Messapic language

Messapic (/mɛˈsæpɪk, mə-, -ˈseɪ-/; also known as Messapian; or as Iapygian) is an extinct Indo-European Paleo-Balkanic language of the southeastern Italian Peninsula, once spoken in Salento by the Iapygian peoples of the region: the Calabri and Salentini (known collectively as the Messapians), the Peucetians and the Daunians. Messapic was the pre-Roman, non-Italic language of Apulia. It has been preserved in about 600 inscriptions written in an alphabet derived from a Western Greek model and dating from the mid-6th to at least the 2nd century BC, when it went extinct following the Roman conquest of the region.

Messapic
Messapian
Region	Apulian region of Italy
Ethnicity	Iapygians
Era	attested 6th to 2nd century BC
Language family	Indo-European (?) Albanoid Messapic
Writing system	Messapic alphabet
Language codes
ISO 639-3	cms
Linguist List	cms
Glottolog	mess1244
Ethnolinguistic map of Italy in the Iron Age, before the Roman expansion and conquest of Italy

Name

The term 'Messapic' or 'Messapian' is traditionally used to refer to a group of languages spoken by the Iapygians, a "relatively homogeneous linguistic community" of non-Italic-speaking tribes (Messapians, Peucetians and Daunians) dwelling in the region of Apulia before the Roman conquest.

However, some scholars have argued that the term 'Iapygian languages' should be preferred for referring to the group of languages spoken in Apulia, with the term 'Messapic' being reserved to the inscriptions found in the Salento peninsula, where the specific tribe of the Messapians had been living in the pre-Roman era.

The name Apulia itself derives from Iapygia after passing from Greek to Oscan to Latin and undergoing subsequent morphological shifts.

Classification

Balkanic Armenian Graeco-Albanian Graeco-Phrygian Greek Phrygian (extinct) Illyric Messapic (extinct) Albanian

The Palaeo-Balkanic Indo-European branch based on the chapters "Albanian" (Hyllested & Joseph 2022) and "Armenian" (Olsen & Thorsø 2022) in Olander (ed.) The Indo-European Language Family

Messapic was a non-Italic and non-Greek Indo-European language of Balkan origin. Modern archeological and linguistic research and some ancient sources hold that the ancestors of the Iapygians came to Southeastern Italy (present-day Apulia) from the Western Balkans across the Adriatic Sea during the early first millennium BC.

Paleo-Balkanic

Messapic forms part of the Paleo-Balkan languages. Based upon lexical similarities with the Illyrian languages, some scholars contend that Messapic may have developed from a dialect of pre-Illyrian, meaning that it would have diverged substantially from the Illyrian language(s) spoken in the Balkans by the 5th century BC, while others considered it a direct dialect of Iron Age Illyrian. Messapic is today considered an independent language and not a dialect of Illyrian. Although the unclear interpretation of Messapic inscriptions cannot warrant the placement of Messapic in any specific Indo-European subfamily, some scholars place Illyrian and Messapic in the same branch. Eric Hamp has grouped them under "Messapo-Illyrian", which is further grouped with Albanian under "Adriatic Indo-European". Other schemes group the three languages under "General Illyrian" and "Western Paleo-Balkan".

A number of shared features between Messapic and Proto-Albanian may have emerged either as a result of linguistic contacts between Proto-Messapic and Pre-Proto-Albanian within the Balkan peninsula in prehistoric times, or of a closer relation as shown by the quality of the correspondences in the lexical area and shared innovations between Messapic and Albanian. Hyllested & Joseph (2022) identify Messapic as the closest language to Albanian, with which it forms a common branch titled Illyric. Hyllested & Joseph (2022) in agreement with recent bibliography identify Greco-Phrygian as the IE branch closest to the Albanian-Messapic one. These two branches form an areal grouping – which is often called "Balkan IE" – with Armenian.

Illyrian languages

Although the Illyrian languages – and to some extent Messapic itself – are too scarcely attested to allow for an extensive linguistic comparison, the Messapic language is generally regarded as related to, though distinct from, the Illyrian languages. This theory is supported by a series of similar personal and place names from both sides of the Adriatic Sea. Proposed cognates in Illyrian and Messapic, respectively, include: 'Bardyl(l)is/Barzidihi', 'Teuta/Teutā', 'Dazios/Dazes', 'Laidias/Ladi-', 'Platōr/Plator-', 'Iapydes/Iapyges', 'Apulus/Apuli', 'Dalmata/Dalmathus', 'Peucetioe/Peucetii', 'Ana/Ana', 'Beuzas/Bozat', 'Thana/Thana', 'Dei-paturos/Da-matura'.

Albanian

The linguistic data of Albanian can be used to compensate for the lack of fundamental information on Illyrian, since Proto-Albanian (the ancestor language of Albanian) was likewise an Indo-European language certainly spoken in the Balkans in antiquity, and probably since at least the 7th century BC, as suggested by the presence of archaic loanwords from Ancient Greek.

A number of linguistic cognates with Albanian have been proposed, such as Messapic aran and Albanian arë ("field"), biliā and bijë ("daughter"), or menza- and mëz ("foal"). The toponomy points to a link between the two languages, as some towns in Apulia have no etymological forms outside Albanian linguistic sources. Other linguistic elements such as particles, prepositions, suffixes, lexicon, but also toponyms, anthroponyms and theonyms of the Messapic language find singular affinities with Albanian. Some phonological data can also be compared between the two languages, and it seems likely that Messapic belongs, like Albanian, to a specific subgroup of the Indo-European languages that shows distinct reflections of all the three dorsal consonant rows. In the nominal context, both Messapic and Albanian continue, in the masculine terms in -o-, the Indo-European ending *-osyo (Messapic -aihi, Albanian -i / -u).

