The Faliscan language
Faliscan is an Indo-European language closely related to Latin and less closely to the Sabellian languages. Its connection with Latin has long been discussed: Faliscan has been considered either autonomous with respect to Latin and the Sabellic languages, or forming an autonomous subgroup with the Latin, or, lastly, a Latin variety.
Faliscan is a fragmentary language, and its grammar can be only partially described without reaching a precise placement as a dialect. Nevertheless, evidences confirm its affinity to Latin: Faliscan and Latin accusative in -d of personal pronouns (Fal. med/met ‘me’ and Lat. mēd > mē ‘me’) versus Paleo-Sabellian míom ‘me’; the morpheme of the future tense *-bhuH2-e/o- (Fal. *-fe/o-, ex. carefo ‘I will lack’, Lat. *-be/o-, ex. carēbo ‘I will lack’) versus Sabellian *-(e)s- (e.g. Osc. didest ‘he/she/it will give’); the extension of nominative plural nominal endings *-ai and *-oi to the endings of -ā- and -o- themes (ex. Fal. sociai ‘allies’ and Lat. datai > datae ‘given’) versus the Sabellian varieties which maintain the original endings *-ās and *-ōs (ex. Osc. aasas ‘altars’).
Faliscan population, known from antiquity as Falisci/Φαλίσκοι ‘Faliscan’, was surrounded by Etruscan and Sabellic groups and the ancient authors often confused them all.
The writing system is a local variety based on a south Etruscan alphabet.
The approximately 300 Faliscan inscriptions have been found in Latium, almost exclusively in the Ager Faliscus, located between the right side of the Tibur river and the Monti Cimini and Monti Sabatini.
More than half of the Faliscan inscriptions was found in Falerii Veteres, the most important centre of Faliscan civilization. It was destroyed by Romans in 241 BC, probably because of a revolt. The other inscriptions have been found in Falerii Novi, the village built in the surroundings of Falerii Veteres where the Romans resettled the population, and in the remaining settlements in northern and southern Ager Faliscus.
Faliscan texts are usually divided into three periods, namely Paleo-Faliscan, Middle Faliscan and Neo-Faliscan. The latter conventionally starts with the construction of Falerii Novi in 241 BC. For the former two no chronological evidence is available. A small corpus of very ancient symposiastic inscriptions, which are likely to be dated to the 8th century BC, are suggested to be Paleo-Faliscan. Middle Faliscan is dated between the 6th-5th cent. BC and 241 BC. The Faliscan corpus is mostly composed by private inscriptions, i.e., funerary, dedicatory and Besitzerinschriften (signatures on pottery).
Bibliography
- Giacomelli, G. 1963. La lingua falisca, Firenze: Olschki.
- Bakkum, G. C. L. M. 2009. The Latin Dialect of the Ager Faliscus, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
- Rigobianco, L. 2019. Faliscan. Language, Writing, Epigraphy. Aelaw Booklet 7. Zaragoza: Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.
- Rigobianco, L. 2020. «Falisco», Palaeohispanica 20: 299-333.
Last update
10.04.2021