Lepontic

Lepontic is an extinct Celtic language that was once spoken in Northern Italy between 700 BCE and 400 BCE.

The language is only known from a few inscriptions discovered that were written in the Etruscan alphabet. These inscriptions were found in an area centered around Lugano, including Lago di Como and Lago Maggiore.

Some scholars believe that Lepontic may be a dialect of Gaulish. Others, however, question the classification of this dialect as Gaulish and even Celtic, but consider it, together with a number of other dialects of ancient Northern Italy and Southern Gaul, as related to the Ligurian language.

Lepontic was eventually assimilated by Latin, after the Roman Empire gained control over Northern Italy.