What follows is a partial translation into English of my article “Langues, diglossie et changements linguistiques à la fin de

l’Antiquité et au début du Moyen Âge au sud-est de la Bretagne” published in the Mémoires de la société d’histoire et
d’archéologie de Bretagne, Tome CI, p 391, 2023. At the end of this document, you will find the study of other place names
that I have conducted since the publication of this article, as well as corrections (in red).

Languages, Diglossia, and Linguistic Changes at

the End of Antiquity and the Beginning of the
Middle Ages in Southeastern Brittany

What language(s) did the inhabitants of northwestern Gaul speak during the
Brittonisation – that is, the period in which the Breton language was first
introduced to Brittany?1 And when did this Brittonisation take place? These two
important questions have been subjects of debate among linguists, historians,
and archaeologists for decades, if not centuries. Following in the footsteps of the
late Bernard Tanguy2 and Erwan Vallerie,3 this article aims to propose a method
that uses historical phonetics and ancient toponymy to shed some light on these
questions. The central focus of my study is the diachronic phonology of ancient
Celtic place names, with particular attention given to specific developments in
Lower Brittany and in the formerly Breton-speaking areas. Within this
framework, the original meaning of these names is of secondary importance in
my analysis. Indeed, I will show that forms such as Brithiac, Behac, or Aguénac
undergo such remarkable phonetic changes compared to their counterparts in the
Romance-speaking regions that the search for a reconstructed form may be
incidental. My goal is to identify distinguishing and ancient developments
between Brythonic on one hand and Vulgar Latin on the other, and to attempt to
determine whether there was a direct transition from Gaulish to Brythonic or
whether there are traces of such a transition through Latin. While the use of
Latin in the region we now call Brittany is unquestionable (we owe the very
name Carhaix to this language), the possibility of Gaulish's survival

1
In using the term ‘brittonisation’, I refer to the establishment of the Breton language in the
present-day region of Brittany.
2
Tanguy, Bernard, Recherche autour de la limite des noms gallo-romains en « ac » en
Haute-Bretagne, dact., 2 vol., Université de Bretagne occidentale, Brest, 1973, p. 271.
3
Vallerie, Erwan, Traité de toponymie historique de la Bretagne, 3 vol., Le Relecq-Kerhuon, An
Here, 1995 (pp. 542, 256, 560)
 and of an overlap between it and Breton still remains highly speculative.4
The Breton language is a fully Brittonic language,5 and while it is true that
written traces of Gaulish6 can be found in the region until the 4th century7
(despite the scarcity of regional data8), and literary sources attest to its use in the
5th century in other regions of Gaul,9 this does not necessarily prove contact
between Brythonic and Gaulish in the Armorican Peninsula.10 Did the two
languages come into contact? And if so, was there any assimilation? Any
exchange? In which areas? And to what extent?11 Historical phonetics provides a
framework for addressing such questions.

Place names and phonetic changes

Toponyms retain the memory of significant phonetic changes that have

occurred over the centuries. While Autun derives from the ancient
Augustodunum, its current pronunciation is the result of centuries of phonetic
evolutions, each layer accumulating in layers over time. A single ancient name
gives several variants. For example, Burdigala gives Bordeaux in French, Bordèu
in Occitan, Bourdel in Breton, Burdeos in Spanish, and Bordele in Basque. Each
of these derivatives is the product of ‘different’ borrowings and phonetic
variations, and thus each testifies to a complex linguistic history. The date of a

4
Lambert, Pierre-Yves, « La situation linguistique de la Bretagne au haut Moyen Âge », La
Bretagne linguistique, n° 5, 1989, pp. 139-151.
5
Apart from a few irregularities. cf. Fleuriot, Léon, Les origines de la Bretagne, Paris, Payot,
1980, p. 61.
6
See Plumergat stele, RIIG MOR-01-01, Computerized Collection of Gaulish Inscriptions:
riig.huma-num.fr, consulted on September 29, 2022.
7
Le Forestier, Solenn, Les graffitis gallo-romains en Bretagne, dactyl., mémoire de maîtrise,
Université de Rennes 2, 1999, According to the author, the names found on ancient graffiti
discovered in Brittany by archaeologists are predominantly of Gaulish origin, but the practice of
writing rapidly declines after the 2nd century AD.
8
Reddé, Michel, Gallia Comata : La Gaule du Nord. De l’indépendance à l’Empire romain,
Rennes, Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2022, p. 355.
9
See the testimony of Sidonius Apollinaris regarding the use of Gaulish among the Arverni
nobility in the 5th century. […] quod sermonis Celtici squamam depositura nobilitas, nunc
oratorio stylo, nunc etiam camoenalibus modis imbuebatur. Grégoire, Jean-François et Collombet,
François-Zenon, Œuvres de C. Sollius Apollinaris Sidonius, traduites en français, t. i, Livre iii,
Paris, Poussielgue-Rusand, 1836.
10
Brett, Caroline, Brittany and the Atlantic Archipelago, 450-1200. Contact, Myth and History,
Cambridge University Press, 2021, p. 26-27.
11
To make the picture even more complex, Late Gaulish, in certain aspects, was likely undergoing
"Brittonisation," as proposed by Peter Schrijver, « The Châteaubleau tile as a link between
Latin and French and between Gaulish and Brythonic », Études celtiques, vol. 34, 1998, p.
135-142.
phonetic change can be estimated by comparing a word with its equivalents in
other related languages and in contemporary writings, as well as studying the
effects of layers (one phonetic evolution giving way to another, and so on). The
proposed datings in this study are based on the works of Pierre Fouché,12 Gaston
Zink,13 Monique Léonard,14 and Geneviève Joly.15

As for ancient Celtic toponymy, I will use primarily the reconstructed forms by
Xavier Delamarre.16 The significant advances that have recently been made in
the understanding of Gaulish and ancient Celtic languages in general permit
more substantial hypotheses of reconstruction, particularly aided by
anthroponymy. Today, thousands of Gaulish-origin proper names are attested in
epigraphy, providing us with a good understanding of the anthroponymic
inventory of this language. However, my study’s central focus pertains to the
diachronic phonology of ancient Celtic place names, with specific attention to the
developments in Lower and Middle Brittany.