Regarding the verbal system, both Messapic and Albanian have formally and semantically preserved the two Indo-European subjunctive and optative moods. If the reconstructions are correct, we can find, in the preterital system of Messapic, reflections of a formation in *-s- (which in other Indo-European languages are featured in the suffix of the sigmatic aorist), as in the 3rd sg. hipades/opades ('he dedicated' < *supo-dʰeh₁-s-t) and in the 3rd pl. stahan ('they placed' < *stah₂-s-n°t). In Albanian, this formation was likewise featured in the category of aorists formed with the suffix -v-. However, except for the dorsal consonant rows, these similarities do not provide elements exclusively relating Messapic and Albanian, and only a few morphological data are comparable.

History

Iapygian migrations in the early first millennium BC.

The development of a distinct Iapygian culture in southeastern Italy is widely considered to be the result of a confluence of local Apulian material cultures with Balkanic traditions following the cross-Adriatic migrations of proto-Messapic speakers in the early first millennium BC.

The Iapygians most likely left the eastern coasts of the Adriatic for the Italian Peninsula from the 11th century BC onwards, merging with pre-existing Italic and Mycenean cultures and providing a decisive cultural and linguistic imprint. Throughout the second half of the 8th century, contacts between Messapians and Greeks must have been intense and continuous; they began to intensify after the foundation of Taras by Spartan colonists around the end of the century. Despite its geographical proximity with Magna Graecia, however, Iapygia was generally not encompassed in Greek colonial territories, and with the exception of Taras, the inhabitants were evidently able to avoid other Greek colonies in the region. During the 6th century BC Messapia, and more marginally Peucetia, underwent Hellenizing cultural influences, mainly from the nearby Taras. The use of writing systems was introduced during this period, with the acquisition of the Laconian-Tarantine alphabet and its progressive adaptation to the Messapic language. The oldest known Messapic texts date to the 6th century–early 5th century BCE.

Apulia et Calabria, cropped from "Map of Ancient Italy, Southern Part", by William R. Shepherd, 1911.

The relationship between Messapians and Tarantines deteriorated over time, resulting in a series of clashes between the two peoples from the beginning of the 5th century BC. After two victories of the Tarentines, the Iapygians inflicted a decisive defeat on them, causing the fall of the aristocratic government and the implementation of a democratic one in Taras. It also froze relations between Greeks and the indigenous people for about half a century. Only in the late-5th and 6th centuries did they re-establish relationships. The second great Hellenizing wave occurred during the 4th century BC, this time also involving Daunia and marking the beginning of Peucetian and Daunian epigraphic records, in a local variant of the Hellenistic alphabet that replaced the older Messapic script.

Along with Messapic, Greek and Oscan were spoken and written during the Romanization period all over Apulia, and bilingualism in Greek and Messapic was probably common in southern Apulia at that time. Based upon the legends of the local currencies promoted by Rome, Messapic appears to have been written in the southern zone, Oscan in the northern area, while the central sector was a trilingual area where Messapic, Greek and Oscan co-existed in inscriptions. Messapic epigraphic records seem to have ended by the 2nd century BC. During the 1st century BCE, the language was replaced by Latin, which is the origin of the modern Italian Sallentine dialects of the region.

Phonology

A characteristic feature of Messapic is the absence of the Indo-European phonological opposition between the vowels /u/ and /o/, the language featuring only an o/u phoneme. Consequently, the superfluous letter /u/ (upsilon) was not taken over following the initial period of adaption of the Western ("red") Greek alphabet. The 'o/u' phoneme existed in opposition to an 'a/o' phoneme formed after the phonological distinction between *o and *a was abandoned. The Proto-Indo-European (PIE) vowel /o/ regularly appears as /a/ in inscriptions (e.g., Venas < *Wenos; menza < *mendyo; tabarā < *to-bhorā). The original PIE phonological opposition between ō and o is still perceptible in Messapic. The diphthong *ou, itself reflecting the merged diphthongs *ou and eu, underwent sound change to develop into ao, then into ō (e.g., *Toutor > Taotor > Θōtor).

The dental affricate or spirant written Θ is frequently used before the sounds ao- or o-, where it is most likely a replacement for the older letter . Another special letter, , occurs almost exclusively in Archaic inscriptions from the 6th and 5th centuries BC. Multiple palatalizations have also taken place, as in 'Zis' < *dyēs, 'Artorres' < *Artōryos, or 'Bla(t)θes' < *Blatyos (where '(t)θ' probably denoted a dental affricate or spirant /ts/ or /tš/). Proto-Indo-European *s was rather clearly reflected in initial and intervocalic positions as Messapic h, with notable examples including klaohi and hipa, but note Venas with *s in final position.

The Proto-Indo-European voiced aspirates *bh and *dh are certainly represented by the simple unaspirated voiced obstruents /b/ and /d/ in Messapic (e.g., 'berain' < *bher-; '-des' < *dʰeh₁). On the other hand, the outcomes of the Indo-European palatal, velar, and labiovelar stops remain unclear, with slender evidence.

