Old Latin (also called Early Latin or Archaic Latin) refers to the Latin language in the period before the age of Classical Latin; that is, all Latin before 75 BC.

Phonology

Diphthong changes from Old Latin (left) to Classical Latin (right)

Existing examples

The Forum inscription, one of the oldest known Latin inscriptions. It is written boustrophedon, albeit irregularly. From a rubbing by Domenico Comparetti.

• The Praeneste fibula (7th century BC, but thought to be a fake)
• The Forum inscription (illustration, right) (circa 550 BC)
• The Duenos inscription (circa 500 BC)
• The Castor-Pollux dedication (circa 500 BC)
• The Garigliano Bowl (circa 500 BC)
• The preserved fragments of the laws of the Twelve Tables (traditionally, 449 BC, attested much later)
• The Tibur pedestal (circa 400 BC)
• The Senatusconsultum de Bacchanalibus (186 BC)
• The Lapis Satricanus
• The Vase Inscription from Ardea
• The Corcolle Altar fragments
• The Carmen Arvale
• The Carmen Saliare
• The Scipionum Elogia

Grammar and Morphology (Differences from Classical Latin)

Nouns

First declension (a)

The 'A-Stem Declension'. Nouns of this declension usually end in –a and are typically feminine.

Second declension (b)

The 'O-Stem Declension'. Nouns of this declension are either masculine or neuter.

Note the genitive plural ending has two endings: the earlier -?m, almost exactly like the Ancient Greek -?n, and the later Archaic Latin form -?som. Due to the fact that in Archaic Latin /r/'s and /s/'s were often interchangeable, a phenomenon known as rhotacism, the later -?som evolved into the Classical Latin -?rum.

Third declension (c)

The 'E-Stem ' and 'I-Stem ' Declension. This declension contains nouns that are masculine, feminine, and neuter.

The nominative as regs instead of rex shows a common feature in Old Latin; the letter x was seldom used alone to designate the /ks/ or /gs/ sound, but instead, written as either 'ks', 'cs', or even 'xs'.

Personal Prounouns

Personal pronouns are among the most common thing found in Old Latin inscriptions. Note how in all three persons, the ablative singular ending is identical to the accusative singular.

The Relative Prounoun

In Old Latin, the relative pronoun is also another common concept, especially in inscriptions. Unfortunately, the forms are quite inconsistent and leave much to be reconstructed by scholars.

Verbs

Old Present and Perfects

There is not much actual proof of the inflection of Old Latin verb forms and the few carvings we have hold many inconsistencies between forms. Therefore, the forms below are ones that are both proven by scholars through Old Latin carvings, and recreated by scholars based on other early Indo-European languages such as Greek, Oscan, Umbrian, and other Italic dialects.

References

See also

• Saturnian (verse form)

External links

• Old Latin Inscriptions

de:Altlatein la:Lingua Latina archaica li:Aajdlatien ja:????? no:Gammellatin fi:Varhaislatina tr:Eski Latince