Zones and treated toponyms

Since toponymy, and particularly ancient toponymy, is a delicate subject, I

have selected only the names of places for which ancient forms and the oldest
medieval forms are available. The scope of my study is limited primarily to the
Nantes region and its neighboring areas (Vannetais, Porhoët): there are several
reasons for this. First, the ancient Gaulish names bearing the suffix -ācon have
become -ak in the Breton of the Guérande region17 (and have been only minimally
assimilated to the suffix -eg18). Furthermore, since medieval toponymic
reworking was less prominent in the Guérande area than it was elsewhere in
Brittany, more common names for towns and villages have survived from
antiquity in this region than in the rest of the peninsula. Lastly, the bishopric of

12
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique du français, Paris, Klincksieck, 1952, p.1102
13
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique du français, Paris, Presses universitaires de France, 1999,
255 p.
14
Léonard, Monique, Exercices de phonétique historique, Paris, Nathan Université, 1999, 193 p.
15
Joly, Geneviève, Précis de phonétique historique du français, Paris, Armand Colin, 2003, 255 p.
16
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux celtiques de l’Europe ancienne (préface de Pierre-Yves
Lambert), Arles, Errance, 2021, 383 p.
17
Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux bretons du pays nantais, Fouesnant, Yoran Embanner, 2017, p.
404. This evolution could be the result of Roman influence involving a reduction of the long vowel.
However, it should be noted that \ā\ has undergone diverse developments : *māro- (grand) has
evolved into /ma:r-/ when it’s proclitic and into \’me:r\ or \’mɵ:r\,in other cases. *brātīr has
yielded \’bror\ in certain areas of maritime Vannetais. The suffix -ācon has evolved differently
depending on the location, resulting in \ɛk\, \ək\, \ɔk\ or \ɵk\ (and more rarely \ak\).
18
Jackson, Kenneth, A Historical Phonology of Breton, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
1967, § 200.
Nantes was, among the ancient bishoprics of Brittany, the most linguistically
diverse, being divided between areas that remained Breton-speaking at the
beginning of the 20th century (Batz-sur-Mer and Le Pouliguen), formerly
Breton-speaking Romanised areas, and areas that were never or very rarely
Breton-speaking (along with a few municipalities in the Poitevin region south of
the country of Retz). Moreover, this territory is also at the heart of the region
embraced by an incredibly rich and important early medieval document:19 the
Cartulary of Redon, which provides unique linguistic information about the Old
Breton period. Finally, it is a marginal and border region, often overlooked in
scholarship. However, it offers an opportunity to approach the issue of the birth
of the languages of Brittany from the perspective of eastern Brittany.

From *Avetiācon to Avessac... Latin assibilation

Latin assibilation is an ancient phenomenon that has affected all current

Romance languages. If the "t" in a word like "attention" is pronounced as [s]
today, it is the result of this ancient assibilation. A [t] or [k] occurring before [j]
would be transformed into a fricative consonant. This is an early phonetic
modification, which can be traced back to as early as the second century, as
spellings such as Crescentsianus, instead of Crescentianus, in 140 AD suggest.20
As a more local example, the ancient city of Ratiate, now Rezé, was recorded as
Raciate on Merovingian coins, with even the memory of the original consonant [t]
having vanished during the 7th century. However, Gaulish-origin toponyms that
show traces of Latin assibilation are not uncommon in Brittany (Table 1).

19
Tanguy, Bernard, « Les noms d’hommes et les noms de lieux » dans Cartulaire de l’abbaye
Saint-Sauveur de Redon, t. i, Rennes, Association des Amis des Archives historiques du diocèse
de Rennes, Dol et Saint-Malo, 1998, pp. 49-69.
20
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 909.
Reconstructed Forms Current Forms Ancient Forms
*Avetiācon Avessac (44) 836 : Auesiaca, 861 : Avizac
892 : Auzaca, 937 : Avecac
*Atiariācon Assérac (44) 1160 : Asarac, 1160 : Azarac
1273 : Acerac, 1287 : Asserac
*Cantiācon Canzac (à Donges, 44) 1470 : Cansac 1534 : Canzac

*Talāntiācon Talensac (35) 1152 : Thalencach, 1168 : Talencheac, 1174 :

Talenceac, 1190 : Thalanzac
*Cutiācon Cuziac en Cussiac 1571, Cusiac 1577
Sainte-Reine-de-Bretagne (44)
*Caletiācon Calzac (56) en Sarzeau Calzac en 1672

Table 1 - Traces of Latin assibilation on names ending in -ac

Reconstructed names are preceded by an asterisk (*).

Names of extinct villages are followed by a degree symbol (°).

