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( British language (Celtic))
British was an ancient Celtic language spoken in much of southern and central Britain, up to the central lowlands of Scotland and in Ireland.[citation needed] According to Julius Caesar, it was similar to the language spoken in central Gaul. It is not known when the British language arrived – times from the Neolithic to the Iron Age have been suggested. The language is likely to have been modified during the Roman period by the influence of Latin. British was later replaced in much of Scotland by Scottish Gaelic,[1] and in much of Ireland[citation needed] by Irish Gaelic. There appear to be no written documents in the language except for a few inscriptions.[1] Curse tablets found in the Roman reservoir at Bath, Somerset contain about 150 names, about half of which are undoubtedly Celtic but not necessarily British. There is an inscription on a metal pendant discovered in 1979 in Bath, which seems to have Latinised British names[2] There is also a tin/lead sheet with part of 9 lines of text. This is damaged but again seems to contain British names. (see Tomlin 1987). Modern knowledge of the tongue is limited to a few names of people and places. Comparison with Continental Celtic languages, specifically Gaulish, shows that it was very similar to other Celtic languages of the time. Julius Caesar (in "Gallic Wars") said the language of Britain differed little from that of Gaul.
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