plural). The pronoun suffixes are identical for all verbs.

The endings for uelōr are also different:

This word belongs to a class of verbs whose active voice uses the same endings that most verbs have for their passive voice.

Here are some examples of how to ask someone if they want something:

To say "I like [something]" there are a couple possibilities. You can say "I enjoy ___" directly, with a regular noun or a verbal noun, or you can say "___ pleases me." There's a difference in the case of the noun in these two usages, however.

Let's start with the simplest method, saying "I enjoy" with a neuter noun. Here you can simply take the word for "I enjoy" and follow it (or precede it) with the thing you enjoy, such as music (cantlon), eating (depron), or drinking (oclon):

We add the pronoun to the end of the verb because the verb is at the start of the sentence, and there is no subject named before it. In these examples, cantlon (music) is an ordinary noun, while depron and oclon are verbal nouns meaning "eating" and "drinking", respectively.

Remember we saw that we can use different personal endings for the words for "want". We can do the same thing with the word for "enjoy", and it has a very similar paradigm to words we've already seen. Personal endings can be used here to specify who is doing the enjoying:

...and in the plural...

When we use lubīt to say we enjoy something, the thing we're enjoying goes in the accusative case. So, using the examples of editus (walking, going for a stroll), cicos (meat), auuedenā (performing), and aduēdnis (recounting), we get:

In the last sentence, the thing liked, aduēdnis, is a verbal noun. Customarily, the object of a verbal noun goes in the genitive case, so here it is followed by the genitive plural of spetlon (story, tale). We are literally saying "I enjoy the telling of tales." Genitive plurals always end in -on and are easy to mistake for an accusative or neuter singular.

Here are more examples using other words with similar endings:

Here are a few more examples:

Now let's look at the other way to say "I like":

So far, these sentences look like almost the same grammatical structure as the lubiíū sentences we've already seen. But there is a difference. Because we are now saying something "pleases me" instead of "I enjoy", the subject and object have switched places. Consequently, all of our things we like are now going to appear in the nominative case:

This also changes how we say who is pleased by the thing. When we expressed liking by the verb lubiíū, we could say someone else is doing the enjoying by changing the verbal ending. But now, the verb is always in the third person, in the singular to match the subject noun, and the pronoun suffix changes to match the gender of the subject. Here's how to change who is being pleased by the different things:

...and in the plural...

After each verb and its suffix is the accusatives of a personal pronoun: me, you, her, him, etc.

The verbal noun for "to please" is arueron, for example uelōr-mī ton arueron, "I want to please you," which is something you might say to your boss, teacher, or parent. The pronoun ton is one of the genitive forms of , "you". If you say someone pleases you, then it means you like the work they do, or the effort they make, or even just that you find them helpful, pleasant, and/or fun to be around. You might say arueriāt-sī me or arueriāt-īs me of a friend, relative, or colleague.

Here are some more persons and numbers for practice:

Using forms of lubīt with a person implies romantic or sexual interest. A stronger way to express that is with suantet.

You can also express affection for a person using carāt, meaning love. This word does not distinguish between romantic, platonic, or familial love.

The double suffixed verb is just another way to say the same thing, so we can also say for example carāt-īs sian "he loves her" or arueriāt-īs-ian editus "strolling pleases her".

And because "like" has two meanings...

To say one person or thing is like another, use samalos with the dative of the compared-to entity.

Vocabulary: Knowledge and Understanding

There are three verbs meaning "to know", and it is important to distinguish between them.

Firstly, the verb meaning to know well in a passive sense, for example by having witnessed something:

(pad and pidā are two ways to say the same thing.)

Next, the verb meaning to know as a result of study or actively finding out:

Finally, the verb meaning to get to know:

All three verbs for "to know" have the same verbal noun uissus:

*amman means both "time" and "weather", much like temps in French.

The verb meaning "to hear" has two different conjugations, an active one and a passive one. The active conjugation means something closer to "listen", while the passive conjugation means something more like "it comes to my/your/etc ears."

The verbal nouns for these two aspects of "hear" are cloustā (passive) and clouetus (active).

Both conjugations of "to hear" also mean "to understand":

There are also verbs for "understand": peilāt (see the AI. conjugation in the verb tables), with connotations of sense and reason, tuosseget (BI. conjugation), with connotations of finding out, and tanget (BIII. conjugation) meaning more to agree or relate.

*puillā is the verbal noun of tuosseget.

Vocabulary: Travel, Transportation, Places

The word for "go" is tēget. Here are some examples of possible destinations:

In the first two sentences we specify "to buy something" as contextual information because magos also means open plain and duron also means gate.

The verbal noun for tēget is tixtā:

The word for "to come" is monīt. This word means something more like "approach", so it can have the meanings of both "come" and "go".

The verbal noun for monīt is monītus:

The future tense of tēget is rigāset.

For practicing rigāset, here are some modes of travel:

The future tense of monīt is monīsiet.