I mention also the possible cases of Rieux (Reus in 862 and 1021), if the name
does indeed come from the ancient Duretia;21 and the case of Inzinzac (Morbihan)
(Insinsac in 1319, Isinsac in 1327, Disinsac in 1387) which Xavier Delamarre22
derives from an antique *Disentiācon. Examples of palatalization of an antique
[k] before [j] can also be found, such as Joursac in Campbon (Iozzac and Iorzac in
1209, Jorzac in 1497), which is derived from a family of toponyms that Xavier
Delamarre23 associates with *Iurciācon, itself formed from the Gaulish name
Iurcos, Iurca, both of which are attested. An ancient Brittonic change would have
given rise to *Iorhac. These toponyms and their phonetic evolutions bear witness
to the succession of several linguistic layers in this part of the Breton peninsula.
They are names of Gaulish origin that have undergone subsequent phonetic
changes due to the practice of Vulgar Latin, before the Breton language became
established: this explains the preservation of the final -ac and/or the [k] at the
beginning.

However, certain place names do not seem to show traces of this assibilation.
Sarran (Sarant in 854 and 1340, Sarent in 1404) in Guémené-Penfao could, I
think, be linked to toponyms derived from an ancient Gaulish *Sarrantia24,
which also gives rise to the hydronym Sarrance in Aube. The former does not

21
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 150
22
Id., ibid., p. 171.
23
Id., ibid., p. 143.
24
Id., ibid., p. 235.
appear to have undergone Latin assibilation and has preserved the original [t],
while in the latter, the [t] has evolved into [s].

From *Bettiācon to Béhac... Brittonic Spirantization

Nevertheless, the clearest examples of the absence of Latin assibilation in

Breton toponymy actually involve ancient geminate consonants tt (\t.t\) and cc
(\k.k\), as they underwent spirantization in Brittonic languages in the 5th
century25 (a modification dating back to the common trunk of this linguistic
group). Subsequently, during the Late Middle Ages the resulting dental fricative
consonants evolved into \x\ and \h\ in the southeastern Breton dialects.26
Examples are not uncommon: for example, the name Lohéac (Lohoiac, Lohuiac,
Lohuac in the 11th century in the Cartulary of Redon) could derive from
*Lottoiācon, from the Gaulish personal name Lottos.27 Common names in
Brittany like Cohignac (Blain) or Cohiniac (a town in Côtes-d'Armor, a place
name in Pipriac and Guignen in Ille-et-Vilaine) appear to correspond to Cossigny
in Seine-et-Marne (from *Cocciniācon) or Cotignac (from *Cottiniācon) in Var28.
Also notable are the paired names Rohignac (Sainte-Anne-sur-Villaine) and

25
Koch, John, « Neo-Brittonic Spirants from Old Celtic Geminates », Eriu, 40, 1989.
26
Jackson, Kenneth, A Historical Phonology of Breton, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies,
1967, § 971 et Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 408.
27
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de personnes celtiques dans l’épigraphie classique, Lonrai, Errance,
2007, p. 119
28
There are some names in -ac that include an "h" in the Occitan area, but they stem from a late
and very different phonetic evolution. For instance, Cahuzac, in the Tarn region, was recorded as
Causacum in 1293 and derives from a *Cabutiācon. (cf. Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid,
p. 99).
Rossignac (Gard)29 In fact, examples of this type are quite numerous (Table 2).
When an ancient place name can undergo Latin assibilation or Brittonic
spirantisation, it is possible to speak of an evolutionary divergence: these place
names are particularly valuable for shedding light on the use of either Latin or
Brythonic.

Reconstructed Forms Current Forms Ancient Forms Similar Place Names in Romance Evolution

*Bettiācon and *Becciācon Behac Behac in 1466, Bessy (Aube), Bessé (Maine-et-Loire), Bessac
(Sainte-Anne-sur-Vi 1470, 1475 and (Charente),...
laine) 1578
*Bettiācon and *Becciācon Béac / Le Béa Béhac in 1475 Bessy (Aube), Bessé (Maine-et-Loire), Bessac
(Saint-Brévin) (Charente),...

*Cattiācon Quihiac (Mauron) Quihiac in 1440, Chécy (Loiret)

and in 1513

*Bettialācon Beuheillac° (Nozay) Beuhillac 1496 Bézillé (Sucé-sur-Erdre, Loire-Atlantique)

Beuhilac 1495
Beuheillac 1551

*Trittiācon Landrezac (Sarzeau) Treziac, Triziac Tressé ( ? Ille-et-Vilaine)

and Trihiac in
16th century

Table 2 - Traces of Brittonic spirantization instead of Latin assibilation on names

ending in -ac.

Based on its ancient forms (Brithiac in the 11th century, Brithiac in 1160 and
in the 13th century), Briec (Finistère) could well be classified in this category of
names that underwent Brittonic spirantization of geminated consonants instead
of Latin assibilation before [j], from *Brittiācon30. To better illustrate these
divergences, Table 3 presents the possible evolutions based on the ancient Celtic
name *Bettiācon.

