Indo-European topics
extinct Anatolian&_160;· Paleo-Balkans (Dacian,
Phrygian, Thracian)&_160;· Tocharian
historical Anatolians (Hittites, Luwians)
Celts (Galatians, Gauls)&_160;· Germanic tribes
Illyrians&_160;· Italics &_160;· Cimmerians&_160;· Sarmatians
Scythians &_160;· Thracians (Dacians) &_160;· Tocharians
Indo-Iranians (Rigvedic tribes, Iranian tribes)&_160;
The Celtic languages are descended from Proto-Celtic, or "Common Celtic", a branch of the greater Indo-European language family. The term "Celtic" was used to describe this language group by Edward Lhuyd in 1707, having much earlier been used by Greek and Roman writers to describe tribes in central Gaul. During the 1st millennium BC, they were spoken across Europe, from the Bay of Biscay and the North Sea, up the Rhine and down the Danube to the Black Sea and the Upper Balkan Peninsula, and into Asia Minor (Galatia). Today, Celtic languages are limited to a few areas on the western fringe of Europe, notably Ireland, the peninsula of Brittany in France, and areas of the United Kingdom including Wales, Scotland and Cornwall. Celtic languages are also spoken on the Isle of Man, Cape Breton Island and in Patagonia. The spread to Cape Breton and Patagonia occurred in modern times. In all these areas the Celtic languages are now only spoken by minorities although there are continuing efforts at revival. Although Celtic languages were spoken in Australia before federation in 1901, these have died out.