The past tense of monīt is monīsset:

The past tense of tēget is ludet:

Here is an example conversation for practicing the different forms of these verbs, as well as the different destinations and modes of travel. You can click on the sentences one by one to hear them spoken, and then repeat after them. Don't worry too much about tone, since that is very hard to reconstruct and the computer is not good at selecting the right tones for the meanings. But this activity will develop pronunciation as well as listening comprehension.

Somewhere else, two friends are arranging a visit.

It's the next day and the guests have arrived.

Vocabulary: Numbers and Counting

Since the numerals tab contains a large amount of information all in one place, here is a simple walk-through of counting in Gaulish. First, the numbers one to ten:

  1. oinon
  2. dāu
  3. trī
  4. petuār
  5. pempe
  6. suexs
  7. sextan
  8. oxtū
  9. nauan
  10. decan

The number 5 sometimes occurs as pimpe rather than pempe. The two ways to write it are fully interchangeable and seem to reflect that the pronunciation would be the same or almost the same.

Counting from eleven to nineteen is easier than in many languages, because the numbers all end in -decan:

  1. oindecan
  2. dāudecan
  3. trīdecan
  4. petrudecan
  5. pempedecan
  6. suedecan
  7. sextadecan
  8. oxtūdecan
  9. naudecan

Numbers from one to nineteen act like adjectives, and usually precede the noun unless placed after it for emphasis. The noun is then free to take on its usual case endings. Numbers one through four decline with the noun. Number one declines like an -os/ā adjective. See the Numbers tab for the declensions of two, three, and four.

French gets a lot of ribbing for saying "four twenties" (quatre vingt) to mean eighty. But that method of counting by twenties actually came from Gaulish. The Gaulish word for twenty is uicantī, which functions grammatically as a feminine noun. Thirty is uicantī decan literally twenty-ten, forty is duī uicantíī literally two twenties (notice the dual ending), fifty is duī uicantíī decan, sixty is tedres uicantiās with a plural ending, eighty is petedres uicantiās, and ninety is petedres uicantiās decan. But there's good news! The counting-by-twenties system is optional in Gaulish! Here are the "normal" versions of the numbers 20 to 90:

When using twenties to count something, the uicantī becomes the head noun, and whatever there's twenty of goes in the genitive plural.

  1. uicantī
  2. trīcontā
  3. petrucontā
  4. pempecontā
  5. suescontā
  6. sextacontā
  7. oxtūcontā
  8. naucontā

One hundred is centon. Numbers from two hundred to nine hundred resemble twelve through nineteen, e.g. dāucanton, etc.

There isn't an attested word for thousand, but it was most likely something like mīlle, a borrowing from Latin, just like in the modern Celtic languages.

Vocabulary: Colors

dubus lētos uindos dunnos
roudos uebros melinos glastos
bugios gurmos argios canecos

Combinations of the basic color names are possible:

Vocabulary: Food and Drink

Before we eat, we have to set the table.

bracā gablos scēnos legā sitiā cumbos annā

One way to say "eat" is depret. Its verbal noun is depron. Here is a conversation for practicing by clicking the sentences to hear them spoken, and then repeating after each one:

Another less common word for "eat" is itet. Etymologically, itet is associated with grains and cereals, as well as mealtimes, but also with biting down, while depret seems to have had to do with provisions and having enough stores of food. Therefore, while we can extrapolate that itet would be used for senses of devouring or destroying, and depret for eating to survive, in reality the two are probably interchangeable for most purposes. The past tense of itet is eiode and the verbal noun is ition, which also means a meal such as lunch.

The verb for "to drink" is ibet.

The verb ibet also has an irregular verbal noun: oclon, which also means beverage. The word oclon does not distinguish between beverages with or without alcohol.

Some useful terms relating to food and drink in general include:

In particular, the noun bēton forms several compounds for types of food:

Specifically, blixtubēton refers to ingredients and standalone items like cheese, cream, etc. while uindobēton when referring to dairy products means something that has been prepared with dairy as a main ingredient.

Terms relating to cereal, grain, and baked or fried items:

Terms relating to meat and dairy, including types of meat, generally called by the same word as the source animal:

Terms relating to fruits, berries, and nuts:

Terms relating to drinks, with and without alcohol:

The term ceruesiā for "beer" is a late Gallo-Latin term, derived from the word curmi, that became the usual word for "beer" in some of the Romance languages.

Vocabulary: Time and Weather

Words for units of time include:

Phrases:

To be able answer the question of what time is it, we first want some vocabulary for times of day:

Phrases:

These are in the instrumental case. The word for night is noxs, a feminine irregular noun with the stem noxt-, as is its compound arenoxs. Tnd the word for dawn uāri is neuter, and the other time of day nouns are all masculine.