29
These duos derived from ancient geminated "tt" in Brittonic evolution are frequent in this area
and rich in linguistic information. Let us also mention Bahella (Saint-Gildas-des-Bois, Bathellac
in the 13th century) from an ancient *Battiliācon, like Batilly in Loiret (Batilliacum in 1350). The
former Sahanac from 1532 in Séné may be derived from *Sattonācon or Sacconācon (similar to
Sathonay and Sacconay in Ain). Cohillac in Missillac (also in 1419) comes from *Cottiliācon or
*Cocciliācon. Some seem to derive from ancient geminated "cc" such as Mohonna in Saint-Molf
(from *Maccon(i)aco?), similar to Macogny in Aisne
30
Fleuriot, Léon. Recherches sur les enclaves romanes anciennes en territoire bretonnant. In:
Etudes Celtiques, vol. 8, fascicule 1, 1958. pp. 164-178. p. 175
 *Bettiāco (gaulish)
Date Regular evolution in the Romance Regular Brittonic evolution Brittonic evolution following a
area in the east of Brittany passage through Vulgar Latin

2nd century *Betsi’āgo *Betti’āgo *Betsi’āgo

Assibilation of "t" before i Assibilation of "t" before i

4th century *Betsi’āgo *Betti’āgo *Betsi’āgo

Softening of intervocalic [k]31 Softening of intervocalic [k]
32 Softening of intervocalic [k].
Brittonization of the Vulgar Latin
33
form
5TH-6TH CENTURY *Bets(i)’aɣə *Beθ(i)’āg *Bets(i)’āg
Loss of intervocalic [g] Spirantization of geminates
34
and Loss of the final sound
35
loss of the final sound
12TH CENTURY *Bets’éə *Beθ’ag *Bets’ag
Closure of the diphthongal "a" and No standardization of -ac to -oc then No standardization of -ac to -euc in
reduction of the diphthong 36
-euc in Nantes . Nantes

XIV
e *Bess’é(ə) *Beh’ag *Bets’ag
Simplification of the two affricates, θ > h in southern dialects38
37
ts > ss , then disappearance of the
final schwa under stress

3132333435363738

Table 3 - Overview Table

From *Randiācon to Renac

Renac (the name of a town in the Redon region) is perhaps another product of
discriminatory evolution. Its ancient forms are Rannac and Ranhac; these are attested
in the ninth-century Cartulary of Redon.39 The name Renac is also found in the

31
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 112.
32
Jackson, Kenneth, A Historical Phonology…, ibid, § 420.
33
About « ts » in breton, see Id., ibid., § 1090.
34
Koch, John, « Neo-Brittonic Spirants… », ibid, p. 119-128.
35
Jackson, Kenneth, A Historical Phonology…, ibid, § 125.
36
The ancient dialects of Breton-speaking Nantais are not the only ones that have not
assimilated -ac and -ec; this is also the case in lower Vannetais, for example. Tanguy, Bernard,
"The linguistic boundary in the Armorican peninsula” in Annales de Bretagne et des pays de
l’Ouest, t. 87, n° 3,1980, p. 429-462, p. 44 During the period of Breton migration (4th-5th century)
according to toponymic data," Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l’Ouest, t. 87, n° 3,1980, p.
429-462, p. 440
37
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 244
38
Jackson, Kenneth, A Historical Phonology…, ibid, § 971 et Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux…,
ibid, p. 408.
39
Cartulaire de Redon, fol. 98 v° (Courson, Aurélien, de, Cartulaire de l’abbaye de Redon en
Bretagne, Paris, Imprimerie impériale, 1863).
compounds Lisrannac and Lisranac (the court of Renac), mentioned as early as 831.40
This place name seems to derive from an ancient *Randiācon, formed from randū- (limit,
boundary41), which is the origin of the word ‘rann’ (plot of land) in Breton. The same
*Randiācon has given rise to names like Ranzey,42 which exhibit traces of Latin
assibilation, as previously observed in the langues d’oïl zone. On the other hand, the
ancient Rannac appears to be the product of a Brittonic sound change, with the elision of
[d] before [n], a phonetic change that likely took place around the 5th century.43 The
elision of [b] after [m], which is less regular, may explain Quimiac (also seen as Quymiac
in 1511 and 1574), which could be derived from an ancient *Cambiācon (which also
underwent vowel contamination), paralleling Campbon (Cambidonno in 59944), where [b]
is not elided.

From Gaulish "χs" to French "ss" and Breton "h"

The name of the municipality Théhillac (Tehillac in 1424) has also caught my
attention, as it could be linked to another significant family of place names derived from
an ancient *Taχsiliācon (hence Tassillé in Sarthe or Tazilly in Nièvre45). This ancient χs
is also a linguistic landmark for the languages spoken at the end of antiquity, and is the
origin of an evolutionary divergence between spoken Latin and the Brittonic languages.
This sound evolved into \s\ as early as the 3rd century AD in Romance languages46
(hence the French word "taisson" (badger) from Gaulish "taχsos"). However, it becomes
\x\ in the Brittonic languages (for example, deχsiuo > dehoù).47 Therefore, Théhillac
seems to have undergone a Brittonic evolution without passing through Latin. It is
worth noting that the closing of the initial vowel, through vowel contamination, could
also be of Brittonic origin.48

Passage through Latin and/or Brittonisation?

Whether the place names under consideration here have been influenced by either
Latin Assibilation or by Brittonic Spirantisation, and taking into account the treatment