Alphabet

The Messapic alphabet is an adaptation of the Western ("red") Greek alphabets, specifically the Laconian-Tarantinian version. The actual Messapic inscriptions are attested from the 6th century BC onward, while the Peucetian and Daunian epigraphic record (written in a local variant of the Hellenistic alphabet rather than in the older Messapic script) only begins in the 4th century BC.

Messapic

The Greek letter Φ (/pʰ/) was not adopted, because it would have been superfluous for Messapic. While zeta "normally" represented the voiced counterpart to /s/, it may have been an affricate in some cases. The value of Θ is unclear, but is clearly dental; it may be an affricate or a spirant. In any case it appears to have arisen partly as the reflex of the segment *ty.

Messapic	Western Greek	Greek name	Phonetic value
		alpha	/a/
		beta	/b/
		gamma	/g/
		delta	/d/
		epsilon	/e/
		digamma	/v/
		zeta	/z/, /dz/, /dš/
		eta	/h/
		heta	/h/
		theta	/θ/
		iota	/i/
		kappa	/k/
		lambda	/l/
		mu	/m/
		nu	/n/
		xi	/š/
		omicron	/o/, /u/
		pi	/p/
		koppa	/k/ (before /o/)
		rho	/r/
		sigma	/s/
		tau	/t/
		chi	/kʰ/ > -h-, -y- (intervocalic before /i/)
	–	–	/tʰ/ > /θ/
Sources	Marchesini 2009, pp. 144–145; Matzinger 2014, pp. 10–14; De Simone 2017, pp. 1839–1844
Note	The letters are arranged in chronological order of appearance. Some letterforms went out of use and were replaced by new shapes (see Matzinger 2014, pp. 10–14).

Apulian

The script used in northern Apulia was rather peculiar, and some consider it to be a distinct writing system named Apulian. A notable difference between the Apulian alphabet and the Laconian-Tarentinian Messapic alphabet was the use of Η (eta) for /ē/ rather than /h/.

Inscriptions

The Messapic language is a 'fragmentary language' (Trümmersprache), preserved only in about 600 inscriptions from the mid-6th up until the late-2nd century BC. Many of them consist of the personal names of the deceased engraved in burial sites (36% of the total), and only a few inscriptions have been definitely deciphered. Some longer texts are also available, including those recently found in the Grotta della Poesia (Roca Vecchia), although they have not been fully exploited by scholars yet. Most of the Messapic inscriptions are accessible in the Monumenta Linguae Messapicae (MLM), published in print in 2002.

Examples of Messapic inscriptions

Messapic inscription	English translation	Source
Staboos Šonetθihi Dazimaihi beileihi	'of Stabuas Šonetius, son of Dazimas'
Dazoimihi Balehi Daštas bilihi	'of Dazimas Bales, son of Dazet'
tabarā Damatras; tabarā Aproditia	'priestess of Damatira'; 'priestess of Aprodita'
kla(o)hi Zis Venas	'listen, Zis (and) Venas'
klohi Zis den θavan	'listen, Zis, the public voice'
θotoria marta pido vastei basta venian aran	'θotoria Marta handed (gave) her field to the city of Basta'
plastas moldatθehiai bilia etθeta hipades aprod[i]ta	'Etθeta, the daughter of Plazet Moldatθes, dedicated to Aphrodite'

Lexicon

Toponymy/Anthroponymy

Messapic	Modern Italian	Balkan correspondences	Sources
Amantia, settlement	Amantea	Amantia Amantes Amantini
(Taotor) Andirabas, god		(Deus) Andinus
Anxa (Ansha), settlement	-	-
Apsias, river	-	Apsus
Apuli, tribal group Teanum Apulum, settlement	Apulia	Apulus, personal name
Artas, personal name	-	-
Ausculum, settlement	Ascoli Satriano	-
Azetium, settlement	near Rutigliano	Azeta, Dardania
Barium, settlement	Bari	-
Barzidihi, personal name Barduli, settlement	-	Bardyllis
Batas/Baton, deity/personal name	-	Bato
Brendésion/Brentésion, settlement	Brindisi	Brač
Butuntum, settlement	Bitonto	Butua
Calabri, tribal group	Calabria	Galabri
Caelia, settlement	Ceglie del Campo	Čelje
Canusium, settlement	Canosa di Puglia	-
Dazas/Dazimas/ (Latin or ancient Greek forms: Dazos/Dazimos/Dasio/Dassius), personal name	-	Dasius/Dassius, personal name
Dardanos, settlement; Derdensis, region; Dardi, tribal group	-	Dardani
Genusium/ager Genusinus, settlement/district	Ginosa	Genusus (modern Shkumbin)
Gnatia, settlement	-	-
Graiva	-	-
Herdonia, settlement	Ordona	-
Hydruntum, settlement	Otranto	-
Ladi-, personal name component	-	Scerdilaidas
Manduria, toponym	-	Mezēnai, Mëz, Mâz
Peucetii	-	Peucetioe, Liburnia
Rudiae, settlement	-	-
Salapia, settlement Salapitani, tribal group	-	Selepitani
Taotor, deity	-	Teuta, Triteuta, Teutana
Thana, deity	-	Thana
Dauni, tribal group	-	Thunatai
Uria, settlement	Vereto	-
Uxentum, settlement	Ugento/Ušèntu	-

Inherited

Only Messapic words regarded as 'inherited' from its precursor are hereunder listed, thus excluding loanwords from Greek, Latin or other languages.

