Editing Primitive Irish (section)

== Written records ==
Primitive Irish is the oldest recorded form of the [[Goidelic languages]]. It was written in the [[Ogham]] alphabet, the usage of which can be divided into two phases, [[Ogham inscription#Orthodox inscriptions|Orthodox Ogham]] and [[Ogham inscription#Scholastic inscriptions|Scholastic Ogham]]. 

The former represents the earlier tradition of inscriptions recording an individual's name, optionally with parentage, perhaps as a memorial or indicator of land ownership,<ref>McManus 1991, p. 44</ref> whereas the latter resulted from a tradition of scholarly restoration of the writing system as part of the development of a [[Celtic art|Celtic style]] of [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] art, in parallel with the use of the [[Latin alphabet]] in ordinary writing.<ref>McManus 1991, p. 128</ref> Primitive Irish is known only from Ogham fragments, usually personal names, the earliest being dated by academics to the 4th century, although some estimates for the earliest inscriptions range between the 1st and 5th centuries. Scholars agree that the orthodox written tradition is older than the surviving inscriptions.<ref>Koch 1995, pp. 44-45</ref><ref>Carney 1975, p. 57</ref><ref>Ziegler 1994, p. 25</ref> The latest inscriptions of the orthodox tradition appear to come from the 6th century.<ref>Koch 1995, pp. 45-46</ref> The scholastic use of Ogham continued until the early 19th century, the last inscription being found on the tomb of Mary Dempsey at [[Ahenny]] in [[County Tipperary]], which is written in both Irish and English.<ref>Ziegler 1994, pp. 93-96</ref>

Transcribed [[Ogham inscription]]s, which lack a letter for {{IPA|/p/}}, show Primitive Irish to be similar in [[morphology (linguistics)|morphology]] and [[inflection]]s to [[Gaulish language|Gaulish]], [[Latin]], Classical [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Sanskrit]]. Many of the characteristics of modern (and medieval) Irish, such as initial mutations, distinct "broad" and "slender" consonants and [[consonant cluster]]s, are not yet apparent.

More than 300 ogham inscriptions are known in Ireland, including 121 in [[County Kerry]] and 81 in [[County Cork]], and more than 75 found outside Ireland in western [[Great Britain|Britain]] and the [[Isle of Man]], including more than 40 in [[Wales]], where Irish colonists settled in the 3rd century, and about 30 in [[Scotland]], although some of these are in [[Pictish language|Pictish]]. Many of the British inscriptions are bilingual in Irish and Latin; however, none show any sign of the influence of Christianity or Christian epigraphic tradition, suggesting they date from before 391, when Christianity became the official religion of the [[Roman Empire]]. Only about a dozen of the Irish inscriptions show any such sign.<ref>Nancy 2006, p. 103</ref> There is speculation about the orthodoxy of one inscription in [[Hampshire]] and two in Scotland, but there is no academic consensus on the matter.<ref>McManus 1991, pp. 44-45</ref>

The majority of ogham inscriptions are [[memorial]]s, consisting of the name of the deceased in the [[genitive case]], followed by {{sc|MAQI, MAQQI}}, "[the stone] of the son" ([[Modern Irish]] {{lang|ga|mic}}), and the name of his father, or {{sc|AVI, AVVI}}, "[the stone] of the grandson", (Modern Irish {{lang|ga|uí}}) and the name of his grandfather, e.g. {{sc|DALAGNI MAQI DALI}}, "[the stone] of Dalagnos son of Dalos". Sometimes the phrase {{sc|MAQQI MUCOI}}, "of the son of the tribe", is used to show tribal affiliation. Inscriptions demonstrating additional information are rare, such as {{Sc|QRIMTIR RON[A]NN MAQ COMOGANN}}, "[the stone] of the priest Ronán son of Comgán".<ref name=":0">Stifter 2010, p. 56</ref> Some inscriptions appear to be border markers.<ref>[[Rudolf Thurneysen]], ''A Grammar of Old Irish'', Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1946, pp. 9–11; Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, ''Early Medieval Ireland 400–1200'', Longman, 1995, pp. 33–36, 43; James MacKillop, ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology'', Oxford University Press, 1998, pp. 309–310</ref>