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Raetian language
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Also spelled:
Raetic
Related Topics:
extinct language
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Raetian language

Also known as: Raetic language
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History

Raetian language, language spoken by the ancient Raetians in southern Germany and in the Alpine regions of Italy, Austria, and Switzerland in pre-Roman times. The language is known from a number of inscriptions.

Although some scholars believe Raetian to hold an intermediate linguistic position between Celtic and Illyrian (a branch of the Indo-European language family spoken east of the Adriatic Sea), others now believe the language to be non-Indo-European. Late Raetian inscriptions, especially those from northern Italy, seem to have been influenced somewhat by Etruscan.