The parts of Hispania without epigraphy

Abstract

This chapter describes the linguistic situation in those parts of the Iberian peninsula where there are no or very few inscriptions written in the indigenous languages. Our knowledge is based on the onomastic evidence (place names, deity names, and personal names) that has come down to us, mainly through the Latin epigraphy of late republican and imperial times. The characteristics of each category of names are discussed, pointing out their potential strengths and limitations as a source for knowledge of the linguistic situation, as well as the coincidences and differences that they sometimes reflect, in order to define onomastic areas. Finally, the different linguistic regions that can be observed in the peninsula are presented by means of analysing the geographical distribution, linguistic attribution, and other characteristics of the indigenous onomastic evidence.