Latin contribution?

[Paul Johnston]

Apparently, yes.  Welsh, Cornish, and Breton (though here Romance
influence continues to the present), all daughters of Old Brythonic,
are loaded with loanwords from Latin, some of which, by virtue of the
fact they went through a cluster of sound changes dating from the end
of the Roman period and just beyond, are certifiably old.  Just one
off the top of my head--Welsh eglwys < Lat. ecclesium.  Note the
lenition of the stop, and the /ui/, which comes from an /e:/ followed
by a high vowel in the next syllable--5th-6th c. sound changes.  Not
all of them have to do with Christianity, either.

Paul Johnston
On Nov 16, 2009, at 3:08 PM, Alison Murie wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Alison Murie <sagehen7470 at ATT.NET>
> Subject:      Latin contribution?
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---------
>
> Didn't any Latin creep into the common language during the Roman
> occupation of Britain?
> AM
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org