Editing Ligurian language (ancient) (section)

=== Non-Celtic Indo-European forms ===
On the other hand, some Ligurian ethnonyms show a weaker or less evident connection to Celtic, such as the name ''[[Friniates]]'', which can be hardly regarded as genuinely Celtic.{{Sfn|Mees|2024|p=207}} Although ''[[Deciates]]'' seems to derive from the [[Proto-Indo-European]] (PIE) root *''deḱ-'', it does not appear to be Celtic. Consequently, [[Javier de Hoz]] suggests classifying the name as 'restricted Ligurian', given the tribe's geographical location.{{sfn|de Hoz|2005|pp=178, 181}} The ethnic name ''[[Taurini]]'', from the Indo-European *''tauros'' 'bull', does not follow the [[Metathesis (linguistics)|metathesized]] Celtic form ''taruos''. According to Delamarre, this could be explained by the influence of Latin or the preservation of an archaic form.{{sfn|Delamarre|2003|p=291}}

Similarly, the Ligurian ''Bodincos'' 'of unmeasured depth', from PIE ''*bʰudʰnós'', does not display the metathesis of [[Italo-Celtic]] *''bʰundʰós'' (cf. Latin ''fundus'', Middle Irish ''bond'').'''{{Sfn|Mees|2024|p=208}}''' The ethnonym ''[[Eguiturii]]'' (< PIE *''h₁éḱwos'' 'horse') also features an archaic preservation of [[Labialized velar consonant|labio-velar]] ''-kʷ-,'' in contrast to Gaulish ''epos'' (which can be compared to the Ligurian ''[[Epanterii]]'').{{Sfn|Evans|1967|p=200}} The similarity between the ancient names of Genoa (''Genua''), in the ancient Ligurian region, and Geneva (''Genaua''), in Celtic-speaking territory, has been highlighted by scholars,{{Sfn|Delamarre|2007|pp=36–37}} but if both toponyms could derive from the Celtic ''*genu'' 'mouth', the PIE stem *''ǵónu''- 'knee', which is commonly found in other Indo-European language groups, may also be at the origin of the names.{{sfn|Clackson|2015|pp=3–5}}

Francesco Rubat Borel has highlighted unusual Ligurian phonological changes not seen in Celtic languages, such as *''upo''- > ''uea''- and *''o'' > ''a'' in unstressed syllables, the toponymic suffix -''asc''-, and the retained *''p'' in ''Porcobera'', which would make claims of Ligurian as a Celtic language problematic.{{sfn|Rubat Borel|2008}}{{Sfn|Mees|2024|p=209}} According to Bernard Mees, Ligurian appears to share some phonological features with Celtic while differing significantly in morphology, suggesting it was a separate language with certain similarities to Celtic.{{Sfn|Mees|2024|p=|pp=203–204, 209}} He writes that "the Romans did not consider the Ligurians to be Celts, and although there are some evident parallels between Ligurian and Celtic names, these can all be understood as reflecting inherited Indo-European features, not distinctively Celtic traits."{{Sfn|Mees|2024|p=220}} By analysing Ligurian personal names, [[Jürgen Untermann]] concluded that Ligurian is best considered an Indo-European language or language family separate from both Celtic and Italic.{{Sfn|Untermann|2006|pp=1762–1766}}{{Sfn|Mees|2024|pp=203–204, 209}}