"There are like a whopping 2 or 3 loanwords surviving into modern english. Crag is one, i think but am not sure tor is another."
Hi, the above was in reference to the p-celtic being spoken in britain by the romano-celtic people being displaced/absorbed by the A-S migration/invasion into what would be england...as far as I know very few words other than place-names form p-celtic were absorbed into the invader's dialects of west germanic.
I wasn't aware of the q-celtic loanwords introduced from scots gaelic, is there knowledge of when these words started appearing in written english (middle or modern?)
'WoofDog123 wrote: I would think genetic studies could clear this up once and for all in the east and northeast of scotland.'
"Genetic studies can't tell anything much about culture or language, or even geographic origins."
This was in reference to where the picts language family might have originated. My point was the looking for any genetic correspondence between scots living in formerly pictish areas and the DNA markers common among populations of finno-ugric language speakers here might tend to support or dismiss the remote suggestion that pictish was a F-Ugric language. Obviously the main problem here is that aside from some king-names, place-name remnants, there is to my knowledge no remaining samples of pictish extant to verify it as a p-celtic or not.
The idea (one that is being applied all over the place) is the, in the context of known or suggested historical circumstances, genetic studies and comparison can have a tendency to support or make implausible certain theories.
"Not a ton of others, but they are there. Scots Gaelic is more widely spoken in daily use than Irish Gaelic (its closest relative)."
From what I have seen first-hand in the heart of scots gaelic country, I would be very somewhat surprised if these languages are house-spoken at all in 2 generations. Unlike Welsh, the critical mass and emphasis doesn't seem to be there.
To the degree Old West Gothics (the English) share a genetic background with the Norse (Old North Gothics), it's certain to be discovered in Scotland.
As far as Finno-Ugric ancestors among them, you need look no further than the appearance of Saami in Norway who were just then making a serious appearance in what was to them "the deep Souf'".
Obviously the main problem here is that aside from some king-names, place-name remnants, there is to my knowledge no remaining samples of pictish extant to verify it as a p-celtic or not.That's a problem for any connection between whatever it was the Picts spoke and any known language family.
Ask A Linguist For July 1998 - September 1998I believe it is accepted by all specialists that the (sparse) Pictish inscriptions represent a Celtic language... [T]he only Pictish specialist I have talked to (Katherine Forsyth) is satisfied that all the inscriptions in fact represent a single Celtic language.
Re: Language of the Picts
Larry TraskGlossemata Genealogicæ.Ogham inscriptions : [600 bc] primitive inscriptions of the old Q-Celt (600 bc) or the newer P-Celt (400 bc) that survive in the British Isles. We have a total of approximately 375 Ogham inscriptions. Ireland has some 316 Ogham inscriptions, Wales has 40 inscriptions, and the Isle of Man has 10 inscriptions. One inscription survived at Silchester in southern England, and a few Pictish Ogham inscriptions have been found in Scotland, as far north as the Shetland Islands. Ogham script often runs upward, in a vertical manner, for it was originally written as notches on wooden staves.Oghams : cypher alphabets; vestiges of the Celtic Ogham alphabet that are sometimes characterized by their appearance or the place of their discovery. The categories in the Book of Ballymote include the wheel Ogham, bird Ogham, pig Ogham, and color Ogham, as well as Oghams of the tree, hill, church, castle, fruit. Cf. cypher alphabets.
The Alphabetary Heraldic:
Genealogical Glossary:
Ogham alphabet:
Goidelic alphabet. Cf. alphabet