Messapic lexical item	English translation	Proto-Messapic form	Albanoid (Illyric)	Paleo-Balkan	Other Indo-European cognates	Sources
ana	mother	*annā (a nursery word)	Proto-Albanian: *na(n)nā, *amma; Albanian: nënë/nana, ëmë/âmë ('mother')	Greek: ámma ('mother, nurse')	Hittite: annaš ('mother'); Latin: amma ('mother');
anda	and, as well		Proto-Abanian: *edhō/êndō; Albanian: edhe/ênde ('and', 'yet', 'therefore')	Greek: endha/ΕΝΘΑ; ('and' , 'as well')	Latin: ante ("opposite, in front of"); Hittite: anda
apa	from	*apo	Proto-Albanian: *apo; Albanian: (për-)apë ('from'); Albanian (Gheg): pi (PI < apa) ('from') or pa (PA < *apa) ('without')	Greek: apó	Sanskrit: ápa
atabulus	sirocco		Proto-Albanian: *abula; Albanian: avull ('steam, vapor')		Proto-Germanic: *nebulaz ('fog')
aran	field	*h₂r°h₃ā-	Proto-Albanian: *arā: Albanian: arë, ara ('field')	Ancient Greek arura ('earth')	Hittite: arba- ('border, area'); Latvian: ara ('field')
bàrka	belly		Proto-Albanian: *baruka; Albanian: bark ('belly')
Barzidihi, Barduli	(personal name)		Illyrian: Bardyl(l)is; Proto-Albanian: *bardza; Albanian: bardhë/bardhi, Bardha ('white', found also in anthroponyms, e.g., Bardh-i, Bardhyl)
bennan	(a sort of vehicle)	*benna			Gaulish: benna (a kind of 'carriage')
biles/bilihi	son		Proto-Albanian: *bira; Albanian: bir, pl. bilj - bij ('son')		Latin: fīlius ('son')
biliā/bilina	daughter	*bhu-lyā	Proto-Albanian: *birilā; Albanian: bijë - bija ('daughter'); older dialect bilë - bila ('daughter')		Latin: fīlia ('daughter')
bréndon; bréntion	stag; stag's head. The Messapic word is at the origin of the toponym Brendésion (Βρενδέσιον), Brentḗsion (Βρεντήσιον), modern Brindisi		Proto-Albanian: *brina; Albanian: bri, brî ('horn'; 'antler')		Lithuanian: briedis, ('elk');Swedish: brinde ('elk')
Damatura	Mother Earth (goddess)	*dʰǵʰ(e)m- matura	Pre-Proto-Albanian: *d^źō > Proto-Albanian ðē(h) > Albanian: dhe ('earth')	Whether the (pre-)Illyrian form is at the origin of the Greek goddess Demeter or the contrary is unclear.	Latvian: Zemes Māte ('Mother Earth')
deiva; dīva	god; goddess				Sanskrit: devá ('heavenly, divine'); Lithuanian Diēvas; Old Norse: Týr
den	voice	*ghen	Proto-Albanian: *džana; Albanian: zë/zâ, zër/zân ('voice')
hazavaθi	to offer (sacral)			ha- is a prefix, zav- is the same root as in Greek: χεών	same root in Sanskrit ju-hô-ti and Avestan: zaotar- ('sacrificer')
hipades	he/she/it offers, dedicates, sets up	*supo dhē-s-t	Proto-Albanian: *skūpa: Albanian: hip ('go up') and dha/dhash ('he gave/I gave')
hipakaθi	offer, set up		Albanian: hip ('go up') and ka/kam ('he has/I have') > hip-ka-
kàrpa	'tuff (rock), limestone', preserved as càrpë 'tuff' in Bitonto dialect and càrparu 'limestone' in Salentino		Albanian: kárpë/kárpa, pl. kárpa/-t ('rock, stiff')	root of the oronym Karpates (Carpathian Mountains)	Lithuanian kerpù, kir̃pti 'chop, cut'
klaohi/klohi	hear, listen (invocative)	*kleu-s-	Albanian: kluoj/kluaj/kluhem ('call, hear')	Greek: klythí ('hear')	Sanskrit: śrudhí ('hear'); Slavic: slušati ('hear'); Lithuanian: klausyti ('hear')
kos	someone	*q^wo	Proto-Albanian: *kuša; Albanian: kush ('who')		Tocharian A: Kus ('who')
ma	not	*meh₁	Albanian: ma, me, mos	Greek: mē	Sanskrit: mā
menza, Manduria (toponym)	foal	*mendyo	Proto-Albanian: *mandja; Albanian: mëz - maz ('foal') (also root of mazrek 'horse breeder'), mend ('to suckle'); Romanian: mînz ('foal')	Thracian: mezēnai 'horseman'	Gaulish: mandus ('foal')
ner	man	*ner-	Proto-Albanian: *nera; Albanian: njeri ('man')	Greek: ανηρ ('man')	Sanskrit: nar- ('man')
penkaheh	five		Proto-Albanian: *pentše; Albanian: pesë ('five')		Lithuanian: penki ('five')
pi-	on, thereon		MM Gheg Albanian pi, Tosk Albanian mbi ('over, above')	Greek πι	Sanskrit pi-
rhīnós	fog, mist, cloud		Proto-Albanian: *rina: Albanian: re, rê, rên ('cloud')
tabarā; tabaras	priestess; priest (lit. 'offerer')	*to-bhorā; *to-bhoros	Albanian: të bie/të bar, bjer/bar ('bring', 'carry')	Greek: ϕορός ('bring')	Latin: ferō ('bring')
teutā Taotor	community, people (name of a god)	*Toutor	Illyrian: Teuta(na) ('mistress of the people', 'queen')		Oscan: touto ('community'); Old Irish: túath ('tribe, people'); Lithuanian: tautà ('people'); Gothic þiuda 'folk'
veinan	his; one's		Albanian: vetë ('himself, oneself')		Sanskrit: svayàm ('himself')
Vèrnula	toponym (a village near Lecce), from a root meaning 'alder'		Albanoid *u̯irnā: Albanian verrë ('alder')
Venas	desire (name of a goddess)	*wenos			Latin: Venus; Old Indic: vánas ('desire')
Zis	sky-god	*dyēs	Albanian Zojz ('sky-god')	Greek Zeus; Tymphaean: Deipaturos ('daylight-sky-father'), considered a loanword from Illyrian	Hittite: šīuš ('god'); Sanskrit: Dyáuṣ; Latin: Jupiter ('sky-god')