Some specific times:

The ancient Gauls divided the year into two more or less equal parts, summer and winter. They divided each month into two parts, with the boundary beween them known as atenouxs, meaning renewal. They divided the circadian cycle into day and night. So if the Gauls used hours, they would have found a 12 hour clock to be most natural. Since the day started at sundown (or at 6:00 p.m. local time), this would begin the first hour of night. The hours of night would count up to 12, until which time the sun would rise (or it would be 6:00 a.m.) beginning the first hour of day.

Here is a conversation to listen to and repeat after each sentence, to practice telling time:

Here is the full list of hours of the day for reference and to show the pattern they form:

Optionally, the first four hours of the daytime, from 6:00 a.m. to 9:59 a.m., can be expressed as hours "in the morning", i.e. cintā orā bāregū through petuariā orā bāregū, and the last four hours of the day, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:59 p.m., can be expressed as hours "in the afternoon", nametā orā sērū through dāudecametā orā sērū. This subdivision of the daylight hours into three equal parts is reflected in the calendar, where triple marks are thought to indicate a special importance for one or two of the the subdivisions on the days where such marks are written.

The Gaulish New Year happens in May or June as the weather is warming up. This time, called cintusamonios, literally "the first of summer", is considered the beginning of summer, and in classical times a festival was held. Festivals also marked the other changes of seasons, as well as at other times during the year. The names of the four seasons are:

The calendar divides the year into two seasons, the Samonios season including summer and fall and the Giamonios season including winter and spring. The names of the months are known from the Coligny calendar, and are attested as follows:

Samonios, Dumannios, Riuros, Anaganntios, Ogronios, Cutios,
Giamonios, Simiuisonna, Equos, Elembiuos, Aedrinios, Cantlos.

Most of the pairs of months seem to contrast in some way; Samonios summer and Giamonios winter; Riuros interpreted as "fat month", implying decreased activity, and Equos pertaining to horses, implying increased activity; Ogronios referring to cold, probably the cooling of the weather, vs. Aedrinios referring to fire or perhaps the weather getting warmer; Cutios a time of invocations, perhaps solemn, vs. Cantlos a time of chanting and song, perhaps celebratory. The contrast between Dumannios (smoke) and Simiuisonna (spring) is less clear, but may have originally had to do with the birth/death cycle. It seems very likely that Anaganntios and Elembiuos, whose meanings are uncertain, would probably also have contrastive senses.

Or in English:

Thirty days has Samonios,
Riuros, Cutios, and Ogronios,
Don't forget Simiuisonna and Aedrinios,
And Ciallos and Quimonios.
Equos is different every time,
The other months have twenty-nine.

Weather is equated with time in Gaulish, via the semantic linkage of "season". The word amman means time as in a while or a period of time, but can also mean season or weather. Another word for weather is sīnā. Here is some vocabulary and some phrases for describing the weather:

Notice that the adjectives đirācon and snoudiniācon are in the neuter. This is the same as the impersonal way we say in English "it's starry" or "it's cloudy", without requiring "it" to mean any specific entity. This is in contrast to nouns like reusos, tartos, and uintos whose endings reflect that they are not neuters. The -i ending on the verb is a meaningless placeholder of sorts and is not specific to any grammatical gender. The impersonal-it is also used with the following adjectives to describe temperature:

Here is a practice conversation in which two friends who live in different climates are talking on the phone about the weather they've been having:

Temperatures, in terms of comfort level, are expressed as nouns, e.g.:

*ougron is the noun that means cold; it's a neuter noun hence the -on in the nominative.

Vocabulary: Work

Useful phrases:

List of occupations, by category:

There are several occupation names that end in -uiros (man), unfortunately it is not known what the feminines of these words are. Here are some of them:

It is not unreasonable to neologize these terms by replacing -uiros with -donios/ā, like how in English we've replaced terms like "salesman" with the more inclusive "salesperson". There still should be some way to include non-binary identity, but for now at least we can say:

Vocabulary: Leisure and Recreation

axsiōr is the future tense of tēgū. Notice also the future tense of the first person of appiset meaning "see".

Vocabulary: Education

Even though forms of the verb meaning "to be" usually take nominative predicates, butā is a verbal noun so the last sentence above literally says, "my son wants the being of a teacher." If we used a nominative here it would agree with mapos instead of belonging to butā and would mean that he's already a teacher and just wants to exist.

Here is a repeat-after practice conversation about studying languages:

Vocabulary: Family and Friends

The basic word for friend is caranđ. However, there are other words that can mean friend, neighbor, companion, or even romantic partner or spouse. Gaulish doesn't always make a platonic vs. romantic distinction, so some of the words blur this line.

There is, however, an adjective comprinnos attested in the specific context of a wedding contract, with the meaning of "joined in matrimony", so if you introduce someone as your comprinnos/ā, then you are specifically identifying them as your spouse.

Kinship terms are more clearly defined. First the terms for immediate family:

And extended family terms:

Vocabulary: Health

*Be careful with the case endings on these; the word order is object-verb-subject, literally "to my grandmother is illness" etc. That means the word after eđđi won't change depending on the person's gender, but the word for the sufferer will be in the dative case.

 


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