The Continental Celtic languages is the now-extinct branch of the Celtic languages that were spoken on the continent of Europe, as distinguished from the Insular Celtic languages of the British Isles, Ireland, and Brittany. Continental Celtic is a geographic, not a linguistic, grouping of the ancient Celtic languages. The Continental Celtic languages were spoken by the people known to Roman and Greek writers as Keltoi, Celtae, Galli and Galatae. These languages were spoken in an arc stretching across from Iberia in the west to the Balkans and Anatolia in the east. Even though Breton is spoken in continental Europe, and has been since at least the 6th century AD, it is not considered one of the Continental Celtic languages as it is a Brittonic language closely related to Cornish and Welsh. Whilst it has been suggested that there is a Gaulishsubstratum in the Vannetais dialect the historical and linguistic evidence shows otherwise.
Attested Continental Celtic languages
Although it is likely that Celts spoke dozens of different languages and dialects across Europe in pre-Roman times, only a small number have been attested:
Lepontic was spoken on the southern side of the Alps. It is evidenced in a number of inscriptions as well as place names.
Gaulish was the main language spoken in greater Gaul. This is often considered to be divided into two dialects, Cisalpine and Transalpine. It is evidenced in a number of inscriptions as well as place names and tribal names in writings of classical authors. It may have been a substratum to Breton, as noted below.
Galatian, which was spoken in the region of Ankara of what is now central Turkey. Classical writers say that the language is similar to that of Gaul. There is also evidence of invasion and settlement of the Ankara area by Celts from Europe.
Celtiberian or Northeastern Hispano-Celtic is the name given to the language in northeast Iberia, between the headwaters of the Douro, Tagus, Júcar and Turía rivers and the Ebro river. It is attested in some 200 inscriptions as well as place names. It is distinct from the Iberian language.
The modern term Continental Celtic is used in contrast to Insular Celtic. While many researchers agree that Insular Celtic is a distinct branch of Celtic, having undergone common linguistic innovations, there is no evidence that the Continental Celtic languages can be similarly grouped. Instead, the group called Continental Celtic is paraphyletic and the term refers simply to non-Insular Celtic languages. Since little material has been preserved in any of the Continental Celtic languages, historical linguistic analysis based on the comparative method is difficult to perform. However, other researchers see the Brittonic languages and Gaulish as forming part of a sub-group of the Celtic languages known as P-Celtic. Continental languages are all P-Celtic except for Celtiberian, which is Q-Celtic, and have had a definite influence on all the Romance languages.