40
Cartulaire de Redon, f° 53v - 23, 854-867 ; f° 75v - 81, 844 ; f° 75v - 82, 843-851 ; f° 96r - 136,
843-850 ; f° 98v - 141, 831-837
41
Renac is, moreover, located at the boundary of the diocese of Vannes.
42
Lacroix, Jacques, Les frontières des peuples gaulois, 2 vol., Fouesnant, Yoran Embanner, 2021,
t. i, p. 30
43
Even, Arzel, Istor ar yezhoù keltiek, t. i, Brest, Hor Yezh, 1987, p. 80 et Jackson, Kenneth, A
Historical Phonology…, ibid, § 450.
44
This name may have also had a concurrent form in regular romance evolution. Indeed, old
maps sometimes indicate Chambon (see for example Hardy's map published by Hondius in
Amsterdam in 1630).
45
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 255.
46
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 107.
47
Fleuriot, Léon, Les origines…, ibid, p. 73.
48
Tahura (Tahurac in 1397, 1415, 1479) in Mesquer could also derive from an ancient placename
with "taχs-" as its root.
of the ancient 'xs', they all fall within the medieval Breton-speaking zone (Le Moign
line,49 see Map 1). Elsewhere, Gaulish names underwent generally regular Romance
evolutions, with -ācon evolving into -ay or -é, and no traces of the aforementioned
Brittonic sound changes were found. An exception is Béa (formerly Behac) in
Saint-Brevin, south of the Loire, in the Pays de Retz; but this is an area where the
Breton language is attested, and is likely to have been still in use during the late Middle
Ages.50 In a single area, and often in a single town, it is possible to find different kinds of
toponyms just a few kilometres apart: some which seem to have passed into the present
day from Old Breton via Latin, and others which bear no signs of Latinate influence.
How can this be explained, if not by a situation of multilingualism during the period of
early Brittonisation? The latter could have affected both Celtic-speaking and
Latin-speaking populations, resulting in a heterogeneous landscape.

Map 1 - Percentage of Breton place names per municipality

Dating Brittonisation through phonetics?

Dating the arrival of the Bretons on the continent has also been the subject of much
discussion. As mentioned earlier, linguists have been able to establish a relative

49
That is, the line west of which more than 5% of place names are of Breton origin,
Le Moing, Jean-Yves, Les noms de lieux bretons de Haute-Bretagne, Spezet, Coop Breizh, 1990.
50
Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 161.
chronology of phonetic changes. Comparing this chronology with the toponymy of ancient
Breton origin can prove to be illuminating.
In the Brittonic domain, we find ancient place names that have undergone late antique
Brittonic evolutions, even in areas further east, as demonstrated by Erwan Vallerie in
the case of the name Héric51 north of Nantes, derived from *Isariācon, where [s] > [h].52
Another example is Escoublac and its Breton version Skoulag (from *Scubiliācon53),
studied by Bertrand Luçon,54 which underwent regular Brittonic evolution without any
trace of Latin vowel prosthesis (a linguistic phenomenon which appeared as early as
early as the 2nd century AD55) and with Brittonic lenition of [b] before [l]. I have
presented in this article a number of other examples. As for the Romance domain, when
we compare the chronology of Romance phonetic evolutions in northern Gaul to Breton
place names, it is evident that Brittonisation occurred before the major phonetic changes
that gave rise to the Proto-Gallo-Romance dialects (Langues d'oïl and
Franco-Provençal).56

Palatalization and assibilation of 'k' and 'g' before 'i'/'e'

The assibilation of 'k' and 'g' before 'e'/'i' ([k] > [s], [g] > [ʒ]) is an ancient linguistic
phenomenon, originating from the 3rd and 4th centuries AD,57 and present in all current
Romance languages. For example, the French word cité (whose 'c' is pronounced [s]),
Spanish ciudad (whose 'c' is pronounced [θ]), Romanian cetate (whose 'c' is pronounced
[tʃ]), Italian città (whose 'c' is pronounced [tʃ]), etc., all derive from the Latin civitas
(originally with a hard [k]58) and bear the mark of this assibilation. In 1891, Joseph Loth
noted the similarity between the place names Aguénéac (Aguiniac in the 12th century, in
Sérent, Morbihan) and Acigné (Acigniacum in 1030, Ille-et-Vilaine59) – both possible
derivatives of *Acinniācon, from the Gaulish name Acinnus.60 Yet while Aguénéac (and
its later variants) does not show any trace of this ancient palatalization, Acigné (and its
subsequent form) does. Indeed, other names exhibit a similar evolution, such as
Léguignac in Guérande (Leguignac in 1452, Liguignac in 1462 and 1463, Liguygnac in
1480, and again Liguignac in 1491), which can be compared to Lassigny in Oise

51
Vallerie, Erwan, « A-zivout an elfenn *Isar, *Iser e stêranvadurezh », Hor Yezh, n° 280, 2014,
pp. 19-20.
52
See Fleuriot, Léon, Les origines…, ibid, p. 75. We also find examples of the opposite, with the
preservation of the ancient Gaulish [s]. See Id., ibid., p. 73.
53
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 238
54
Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux…, ibid, pp. 55 and 178. Le nom breton d’Escoublac, https://
bertrandlucon.wixsite.com/, consulté le 5 juin 2022
55
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 694 and Zink, Gaston, Phonétique
historique…, ibid, p. 67.
56
Tanguy, Bernard, « La limite linguistique… », ibid, p. 462
57
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 103.
58
Breton place names derived from this Latin word have retained the original hard "k" ([k]) late
into history, such as LeYaudet (Coz queoudet in 1638, Le Guyaudet in 1826) or Quidalet (from
Civitas Aletensis) in Saint-Malo.
59
Loth, Joseph, « Acigné, Aguénéac », Revue celtique, t. xii, 1891, p. 280.
60
Delamarre, Xavier, Dictionnaire des thèmes…, ibid, p. 24.
(Laceniacum in 900), which is probably derived from *Laciniācon.61 Noteworthy also is
Malguénac (Malgenac in 1194, Malgenac in 1221, Melgennac in 1228), from
*Magloceniācon, in the Vannetais region. The phonetic change undergone by these place
names further supports the hypothesis that Brythonic directly influenced Gaulish,
without a passage through Vulgar Latin. I cite also the more eastern example of
Sauzignac in Jans, formerly Sauguignac (Sauguignac in 1560, Sauguinac and
Sauguynac in 1600), which seems to have had two forms, one with a trace of this
palatalization derived from Vulgar Latin, and another which seems not to have
undergone this phonetic change.62 While the situation is not entirely clearcut, as
demonstrated by this last case, I do not know of any examples of Breton place names
ending in -ac that include the sequences 'gi' or 'ge', which could reveal a Latin evolution
of the type argilla (where 'g' is pronounced [g]) > argile (whose 'g' is pronounced [ʒ]). The
linguistic evolutions to which all of these place names have been subjected indicates that
the Le Moign line separated a Celtic zone from the Latin/Romance domain at the time of
this important phonetic change.63

Intervocalic [t] > [d] > [ð] > Ø.