Language contact

Italic

Southern Samnium and northern Apulia were major regions of Iapygian-Italic linguistic contact

Since its settlement, Messapic was in contact with the Italic languages of the region. In the centuries before Roman annexation, the frontier between Messapic and Oscan ran through Frentania-Irpinia-Lucania-Apulia. An "Oscanization" and "Samnitization" process gradually took place which is attested in contemporary sources via the attestation of dual identities for settlements. In these regions an Oscan/Lucanian population and a large Daunian element intermixed in different ways. Larinum, a settlement which has produced a large body of Oscan onomastics is described as a "Daunian city" and Horace who was from Venusia in the transboundary area between the Daunians and the Lucanians described himself as "Lucanian or Apulian". The creation of Roman colonies in southern Italy after the early 4th century BCE had a great impact in the Latinization of the area.

A small corpus of Messapic vocabulary did pass into Latin. They include baltea from balta (swamp), deda (nurse), gandeia (sword), horeia (small fishing boat), mannus (pony/small horse) from manda. Messapic was an intermediary for the passing of several, mostly ancient Greek words, into Latin such as paro (small ship) from Greek paroon. The Latin form of Odysseus, Ulixes might derive from a Messapic variant like the ethnonym Graeci which may have been used in its original form by Illyrians for their Greek neighbours in Epirus. A Messapic morphological intermediary has been proposed for Latin lancea (spear) and balaena (from Greek phallaina). In literature, Horace and Ennius who came from the region are the only authors of Roman antiquity who have preserved the non-Italic word laama (swamp) which might be Messapic.

Ancient Greek

The Messapic verbal form eipeigrave ('wrote, incised'; variant ipigrave) is a notable loanword from Greek (with the initial stem eipigra-, ipigra- deriving from epigrá-phō, ἐπιγράφω, 'inscribe, engrave'), and is probably related to the fact that the Messapic alphabet has been borrowed from an Archaic Greek script. Other Greek loanwords include argora-pandes ('coin officials', with the first part deriving from ἄργυρος), and names of deities like Athana and perhaps Aprodita, however the latter name is considered to be a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess. It coincides with the Proto-Albanian *apro dītā 'come forth brightness of the day/dawn', which could be the original source of the Ancient Greek Aphrodite, and which is preserved in the Albanian phrase afro dita 'come forth the day/dawn', referring to the planet Venus, and also used to refer to Prende, the dawn goddess, goddess of love, beauty, fertility, health and protector of women, in the Albanian pagan mythology, the equivalent of Ancient Greek Aphrodite.

The origin of the Messapic goddess Damatura/Damatira is debated: scholars like Vladimir I. Georgiev (1937), Eqrem Çabej, Shaban Demiraj (1997), or Martin L. West (2007) have argued that she was an Illyrian goddess eventually borrowed into Greek as Demeter, while others like Paul Kretschmer (1939), Robert S. P. Beekes (2009) and Carlo De Simone (2017) have argued for the contrary. More recently it is considered a Messapic theonym of an Indo-European goddess by Marchesini (2021).

See also

• Paleo Balkan languages
• List of ancient peoples of Italy

Sources

Footnotes

1. Due to the relatively poor knowledge of Messapic, its belonging to the IE branch of Albanian has been described by some as currently speculative, although it is supported by available fragmentary linguistic evidence that shows common characteristic innovations and a number of significant lexical correspondences between the two languages.
2. Wilkes 1992, p. 68: "...the Messapian language recorded on more than 300 inscriptions is in some respects similar to Balkan Illyrian. This link is also reflected in the material culture of both shores of the southern Adriatic. Archaeologists have concluded that there was a phase of Illyrian migration into Italy early in the first millennium BC."; Fortson 2004, p. 407: "They are linked by ancient historians with Illyria, across the Adriatic sea; the linkage is borne out archeologically by similarities between Illyrian and Messapic metalwork and ceramics, and by personal names that appear in both locations. For this reason, the Messapic language has often been connected by modern scholars to Illyrian; but, as noted above, we have too little Illyrian to be able to test this claim."
3. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, p. 231: "Apart from the spears and spear-heads of 'South-Illyrian' type (...), a connexion can be traced between Albania and Italy through various features in the pottery (shapes, handles; later on also painted geometric decoration); for although in Albania they derive from an earlier local tradition, they seem to represent new elements in Italy. In the same way we can account for the fibulae – typically Illyrian – arching in a simple curve with or without buttons, which one finds in southern Italy and in Sicily, and also some in which the curve is decorated with 'herring-bone' incisions, like examples from the eastern coast of the Adriatic. These influences appear finally in the rites of burial in tumuli in the contracted position, which are seen at this period in southern Italy, especially in Apulia. There is also evidence, as we have seen elsewhere, for supposing that in the diffusion of these Illyrian influences in Italy the Illyrian tribes which were displaced at the beginning of this period from the South-Eastern sea-board of the Adriatic and passed over into Italy may have played a significant role."
4. Matzinger 2015, p. 62: "Finché non sono risolti in maniera soddisfacente i vari e difficili problemi della fonologia storica dell'illirico vero e proprio è, al momento attuale, impossibile se non inutile effettuare una comparazione linguistica tra il messapico e l'illirico."; de Simone 2016: "For many years the study of Messapic was based on the assumption that the language was genetically related to Illyrian. The main supporter of this theory was the German scholar H. Krahe, though he eventually modified his views considerably. At present we prefer to see Messapic as an autonomous linguistic unit, with its own history, to be studied within the context of the other languages and the history of ancient Italy. Yet it may still be possible to establish links between Messapic, which is certainly an Indo-European language, and other languages genetically close to it. In fact we cannot exclude that Messapic was introduced into Italy (in several waves?) by ‘Illyrian’ speakers who came from the Balkans, though at present this cannot be verified."
5. In a 2022 publication, Tijmen Pronk argues that Lith. briedis, Latv. briêdis, and Old Prussian braydis (all meaning 'elk') are loanwords from a non-IE language.

