| Paeonian | |
|---|---|
| Spoken in | northern Greece, Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, southwestern Bulgaria |
| Extinct | probably 1st century BC--2nd century AD |
| Language family |
Indo-European
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xli |
The Paeonian language is the poorly attested language of the ancient Paeonians, whose kingdom once stretched north of Macedon into Dardania and in earlier times into southwestern Thrace.
Several Paeonian words are known from classical sources:
A number of anthroponyms (some known only from Paeonian coinage) are attested Agis (Άγις), Patraos (Πατράος), Lycpeios (Λύκπειος), Audoleon (Αυδολέων), Eupolemenos (Ευπολεμένος), Ariston (Αρίστων), etc. as well as several toponyms (Bylazora (Βυλαζώρα), Astibos (Άστιβος) and a few theonyms (Dryalus, Dyalos (Δρύαλος), the Paeonian Dionysus), as well as the following:
Classical sources usually considered the Paeonians distinct from Thracians or Illyrians, comprising their own ethnicity and language. Athenaeus seems to have connected the Paeonian tongue to the Mysian language, itself barely attested, which, if correct, would make Paeonian an Anatolian language.
On the other hand, the Paeonians were also regarded as being related to Thracians and ancestors of the Phrygians.
Modern linguists are uncertain on the classification of Paeonian, due to the extreme scarcity of materials we have on this language. Wilhelm Tomaschek and Paul Kretschmer claim it belonged to the Illyrian family, and Dimiter Dečev claims affinities with Thracian. Irwin L. Merker considers Paionian Hellenic and closely related to Greek, a Hellenic language with "a great deal of Illyrian and Thracian influence as a result of this proximity".[1]
The Indo-European voiced aspirates (*bh, *dh, etc.) became plain voiced consonants (/b/, /d/, etc.), just like in Illyrian, Thracian, and Phrygian.