'Galatian' is an extinct
Celtic language once spoken in
Galatia in
Asia Minor (modern
Turkey) from the
3rd century BC up to the
4th century AD.
Of the language only a few glosses and brief comments in classical writers and scattered names on inscriptions survive. Altogether they add up to about 120 words, mostly personal names ending in ''-riks'' (cf.
Gaulish ''-rix/-reix'',
Old Irish ''ri'',
Gothic language ''-reiks'',
Latin ''rex'') "king", some ending in ''-marus'', dative ''-mari'' (cf. Gaulish ''-maros'', Old Irish ''mor'',
Welsh ''mawr'') "great", and tribal names like ''Ambitouti'' (Old Irish ''imm-'' "around", Old Irish ''tuath'' "tribe"), and a lexical item ''drunaimeton'' "place of assembly" (cf. Old Irish ''drui'' "druid", Old Irish ''neimed'' "holy place"). Galatian is a
Continental Celtic language contemporary and closely related to the
Gaulish language.
Sources
★
The Galatian Language: A Comprehensive Survey of the Language of the Ancient Celts in Greco-Roman Asia Minor, Freeman, Philip, , , Mellen Press, 2001, ISBN 0-7734-7480-3
★ Weisgerber, L. (1931). Galatische Sprachreste. In ''Natalicium Johannes Geffcken zum 70. Geburtstag 2. Mai 1931 gewidmet von Freunden, Kollegen und Schülern'', 151–75.
Heidelberg: Carl Winter.