The Southwestern Brittonic languages (, ) are the
Brittonic Celtic languages spoken in what is now
South West England and
Brittany
Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
since the
Early Middle Ages
The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages (historiography), Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century. They marked the start o ...
. During the period of their earliest attestation, the languages appear to be indistinguishable, but they gradually evolved into the
Cornish and
Breton languages. They evolved from the
Common Brittonic
Common Brittonic (; ; ), also known as British, Common Brythonic, or Proto-Brittonic, is a Celtic language historically spoken in Britain and Brittany from which evolved the later and modern Brittonic languages.
It is a form of Insular Cel ...
formerly spoken across most of
Britain and were thus related to the
Welsh and
Cumbric varieties spoken in
Wales
Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...
and the
Hen Ogledd (the Old North, i.e.
Northern England and the
Scottish Lowlands
The Lowlands ( or , ; , ) is a cultural and historical region of Scotland.
The region is characterised by its relatively flat or gently rolling terrain as opposed to the mountainous landscapes of the Scottish Highlands. This area includes ci ...
), respectively.
The earliest stage of the languages, Primitive Cornish/Breton, is
unattested. Written sources are extant from the Old Cornish/Breton period, roughly 800–1100, in which phase the languages are indistinguishable. As such, some linguists such as
Peter Schrijver use the term Southwest British (i.e. Southwest Brittonic) to describe the language when "Old Cornish" and "Old Breton" were indistinguishable and only separated by geography rather than linguistically.
Description
Southwestern Brittonic is distinguished from Welsh by sound changes including:
*the raising of to in a pretonic syllable (in Welsh there was no raising)
*the fronting of to (in Welsh it diphthongized to )
*the fronting of to before or in an old final syllable (in Welsh it diphthongized to )
Other significant differences are found in Welsh innovations in which Southwestern Brittonic did not participate, such as the development of the
voiceless alveolar lateral fricative.
Footnotes
References
*
*
Languages attested from the 8th century
Brittonic languages
Armorica
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