Italic languages

The Italic subfamily is a member of the Centum branch of the Indo-European language family. Italic has two known branches:

Related Topics:
Centum - Indo-European

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• Sabellic including:
• Oscan, was spoken in the south-central region of the Italian peninsula
• Volscian
• Umbrian (not to be confused with the modern Umbrian dialect of Italian), was spoken in the north-central region
• Latino-Faliscan including:
• Faliscan, was spoken in the area around Falerii Veteres (modern Civita Castellana) north of the city of Rome
• Latin, was spoken in west-central Italy, the Roman conquests eventually spreading it throughout the empire and beyond.

The Italic speakers were not native to Italy, but migrated into the Italian peninsula in the late 2nd millennium BC. Archaeologically, the Appenine culture (inhumations) enters the Italian peninsula from ca. 1350 BC, east to west; the Iron Age reaches Italy from ca. 1100 BC, with the Villanovan culture (cremating), intruding north to south. Before the Italic arrival, Italy was populated primarily by non-Indo-European groups (perhaps including the Etruscans). The first settlement on Palatin dates to ca. 750 BC, settlements on the Quirinal to 720 BC (see Founding of Rome).

Related Topics:
2nd millennium BC - Appenine - Iron Age - 1100 BC - Villanovan culture - Etruscans - Palatin - 750 BC - Quirinal - 720 BC - Founding of Rome

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The Italic languages are first attested in writing from Latin inscriptions dating to the 6th or 5th centuries BC. The alphabets used are based on the Old Italic alphabet, which is itself based on the Greek alphabet. The Italic languages themselves show minor influence from the Etruscan and somewhat more from the Ancient Greek languages.

Related Topics:
6th - 5th - Old Italic alphabet - Greek alphabet - Etruscan - Ancient Greek

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As Rome extended its political dominion over the whole of the Italian peninsula, so too did Latin become dominant over the other Italic languages, which ceased to be spoken perhaps sometime in the 1st century AD. From so-called Vulgar Latin the Romance languages emerged.

Related Topics:
Rome - 1st century - Vulgar Latin - Romance languages

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The ancient Venetic language, as revealed by inscriptions (including complete sentences) is considered by many linguists to have been very close to the Italic languages and it is sometimes even classed as Italic.

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Italic languages: See also ►