Elymian language

The Elymian language is the extinct language of the ancient Elymian people of western Sicily. It is thought to have been an Indo-European tongue. The limited and fragmentary nature of the surviving sources makes it very difficult to identify its affinities with other regional languages; it has been speculated that Elymian was related to the Italic languages, though this interpretation is disputed.

Only a handful of Elymian texts have survived. These comprise a few placenames and personal names; several coins inscribed in Greek script with the names of Elymian cities; and around 170 fragments of pottery inscribed in Greek script, found in the ruined Elymian city of Segesta. All of the texts date to between the 6th and 4th century BC. The majority are very short and fragmentary (only a few characters), with the small number of longer texts apparently containing a name, sometimes followed by "I am". A vase found at Montedoro, around 15 km southwest of Palermo, features the only known complete inscription in Elymian. Tentatively translated, it may be read as "I [the pot] am [a gift] for/by Ata Tuka".

References

* Peter Schrijver, "Elymian", in "Encyclopedia of the Languages of Europe", ed. Glanville Price. Blackwell Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0631220399