Everything Totally Explained


Ask & we'll explain, totally!
Lombardic language
Totally Explained


  NEW! All the latest news in the worlds of computer gaming, entertainment, the environment,  
finance, health, politics, science, stocks & shares, technology and much, much, more.  


View this entry using RSS

Everything about Lombardic Language totally explained

Lombardic or Langobardic is the extinct language of the Lombards (Langobardi), the Germanic speaking settlers in Italy in the 6th century. The language declined from the 7th century, but may have been in scattered use until as late as ca. AD 1000. The language is only preserved fragmentarily, the main evidence being individual words quoted in Latin texts.
   In the absence of Lombardic texts, it isn't possible to draw any conclusions about the language's morphology and syntax. The genetic classification the language is necessarily based entirely on phonology. Since there's evidence that Lombardic participated in, and indeed shows some of the earliest evidence for, the High German consonant shift, it's classified as an Elbe Germanic or Upper German dialect. The Historia Langobardorum of Paulus Diaconus mentions a duke Zaban of 574, showing /t/ shifted to /ts/. The term stolesazo (the second element is cognate with English seat) in the Edictum Rothari shows the same shift. Many names in the Lombard royal families show shifted consonants, particularly /p/ < /b/ in the following name components:
  • pert < bert: Aripert, Godepert
  • perg < berg: Perctarit, Gundperga (daughter of King Agilulf)
  • prand < brand: Ansprand, Liutprand It has been suggested that the consonant shift may even have originated in Lombardic.
Formerly, Lombardic was classified as Ingaevonian (North Sea Germanic), but this classification is considered obsolete. The classification of Lombardic within the Germanic languages may be complicated by issues of orthography. According to Hutterer (1999) it's close to Old Saxon. Tacitus counts them among the Suebi. Paulus Diaconus (8th century) and the Codex Gothanus (9th century) wrote that the Lombards were ultimately of Scandinavian origin, having settled at the Elbe before entering Italy.
   Longbardic fragments are preserved in runic inscriptions, in latinized forms, and in transcriptions influenced by Old High German orthography. This Lombardic alphabet, as commonly transcribed, consists of the following graphemes:
» a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o, p, q(u), r, s, ʒ, t, þ, u, w, z

The qu represents a [kw] sound. The ʒ is [s], for example skauʒ [skaus] "womb". The z is [ts]. h is [h] word-initially, and [x] elsewhere.
   Among the primary source texts are short inscriptions in the Elder Futhark, among them the "bronze capsule of Schretzheim" (ca. 600): » On the lid: arogisd


   On the bottom: alaguþleuba : dedun » ("Arogisl/-gast. Alaguth (and) Leuba made (it)", less likely "Arogis and Alaguth made love")

And also the two fibulae of Pallersdorf, Hungary (mid 6th century): » Fibula A: godahid unj[a]


   Fibula B: (k?)arsiboda segun » ("To Godahi(l)d, (with) sympathy (?), Arsiboda's bless")

There are a number of Latin texts which include Lombardic names, and Lombardic legal texts contain terms taken from the legal vocabulary of the vernacular, including:
  • Origo gentis Langobardorum
  • Paulus Diaconus, Historia Langobardorum
  • Historia Langobardorum codicis Gothani
  • Edictum Rothari In 2005, there were claims that the inscription of the Pernik sword may be Lombardic.

    Further Information

    Get more info on 'Lombardic Language'.


    External Link Exchanges

    Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:

      <a href="http://lombardic_language.totallyexplained.com">Lombardic language Totally Explained</a>

    Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
       As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned.



  • Copyright © 2007-8 totallyexplained.com | Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License | Site Map
    This article contains text from the Wikipedia article Lombardic language (History) and is released under the GFDL | RSS Version