What is Common Brittonic?
Q: What is Common Brittonic?
A: Common Brittonic (also called Common Brythonic, British, Old Brythonic, or Old Brittonic) was an ancient language spoken in Britain by the Celtic people known as the Britons.
Q: How did it develop?
A: Common Brittonic descended from Proto-Celtic, a hypothetical parent language. By the first half of the first millennium BC it had already divided into separate dialects or languages.
Q: What are some of its branches?
A: The main branches of Common Brittonic were Welsh, Cumbric, Cornish and Breton. There is also evidence that Pictish may have been a fifth branch.
Q: Was there any influence from Latin on Common Brittonic during Roman times?
A: Yes, evidence from Welsh shows that there was great influence from Latin on Common Brittonic during the Roman period. This is particularly true for Church and Christianity which are nearly all Latin derivatives.
Q: When did it start to be replaced in Scotland?
A: In most of Scotland it was replaced by Gaelic by the Middle Ages. South of the Firth of Forth it was replaced by Old English (which later developed into Scots).
Q: When did it disappear in England?
A: In England, Common Brittonic was gradually replaced by English throughout England with Cumbric disappearing as late as the 13th century and Cornish becoming a dead language by 19th century.
Q: Has there been any attempts to revive this language? A: Yes, there have been some attempts to revitalize this language which have met with some success.