In the 4th century, an intervocalic [t] became [d], which was later spirantized around
the 5th century and eventually elided by the 11th century.64 This resulted in changes
such as jocatum > joué, and iterrum > oirre > erre. Renay in Loir-et-Cher and Radenac in
Morbihan both derive from *Ratinācon65, but of the two only Radenac has retained the
[d]. Pédernec could be a similar case (Pedriac in 1160 and Pedernec in 1269, possibly
from *Paterniācon), in addition to Vannes/Gwened from Civitas Venetorum, which
maintains the intervocalic [d] in the Breton form. It appears, therefore, that ancient
place names in Brittany's formerly Breton-speaking areas and western regions do not
appear to have undergone the spirantization of intervocalic [d]. The explanation for the
retention of [d] derived from an ancient [t], due to the persistence of the Gaulish
language until Brittonisation, had already been put forward by Guy Souillet in his study
of the name Redon66.

61
Id., Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 175.
62
Toponym belonging to the same family as Soussigné (Ille-et-Vilaine) and Sousigné
(Maine-et-Loire).
63
A similar palatalization ([k] and [g] before [e]/[i]/[y]) affected the Breton language, but at a later
stage. The earliest traces of this phonetic change date back to the High Middle Ages. For
instance, Mesquer was written as Mesquier in 1416 (Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux..., ibid, p.
412). Prior to that, no examples of this phenomenon are found in the Redon cartulary within the
Breton-speaking area.
64
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 600. and Zink, Gaston, Phonétique
historique…, ibid, p. 64.
65
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 224.
66
Souillet Guy. Le nom de Redon. In: Annales de Bretagne. Tome 59, numéro 2, 1952. pp. 299-309.
Intervocalic [k] > [g] > [ ɣ ] > Ø
The same observation can be made in the case of intervocalic [k] > [g] > [ɣ] > Ø,
derived from an ancient [k]. This [k] remains unchanged in Breton toponymy in the
formerly Breton-speaking areas and western regions but it is spirantized and labialized
in Gallo-Romance dialects during the same period, between the 4th and 5th centuries.67
The best example of this is undoubtedly the suffix -ac, as opposed to -ay or -é, in eastern
Brittany, as Bernard Tanguy notes.68 Moreover Tanguy also points out that the
non-labialization zone of the suffix -ācon corresponds to the former Breton-speaking
area. Examples from vocabulary can be analyzed from this perspective, such as the word
brug (heather) and its variants (brugareg69). While some, like Léon Fleuriot,70 consider
this word to be a direct borrowing from Breton to Gaulish, others, like Pierre-Yves
Lambert,71 argue that it could equally well be a word of Gaulish origin, but borrowed
into a Romance language (hence the word bruyère, also derived from a late Gaulish root
*brūg-). While the preservation of [g] in Breton does not settle the debate, it provides
important chronological information: brug was likely borrowed before the 5th century.

Second Latin palatalization and the Bartsch effect

In the 5th century,72 a large area in northern Gaul underwent another significant
phonetic modification known as the second palatalization (cat > tsat > chat), which could
also affect the following vowel in the so-called Bartsch effect73 (caballus > "tsavalle" >
"tsevalle"). While in the formerly Breton-speaking areas and western Brittany the [k]
and [g] remained hard in ancient toponymy (Callac, Guillac, Campénéac, Campbon,
Quimiac...), they bear the trace of this palatalization in the east (Joué, Janzé,
Chantenay, Cheviré...), with both blocks being quite homogeneous. A name like
*Gabrissiācon thus gave rise to the village of Gavressac in Avessac, and Géovreisset in
Ain.74 Around the turn of the 6th century, a speaker of a Vulgar Latin which had been
affected by these phonetic changes would have pronounced the latter name as something
like "*djèvre(ï)sayë". A Brittonisation of the area after these phonetic changes would
have made it difficult for a toponym of the Gavressac type to emerge. The phonetic
developments in both central/western Brittany and eastern Brittany therefore suggest
that a large part of the Armorican peninsula had already been Brittonised by the 5th
century.

67
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 605. and Zink, Gaston, Phonétique
historique…, ibid, p. 63.
68
76. Tanguy, Bernard, « La limite linguistique… », ibid, p. 435.
69
Luçon, Bertrand, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 375.
70
Fleuriot, Léon, Les origines…, ibid, p. 6
71
Lambert, Pierre-Yves. « La situation linguistique… », ibid.
72
Zink, Gaston, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 107
73
Ibid., p. 115. Bartsch effect: closure of the free tonic a before palatalization.
74
Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux…, ibid, p. 16
The major stages of medieval Breton history in the Nantes
region

In order to demonstrate how all the elements discussed above fit together, I now offer a
simplified reconstruction of southeastern Brittany's linguistic history from antiquity
until the high Middle Ages

Late antiquity, around the 3rd century AD: probable Celtic-Latin bilingualism. Then, the
first traces of Brittonic phonetic developments in the north and west of the future
Nantes region (cf. Héric, Beuheillac, Béhac, etc.). Brittonisation would have affected both
the already Celtic- and Latin-speaking populations (cf. Assérac, Avessac, etc.). The
Brittonic evolution [s] > [h], which applies unevenly to ancient Celtic toponyms (e.g.
Siata > Houat/Houad, but Sena > Sein/Sun), may indicate that the process of
Brittonisation happened in two stages.75 It is also worth noting that in the Nantes
region, this early Brittonisation is not limited to the Guérande area alone; for instance,
Héric, undergoing Brittonic evolution, is located 40 kilometers east of Brière.

