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OLD LATIN


:''For the Old Latin Bible used before the Vulgate, see Vetus Latina.''

'Old Latin' (also called 'Early Latin' or 'Archaic Latin') refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC.
Phonological characteristics of older Latin are the case endings ''-os'' and ''-om'' (later Latin ''-us'' and ''-um''), as well as the existence of diphthongs such as ''oi'' and ''ei'' (later Latin ''ū'' or ''oe'', and ''ī''). Also the letter C is used to represent both Classical C and G. In many locations, classical Latin turned intervocalic /s/ into /r/, which is called Rhotacism. This Rhotacism had implications for declension: early classical Latin, ''honos'', ''honoris''; Classical ''honor'', ''honoris'' ("honor"). Some Old Latin texts preserve /s/ in this position, such as the Carmen Arvale's ''lases'' for ''lares''.
Notable Old Latin fragments:

★ The Forum inscription (''illustration, right'') (circa 550 BC)

★ The Duenos inscription (circa 500 BC)

★ The Castor-Pollux dedication (circa 500 BC)

★ The Garigliano Bowl (circa 500 BC)

★ The preserved fragments of the laws of the Twelve Tables (traditionally, 449 BC, attested much later)

★ The Tibur pedestal (circa 400 BC)

★ The Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus (186 BC)

★ The Lapis Satricanus

★ The Vase Inscription from Ardea

★ The Corcolle Altar fragments

★ The Carmen Arvale

★ The Carmen Saliare

★ The Scipionum Elogia
Writers of later, but still early Latin:

Plautus (3rd2nd century BC)

Cato the Elder (234149 BC)

Contents
Grammar and Morphology (Differences from Classical Latin)
Nouns
First declension (a)
Second declension (b)
Third declension (c)
Personal Prounouns
The Relative Prounoun
Verbs
Old Present and Perfects
See also
External links

Grammar and Morphology (Differences from Classical Latin)


Nouns

First declension (a)

The 'A-Stem Declension'. Nouns of this declension usually end in –a and are typically feminine.
'puella, –aī
''girl, maiden'' f.'
'Singular' 'Plural'
'Nominative' puella puellai
'Vocative' puella puellai
'Accusative' puellam puellā
'Genitive' puellās/-es/-ai puellōm/ -āsom
'Dative' puellai puellaīs/-eīs/ -abos
'Ablative' puellād puellaīs/-eīs/ -abos
'Locative' puellā puellaīs/-eīs

Second declension (b)

The 'O-Stem Declension'. Nouns of this declension are either masculine or neuter.
'campos, –oī
''field, plain'' m.'
'saxom, –oī
''rock, stone'' n.'
'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural'
'Nominative' campos campoī saxom saxa
'Vocative' campe campoī saxe saxoī
'Accusative' campom campōs saxom saxa
'Genitive' campoī campōm/ -ōsom saxoī saxōm/ -ōsom
'Dative' campoī campoīs saxoī saxoīs
'Ablative' campōd campoīs saxōd saxoīs/ -oes
'Locative' campō campoīs saxō saxoīs/ -oes

Note the genitive plural ending has two endings: the earlier -ōm, almost exactly like the Ancient Greek -ōn, and the later Archaic Latin form -ōsom. Due to the fact that in Archaic Latin /r/'s and /s/'s were often interchangeable, a phenomenon known as Rhotacism, the later -ōsom evolved into the Classical Latin -ōrum.
Third declension (c)

The 'E-Stem ' and 'I-Stem ' Declension. This declension contains nouns that are masculine, feminine, and neuter.
'Regs –es
''king'' m.'
'Singular' 'Plural'
'Nominative' regs reges
'Vocative' regs reges
'Accusative' regem reges
'Genitive' regis regōm
'Dative' regei regebos
'Ablative' regeid regebos
'Locative' regei regebos

The nominative as ''regs'' instead of ''rex'' shows a common feature in Old Latin; the letter ''x'' was seldom used alone to designate the /ks/ or /gs/ sound, but instead, written as either 'ks', 'cs', or even 'xs'.
Personal Prounouns

Personal pronouns are among the most common thing found in Old Latin inscriptions. Note how in all three persons, the ablative singular ending is identical to the accusative singular.
'Ego, ''I''' 'Tu, ''You''' 'Suī, ''Himself, Herself, Etc.'''
'Nominative' ego tu -
'Accusative' mēd tēd sēd
'Genitive' mis tis sei
'Dative' mihei, mehei tibei sibei
'Ablative' mēd tēd sēd
'Plural'
'Nominative' nōs vōs -
'Accusative' nōs vōs sēd
'Genitive' nostrōm, -ōrum, -i vostrōm, -ōrum, -i sei
'Dative' nōbeis, nis vōbeis sibei
'Ablative' nōbeis, nis nōbeis sēd

The Relative Prounoun

In Old Latin, the relative pronoun is also another common concept, especially in inscriptions. Unfortunately, the forms are quite inconsistent and leave much to be reconstructed by scholars.
'queī, quaī, quod ''who, what'''
'Masculine' 'Feminine' 'Neuter'
'Nominative' queī quaī quod
'Accusative' quem quam quod
'Genitive' quoius, quoios quoia quoium, quoiom
'Dative' quoī, queī, quoieī, queī
'Ablative' quī, quōd quād quōd
'Plural'
'Nominative' ques, queis quaī qua
'Accusative' quōs quās quōs
'Genitive' quōm, quōrom quōm, quārom quōm, quōrom
'Dative' queis, quīs
'Ablative' queis, quīs

Verbs

Old Present and Perfects

There is not much actual proof of the morphology of Old Latin verb forms, and even these scant carvings hold many inconsistencies between forms. Therefore, the forms below are ones that are both proven by scholars through Old Latin carvings, and recreated by scholars based on other early Indo-European languages such as Greek, Oscan, Umbrian, and other Italic dialects.
'Indicative Present: Sum' 'Indicative Present: Facio'
'Old' 'Classical' 'Old' 'Classical'
'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural'
'First Person' som, esom somos, sumos sum sumus fac(e/ī)o fac(e)imos facio facīmus
'Second Person' es esteīs es estis fac(e/ī)s fac(e/ī)teis facis facitis
'Third Person' est sont est sunt fac(e/ī)d/-(e/i)t fac(e/ī)ont facit faciunt

'Indicative Perfect: Sum' 'Indicative Perfect: Facio'
'Old' 'Classical' 'Old' 'Classical'
'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural' 'Singular' 'Plural'
'First Person' fuei fuemos fui fuimus (fe)fecei (fe)fecemos feci fecīmus
'Second Person' fuistei fuisteīs fuisti fuistis (fe)fecistei (fe)fecisteis fecisti fecistis
'Third Person' fued/fuit fueront/-erom fuit fuerunt (fe)feced/-et (fe)feceront/-erom fecit fecerunt

Interestingly, many Old Latin forms bear a closer resemblance to those of Modern Spanish than the Classical Latin forms do, however, it is just an independent phonetical coincidence that historically has nothing to do with the Old Latin forms: e.g. Spanish ''somos'' is from Classical Latin ''sumus'', as the Latin short ''u'' evolved to ''o'' in Modern Spanish; similarly Latin short ''i'' converted to ''e'', giving Spanish ''fue'' from Classical Latin ''fuit''.

See also



Saturnian (verse form)

External links



Old Latin Inscriptions

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