The term Galindian is sometimes ascribed to two separate

Baltic languages The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family spoken natively or as a second language by a population of about 6.5–7.0 million people

, both of which were peripheral dialects: * a West Baltic language referred to as West Galindian; * a Baltic language previously spoken in

Mozhaysk MozhayskAlternative transliterations include ''Mozhaisk'', ''Mozhajsk'', ''Mozhaĭsk'', and ''Možajsk''. (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District, Moscow Oblast, Mozhaysky Distri ...

region (present day Russia), referred to as East Galindian or Golyad

Name

There are three proposed etymologies for the denomination ''Galindian'': * Proto-Baltic meaning 'outsider' ( 'wall; border'). This is supported by the etymology of the common Old Russian term for the Galindians >

Proto-Slavic Proto-Slavic (abbreviated PSl., PS.; also called Common Slavic or Common Slavonic) is the unattested, reconstructed proto-language of all Slavic languages. It represents Slavic speech approximately from the 2nd millennium BC through the 6th ...

Proto-Baltic Proto-Baltic (PB, PBl, Common Baltic) is the Attested language, unattested, Linguistic reconstruction, reconstructed ancestral proto-language of all Baltic languages. It is not attested in writing, but has been partly reconstructed through the com ...

); the Proto-Slavic *''ę'' denotes a

nasal Nasal is an adjective referring to the nose, part of human or animal anatomy. It may also be shorthand for the following uses in combination: * With reference to the human nose: ** Nasal administration, a method of pharmaceutical drug delivery * ...

''e'' (/ẽ/) * It is derived from the root found in Baltic

hydronym A hydronym (from , , "water" and , , "name") is a type of toponym that designates a proper name of a body of water. Hydronyms include the proper names of rivers and streams, lakes and ponds, swamps and marshes, seas and oceans. As a subset of top ...

s; and * The name means 'the powerful ones' ( 'power, strength') and also Celtic languages ( 'strength', 'power', ''Galli'', ''Gallia'').

Proposed relation

Based on the common name used for the two peoples by ancient authors, some scientists propose a common origin of the two peoples and languages. In order to prove this hypothesis, they investigate common features between Old Prussian/West Galindian and East Galindian.

West Galindian

West Galindian is the poorly attested extinct

Baltic language The Baltic languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken natively or as a second language by a population of about 6.5–7.0 million people

of the

Galindians Galindians were two distinct, and now extinct, tribes of the Balts. Most commonly, Galindians refers to the Western Galindians who lived in the southeast part of Prussia. Less commonly, it is used for a tribe that lived in the area of what is t ...

previously spoken in what is today northeastern

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and thought to have been a dialect of

Old Prussian Old Prussian is an extinct West Baltic language belonging to the Baltic branch of the Indo-European languages, which was once spoken by the Old Prussians, the Baltic peoples of the Prussian region. The language is called Old Prussian to av ...

, or a Western Baltic language similar to Old Prussian. There are no extant writings in Galindian.

Phonology

Consonants

Vowels

East Galindian

References

{{Baltic languages Baltic languages West Baltic languages Medieval languages Extinct Baltic languages Extinct languages of Europe