5th-6th centuries: the beginning of the Old Breton period.

Brittonisation to the west of the Le Moign line appears to have been deep and
well-established, while further east, the Romance-speaking zone is affected by the
second palatalization. These two zones seem to have been established already during the
palatalization in Latin of [k] and [g] before [e]/[i] during the final centuries of antiquity.

9th century: From this period onwards, the sources become much more abundant and
rich, thanks to the Cartulary of Redon – a veritable treasure trove of linguistic evidence
for the Old Breton period, both from the Pays de Redon and from its neighboring areas.
Regarding the middle region of Brittany, all the evidence suggests that it was
Breton-speaking. In Ruffiac, the parish with the most extensive documentation, 94% of
the 84 place names mentioned in the charters are of Breton origin.76 The remaining 6%
are either of ancient Celtic extraction (including the name Ruffiac itself), or - in the case
of the three names 'Gratias', 'Fabr', and 'Piscadur - of Latin origin. Gratias and Fabr
seem to have an ancient origin, while the latter could well be a translation in classical
Latin of the Old Breton term coret (‘fishery’). Among the 210 personal names and
nicknames recorded in Ruffiac, none are Romance. It is difficult to speak of a bilingual or
mixed zone during this period. On this point, I believe that the evidence contradicts Léon
Fleuriot's position: a language shift does take place, but it occurs a little later.77

75
The fact that toponyms exhibiting either the preservation of Gaulish [s] or its Brittonic
evolution to [h] are also found indiscriminately in the same territories could also argue for a
multilingual society during the Brittonisation process.
76
compared to 25% today" (Le Moing, Jean-Yves, Les noms de lieux..., ibid)
77
"Fleuriot, Léon, Les origines..., ibid, p. 90. The Romance terms that he argues as evidence of the
use of Romance in the Middle Vilaine in the 9th century actually concern parishes to the east and
south of the Loth line: Lusanger appears to be bilingual but is located further east, towards
Châteaubriant. Beauvoir is in Vendée, and as for Cornou and Langon, these parishes were
High Middle Ages: It is primarily during this period that the Breton language gradually
loses ground. The langue d'oïl is expanding in Brittany and elsewhere. It is also during
this time that the Breton language borrows a significant portion of its vocabulary from
French sources.78 The duchy becomes a diglossic state in which French dominates. In the
modern era, Breton survives only to the west of the Brière, in the Guérande peninsula.

Conclusion
Through examining Latin assimilation, Brittonic palatalization, and the treatment of
ancient Gaulish χs, this study has aimed to identify distinguishing phonetic
developments in Breton toponymy of ancient origin. This could reveal the linguistic
substrate on which the Brittonisation of a large part of the Armorican Peninsula took
place during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Initially, the oldest phonetic
modifications, whether Latin or Brythonic, indicate a complex linguistic situation in the
formerly Breton-speaking areas. There are both toponyms bearing traces of very ancient
phonetic evolutions derived from Vulgar Latin, while others seem to argue for a direct
Brittonisation of Continental Celtic. An ancient Brittonisation in two stages is also
likely, which could explain why ancient names undergoing complete Brittonic evolution
(such as Gaulish s > h, for example) coexist with names undergoing incomplete
Brittonisation (in a diglossic society, affecting primarily Celtic-speaking populations
before possibly extending to Latin-speaking populations?). These observations could be
applicable to the rest of Brittany, both the Breton-speaking and formerly
Breton-speaking regions. The dating provided by historical phonetics demonstrates that
the 3rd century is the most plausible period for the introduction of the Breton language
to Brittany. It was also the starting point for a multifaceted crisis in the Roman Empire,
which itself created the requisite conditions for these linguistic changes. The
abandonment of the former capital cities of Corseul and Carhaix, located inland, in favor

situated on the linguistic border, so it is not surprising to find some traces of Romance there.
Apart from the case of Langon, it is difficult to speak of the 'Middle Vilaine': Lusanger is located
20 kilometers and Beauvoir 60 kilometers away from this river. The word 'riuuam' is indeed used
in a charter concerning Ruffiac, but as a noun in a sentence. The fact that a monk uses a form of
popular Latin instead of classical Latin does not imply that this language was spoken in the
parish mentioned in the charter. It merely shows that the writer (whose origin is unknown) was
familiar with Romance. The other examples are not from the 9th century, are highly
eastern-oriented, or doubtful. For instance, the toponym from the Uenezia charters is often
presented as evidence of Romance presence. While an origin in Gaulish *Uenetia would show a
trace of Latin assibilation, as with the toponyms studied in this article, it could simply be an
earlier layer dating back to the ancient period. Furthermore, a Gaulish toponym of the type
*Uenissiā should also be considered, as this root has given rise to Venise in Doubs, for example
(Delamarre, Xavier, Noms de lieux..., ibid)."
78
Piette, Jean, French Loan Words in Middle Breton, University of Wales Press, 1975.
of the coastal promontory forts of Aleth79 and Le Yaudet80 during the 3rd and 4th
centuries is a tangible manifestation of the social, cultural, and political transformations
that were shaping Brittany’s future. As often happened throughout its history, the
Armorican Peninsula shifted its focus from the continent to the Atlantic. Later, at the
dawn of the Middle Ages, the Brittonisation that has assimilated elements of the two
ancient languages Latin and Gaulish, solidified in a large part of the peninsula, while
new phonetic upheavals affected the Romance-derived languages in a vast area of
northern Gaul during the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries of our era. Breton toponymy
certainly has not revealed all its secrets; further examples, either ancient or spoken
forms, and especially other distinguishing developments must be found to either refute,
or confirm and refine, these hypotheses, in addition to extending the study to other areas
of Brittany. As I have shown, numerous biases complicate the toponymist’s work; to
acquire an overview of the peninsula’s linguistic situation at the end of antiquity and the
beginning of the Middle Ages, it would be necessary to systematically cross-reference
data from other disciplines: archaeology, history, numismatics, etc.