Citations

1. Matzinger 2015, p. 57.
2. De Simone 2017, pp. 1839–1840.
3. Messapic at MultiTree on the Linguist List
4. Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235; van Driem 2022, pp. 1055–1056; Friedman 2020, p. 388; Majer 2019, p. 258; Trumper 2018, p. 385; Trask 2019, pp. 14, 159, 210; Yntema 2017, p. 337; Mërkuri 2015, pp. 65–67; Ismajli 2015, p. 45; Demiraj 2004, pp. 58–59; Hamp 1996, pp. 89–90.
5. Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 240.
6. Trumper 2018, pp. 383–386; Friedman 2020, p. 388; Friedman 2011, pp. 275–291.
7. Marchesini 2023a, p. 10.
8. De Simone 2017, p. 1839.
9. Small 2014, p. 18.
10. Marchesini 2009, pp. 80, 141: "L'orizzonte cronologico più antico dell'epigrafia messapica, almeno allo stato attuale della documentazione, è da collocare quindi alla metà circa del VI secolo, stando alla cronologia dei testi più antichi di cui abbiamo parlato sopra. Più difficile è invece formulare ipotesi per quanto riguarda il limite cronologico inferiore. Per il momento l'evidenza ci mostra che non si hanno iscrizioni messapiche databili oltre il II sec. a.C."
11. Matzinger 2021, p. 29: "Since Messapic is a language of Balkan origin brought to Italy, it may be included in this analysis."
12. Matzinger 2015, p. 59: "Che il messapico non appartenga al gruppo linguistico delle lingue italiche (latino-falisco, lingue sabelliche, venetico) risulta chiaramente dello sviluppo diverso di indo-europeo *o conservata nelle lingue italiche, ma mutata in a nel messapico (cfr. la desinenza del nom. sg. dei temi maschili i.-e. *-os nel latino arcaico -os, sabellico -s, venetico -os opposta a messapico -AS, o la desinenza del dat.-abl. pl. i.-e. *-bʰos nel latino arcaico -bos, -bus, osco -fs, -ss, umbro -s, venetico -bos opposta a messapico -bas)."
13. De Simone 2017, pp. 1842 1843.
14. Marchesini, Simona. "Ancient writing systems in the Mediterranean".
15. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 839–840; Mallory & Adams 1997, p. 278; Salvemini & Massafra 2005, pp. 7–16; Matzinger 2017, p. 1790
16. de Vaan 2018, p. 2.
17. Hamp & Adams 2013, p. 8.
18. Ismajli 2015, p. 45.
19. Matzinger 2005, p. 48; Matzinger 2015, pp. 65–66; Matzinger 2017, p. 1790; Ismajli 2015, pp. 65–68; Trumper 2018, p. 385; Friedman 2020, p. 388.
20. Hyllested & Joseph 2022, p. 235.
21. Woodard 2008, p. 11; Fortson 2004, p. 407
22. West 2007, p. 15...To these can be added a larger body of inscriptions from south-east Italy in the Messapic language, which is generally considered to be Illyrian...; see also Mallory & Adams 1997, pp. 378–379; Fortson 2004, p. 407; Woodard 2008, p. 11; Small 2014, p. 18.
23. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, p. 870; Buda 1984, p. 50; Pisani 1987, p. 506; Mallory & Adams 1997, pp. 378–379; West 2007, p. 140, 176; Marchesini 2009, p. 154; Dzino 2014, p. 48
24. Friedman 2020, p. 388.
25. Matzinger 2015, pp. 62–63.
26. Aigner-Foresti 2004, p. 81: "Altri studiosi, sulla scia di P. Kretschmer, sostengono invece la parentela linguistica illirico-messapica partendo dal presupposto che l'antico illirico trovi un seguito nell'albanese moderno. Le loro argomentazioni sono attendibili anche se non vincolanti."
27. de Vaan 2017, p. 1732.
28. Matzinger 2017, p. 1791–1792.
29. Rusakov 2017, p. 559.
30. Matasović 2012, p. 6.
31. Orel 1998, pp. 260, 265; West 2007, pp. 137, 146; Rusakov 2017, p. 556; Matzinger 2017, p. 1790; Poli 2019, p. 600
32. Trumper 2018, p. 385: "Overall, the complex of Albanian dialects remains a solid block of the Albanoid group still relatable with Messapic (observed in place naming in Apulia: some towns have no etymon outside Albanoid sources, for example in toponyms such as Manduria)."
33. Aigner-Foresti 2004, p. 82: "Elementi linguistici (particelle, preposizioni, suffissi, lessico, ma anche toponimi, antroponimi e teonimi) del messapico trovano, infatti, singolare riscontro nell'albanese."
34. Matzinger 2015, pp. 62–66.
35. Ismajli 2015, pp. 65–68.
36. Wilkes 1992, p. 68: "...the Messapian language recorded on more than 300 inscriptions is in some respects similar to Balkan Illyrian. This link is also reflected in the material culture of both shores of the southern Adriatic. Archaeologists have concluded that there was a phase of Illyrian migration into Italy early in the first millennium BC."
37. Matzinger 2015, p. 60: "Per questi motivi lo sviluppo della propria cultura messapica, rispettivamente iapigia è oggi ampiamente considerato come il risultato di una confluenza di tradizioni culturali oltreadriatiche (cioè balcaniche, ma anche micenee in una fase anteriore e poi greco-ellenistiche) con tradizioni culturali locali già esistenti prima di questo nuovo insediamento."
38. Fortson 2004, p. 407: "They are linked by ancient historians with Illyria, across the Adriatic sea; the linkage is borne out archeologically by similarities between Illyrian and Messapic metalwork and ceramics, and by personal names that appear in both locations. For this reason, the Messapic language has often been connected by modern scholars to Illyrian; but, as noted above, we have too little Illyrian to be able to test this claim."
39. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, p. 231: "Apart from the spears and spear-heads of 'South-Illyrian' type (...), a connexion can be traced between Albania and Italy through various features in the pottery (shapes, handles; later on also painted geometric decoration); for although in Albania they derive from an earlier local tradition, they seem to represent new elements in Italy. In the same way we can account for the fibulae – typically Illyrian – arching in a simple curve with or without buttons, which one finds in southern Italy and in Sicily, and also some in which the curve is decorated with ' herring-bone' incisions, like examples from the eastern coast of the Adriatic. These influences appear finally in the rites of burial in tumuli in the contracted position, which are seen at this period in southern Italy, especially in Apulia. There is also evidence, as we have seen elsewhere, for supposing that in the diffusion of these Illyrian influences in Italy the Illyrian tribes which were displaced at the beginning of this period from the South-Eastern sea-board of the Adriatic and passed over into Italy may have played a significant role."
40. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, p. 229, 231.
41. Salvemini & Massafra 2005, pp. 7–16.
42. Graham 1982, pp. 112–113.
43. De Simone 2017, p. 1840.
44. de Simone 2016.
45. Marchesini 2009, pp. 139–141.
46. De Simone 2017, p. 1841.
47. Salvemini & Massafra 2005, pp. 17–29.
48. Adams 2003, pp. 116–117.
49. De Simone 2017, pp. 1840, 1844.
50. De Simone 2017, p. 1844.
51. Matzinger 2015, p. 59.
52. de Simone, Carlo (1972). "La lingua messapica: tentativo di una sintesi". In Stazio, Attilio (ed.). La genti non greche della Magna Grecia. Atti dell' XI Convegno di Studi sulla Magna Grecia (in Italian). Naples: Arte tipografica. pp. 181–182.
53. Edward Herring (2012). "Daunians, Peucetians and Messapians? Societies and Settlements in South-East Italy" (PDF). p. 274.
54. De Simone 1988.
55. Matzinger 2014, p. 15.
56. Marchesini 2009, p. 143.
57. De Simone 2017, pp. 1839, 1842.
58. Matzinger 2015, p. 58.
59. De Simone 2017, p. 1842.
60. De Simone 2017, p. 1843.
61. Pisani 1976, p. 69.
62. Ismajli 2015, p. 65.
63. Palmer 1988, p. 40
64. Australian Rock Art Research Association (1997). Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA). Archaeological Publications. p. 137.
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68. Marchesini 2020, p. 520
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70. Lamboley 1996, p. 305.
71. Lamboley 1996, pp. 55, 432–33.
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73. Katičić 1995, p. 208
74. Lamboley 1996, p. 44.
75. Torelli 1995, pp. 142–43
76. Marchesini 2020, p. 500.
77. Buqinca 2021, p. 15; Baliu 2012, p. 69.
78. Lamboley 1996, p. 23.
79. Lamboley 1996, p. 437.
80. Lamboley 1996, p. 207.
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82. Palmer 1988, p. 39.
83. Lamboley 1996, p. 429.
84. Ruotolo, G. (2010). Corpus nummorum Rubastinorum. Edipuglia. p. 14.
85. Šašel Kos, Marjeta (2010). "Peoples on the northern fringes of the Greek world: Illyria as seen by Strabo". In Jean-Luc Lamboley, Maria Paola Castiglioni (ed.). L'Illyrie méridionale et l'Épire dans l'Antiquité V: Actes du Ve colloque international de Grenoble (8–11 octobre 2008). L'Illyrie méridionale et l'Épire dans l'Antiquité (V). Vol. 2. De Boccard Editions. pp. 617–629. ISBN 9782951943339. p. 625.
86. Lamboley 1996, p. 120.
87. Matzinger 2005, p. 38; West 2007, p. 140; Matzinger 2014, p. 26.
88. Marchesini 2009, p. 148; De Simone 2017, p. 1844; Matzinger 2019, p. 98.
89. Matzinger 2005, p. 38; Matzinger 2014, p. 26.
90. Orel 1998, p. 12; Ismajli 2015, p. 466.
91. Orel 1998, p. 7; Matzinger 2005, p. 33; Matzinger 2015, p. 64; Poli 2019, p. 600.
92. Orel 1998, p. 18; Pisani 1976, p. 69.
93. Bejko 2004, p. 108; Orel 1998, p. 17; Demiraj 1997, p. 90; Buda 1984, p. 50.
94. Marchesini 2009, p. 154.
95. Orel 1998, p. 25; De Simone 2017, p. 1842; Pisani 1976, p. 69; Matzinger 2005, p. 34; Marchesini 2009, p. 154; Matzinger 2015, p. 64.
96. Pronk, Tijmen. “Balto-Slavic”. In: The Indo-European Language Family: A Phylogenetic Perspective. Edited by Thomas Olander. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2022. pp. 270-271. doi:10.1017/9781108758666.015.
97. Orel 1998, p. 80; West 2007, p. 176; Beekes 2009, p. 324; De Simone 2017, p. 1843
98. Pisani 1987, p. 501; West 2007, pp. 174–176; Orel 1998, p. 80.
99. West 2007, p. 120; De Simone 2017, p. 1843.
100. Pisani 1976, p. 69.
101. Pisani 1976, p. 69.
102. Pisani 1976, p. 68; Ismajli 2015, p. 66; De Simone 2017, p. 1845
103. Pisani 1976, p. 68; Fortson 2004, p. 467.
104. Matasović 1995, p. 96; Demiraj 1997, p. 213; Cortelazzo & Marcato 1998, p. 120; Savić & Ligorio 2022, p. 22.
105. Pisani 1976, p. 69; West 2007, p. 317; De Simone 2017, p. 1845; Marchesini 2009, p. 152.
106. Hamp 1966, p. 114; Marchesini 2009, p. 153.
107. Hamp 1966, p. 114; Matzinger 2005, p. 38; Marchesini 2009, p. 153; Matzinger 2014, p. 26.
108. Pisani 1976, p. 69; Orel 1998, pp. 260, 265; Delamarre 2003, p. 215; Matzinger 2005, p. 36; West 2007, pp. 137, 146; Matzinger 2014, p. 26.
109. Pisani 1976, p. 71.
110. De Simone 2017, p. 1844.
111. Dedvukaj 2023b, pp. 274–275
112. Orel 1998, p. 366; Matzinger 2005, pp. 36–37; Matzinger 2017, p. 1790.
113. Hamp 1966, p. 114; Pisani 1976, p. 71; Marchesini 2009, p. 154; Matzinger 2014, p. 26; De Simone 2017, pp. 1842, 1844.
114. Boardman & Sollberger 1982, pp. 869–870; Mallory & Adams 1997, pp. 288, 417; West 2007, p. 137; Marchesini 2009, p. 154; De Simone 2017, p. 1844
115. Pisani 1976, p. 69; Matzinger 2005, pp. 38–39.
116. Hamp 1996, pp. 89–90.
117. De Simone 2017, p. 1843.
118. Søborg 2020, p. 74; Mann 1952, p. 32; West 2007, pp. 166–168; Matzinger 2014, p. 26; De Simone 2017, p. 1843.
119. Torelli 1995, pp. 142–144.
120. Palmer 1988, pp. 39–41.
121. De Simone 2017, p. 1846.
122. Krahe 1946, p. 199–200.
123. Marchesini 2021, p. 16.
124. Dedvukaj 2023a, pp. 1–4.
125. Orel 1998, p. 80.
126. West 2007, p. 176.
127. Beekes 2009, p. 324.

