The words are a mystery in the form of intricate patterns of shapes and symbols pressed into thin remains of lead or stone. They represent a curse, a grave marker, or a legal document, but what they are for Joseph Eska is an ancient Celtic language to be deciphered and understood.

For his research in linguistics, the scientific study of language and its structure, in which he deciphers early Celtic written languages found on inscriptions often including legal texts and dedications, he is an upcoming recipient of a Guggenheim fellowship.

Why it matters

The Board of Trustees of the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation appointed Eska, professor in the Department of English at Virginia Tech, as one of 188 Guggenheim Fellows from a pool of 3,000 applicants. The fellowships provide funding for scholars, artists, photographers, novelists, essayists, poets, historians, choreographers, environmentalists, and data scientists. The foundation noted that the fellows were chosen for their career achievements and exceptional promise. This award, beginning Aug. 10, will allow Eska to conduct his research full-time for the next year.

It is easy to imagine Eska’s research taking him to the far reaches of ancient Celtic civilization — the cobblestone streets of Europe, hidden underground lodgings, or decaying churchyards. Instead, he is opting for the comfort and solitude of his own home, bolstered by the presence of his four cats. From this vantage point, he will explore resources accumulated over many years from his research and travels including photographs and other copies of inscriptions to learn more about the unique features of early Celtic languages compared to more well-known ones such as Gaelic or Welsh.

“In English, the verb agrees with the subject,” he said. “In a Celtic language, the verb agrees with the subject, but it also agrees with the object. Prepositions are conjugated, meaning a single word can convey different relationships like ‘to me’ or ‘to you.’ And, at least in languages like Irish and Welsh, the verb is the first word of the sentence and there aren’t any other European languages that do that. So part of what I’m interested in is how did these languages get that way?”

Eska said other researchers compare Celtic languages to ancient languages such as Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit, assuming similar evolutionary paths. Recent discoveries of older Celtic inscriptions from France, Spain, Italy, and Germany, however, show that those previous assumptions may be incorrect.

Expanding the understanding of language evolution

To understand more about the lineage of the older languages, Eska will merge the two sides of his academic duality. He is both a historical and a theoretical linguist, which makes his approach to understanding language unusual. From the historical side, he will focus on how languages change over time, documenting their syntax and structure by comparing texts and inscriptions to understand their evolution.

The culmination of Eska’s year-long fellowship will be completing a book based on his findings. Acknowledging his historical and theoretical pursuits, the manuscript will be divided into two parts: a descriptive section on old Celtic syntax and an explanatory section using cartographic syntax.

“The second part is going to use a contemporary theoretical approach,” he said, “which is called cartographic syntax.”

This will include documenting concepts such as word order and case usage, while the second part involves analyzing why certain syntactic structures appear the way they do and how they developed over time. By studying inscriptions that predate the more common Celtic languages, Eska will combine his linguistic approaches to gain a comprehensive understanding of the early languages.

“The book has two goals. One is just to get this material out,” Eska said and then added with a smile, “And the second is to provide a framework to come to a real answer for how Welsh and Irish got to be so weird.”

Eska's academic and linguistic background

  • Received his Ph.D. and a Master of Arts from the University of Toronto, and a Bachlor of Arts from Rutgers University  
  • Co-authored “Historical Linguistics: Towards a Twenty-First Century Reintegration,” published in 2013 by Cambridge University Press
  • Published in numerous journal articles on Celtic and Indo-European linguistics
  • Honored with a Virginia Tech College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences Excellence in Research Award in 2014
  • Co-Edits the journal Indo-European Linguistics
  • Edits the North American Journal of Celtic Studies
  • Formerly chaired the Department of English

 

Contributions to linquistics

“Joe Eska’s receipt of the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship is a reflection of his extraordinary contributions to the field of linguistics,” said Laura Belmonte, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Science. “This fellowship will enable him to further his innovative research into Celtic languages, blending historical and theoretical approaches. Dr. Eska’s work exemplifies the highest standards of academic excellence and creativity, and his ongoing research promises to shed new light on the evolution of language, benefiting not only Virginia Tech but the global scholarly community.”

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