Acknowledgments:
To Bertrand Luçon for providing the ancient forms of the Nantes region and his valuable
advice. To Hervé Le Bihan and Gadea Cabanillas de La Torre for their proofreading and
to Jessica Shales for her feedback and corrections on the English text.

Antoine Châtelier
PhD in Breton and Celtic Studies, Center for the Study of Languages, Territories, and
Cultural Identities - Brittany and Minority Languages, University of Rennes 2

Addenda

Accentuation and lenition of intervocalic [t], the case of

Nantes/Naoned.

79
Kerebel, Hervé, Provost, Alain. "The Progressive Decline of Corseul (Côtes-d'Armor), Former
Capital of the Cité des Coriosolites, Capitales éphémères. Des Capitales de cités perdent leur
statut dans l'Antiquité tardive, Proceedings of the Colloquium Tours, March 6-8, 2003. Tours,
Fédération pour l'édition de la Revue archéologique du Centre de la France, 2004 (Supplement to
the Revue archéologique du centre de la France, 25), pp. 157-172, here p. 170.
80
Cunliffe, Barry, Galliou, Patrick, Le Yaudet en Ploulec’h, Côtes-d’Armor. Archéologie d’une
agglomération (iie siècle av. J.-C.-xxe siècle apr. J.-C.), Rennes, Presses Universitaires de
Rennes/Société d’Émulation des Côtes-d’Armor, coll. « Archéologie et culture », 2015, pp.227, p.89
 The duo Nantes (French) / Naoned (Breton), both derived from the name of the
ancient Gaulish tribe Namnetes that inhabited this territory, appears to provide
numerous insights for our purpose. Unlike the name of the city Vannes, which derives its
name from the Venetes, Nantes has retained the original [t] sound intact. This suggests
that the same [t] sound was no longer situated between two vowels at the time of the
lenition of intervocalic [t] around the 5th century AD.81 This can be easily explained by
the tonic accent: \'namnətes\ > \'na(m)ntəs\ > \'nantəs\ > \'nɑ̃ntəs\ > \'nɑ̃t\. The form
Naoned underwent a different evolution driven by a different accentuation, on the
penultimate syllable. This allowed for the normal lenition of \t\ to \d\. \nam'netəs\ >
\nam'nedəs\ > \nav'ned\.82 Therefore, this represents another phonetic divergence
between a Romance form and a Celtic form, which dates back to the late antique period.
Indeed, the point of divergence (in this case, accentuation) between these two
developments must have occurred before the 5th century AD. It is not unlikely that the
Britons frequented this port enough to retain a name for this city with a regular Celtic
evolution. However, this evolutionary divergence fits into a larger set of numerous
examples, as we have seen in the previous article.

̃ ̆ t]
Romance forms of Nantes : [nɑ̃ːt], [nãt] et [nɛʊ 83

̃ əd\t] , [nɛ'̃ nɛjd\t] ,

84 85
Breton forms of Naoned : [nɑ̃wnɛd\t], ['naunəd\t], [nõnəd\t], [nɛn
86
[nɛ'̃ njø:d\t]

81
Fouché, Pierre, Phonétique historique…, ibid, p. 600.
82
The first attestation of Nantes in Breton is Naffnet in the Catholicon of 1499.
83
Chubri :
https://www.chubri-galo.bzh/chubri-galo_dictionnaire-gallo-francais_ChubEndret-toponymie__fr.h
tm
84
Favereau, Francis, Geriadur Bras,
https://geriadurbrasfavereau.monsite-orange.fr/file/256628a94b3d21c28338159691581180.pdf
85
Nantais breton, Batz-sur-Mer (44)
86
Hoedic island breton (56)
Non-leniency of intervocalic [d]. The case of Bédée (35)

The name of Bédée in Ille-et-Vilaine, based on its ancient forms (1122 Bidisco 1152
Bedeso 1152 Bedensis 1152 Bedesco 1187 Bédec 1376 Bedesq), could originate from an
ancient *Bitusciā (domain of Bituscios). This same *Bitusciā would be the origin of the
name of the municipality of Biches in Nièvre. Therefore, we also have an example here of
non-leniency of intervocalic [d] and thus of an ancient Brittonic influence.

Romance form (gallo) : [bəde]87

Inscription of Caius Betuscius Tertius in Ptuj, Pannonia

87
Chubri :
https://www.chubri-galo.bzh/chubri-galo_dictionnaire-gallo-francais_ChubEndret-toponymie__fr.h
tm