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Further reading

• Lomas, Kathryn. "Crossing Boundaries: The Inscribed Votives of Southeast Italy." Pallas, no. 86, 2011, pp. 311–329. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/43606696. Accessed 15 Apr. 2020.
• Lombardo, Mario; Boffa, Giovanni (2023). "Contact and Interaction between Greeks and Messapians". In Cassio, Albio Cesare; Kaczko, Sara (eds.). Alloglо̄ssoi: Multilingualism and Minority Languages in Ancient Europe. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 215–250. doi:10.1515/9783110779684-010. ISBN 9783110779684.
• Marchesini, Simona (2023b). "The Messapic Inscription from Grotta Poesia MLM 3 Ro: Analysis with Frame Semantics". In Cassio, Albio Cesare; Kaczko, Sara (eds.). Alloglо̄ssoi: Multilingualism and Minority Languages in Ancient Europe. Berlin, Boston: De Gruyter. pp. 283–298. doi:10.1515/9783110779684-012. ISBN 9783110779684.
• Meudler, Marcel (2003). "Mézence, un théonyme messapien ?". Revue des Études Anciennes. 105 (1): 5–15. doi:10.3406/rea.2003.5647.
• Messapische Studien. Inschriften mit Kommentar, Skizze einer Laut- und Formenlehre. Von Otto Haas Universitätdozent - Wien. Heidelberg: Carl Winter - Universitätsverlag. 1962.

External links

• Civiltà messapica (in Italian)
• Archaeologists find western world's oldest map. Telegraph Newspaper Online, November 19, 2005.