Events
We run a number of different events during the year.
Please see below a list of upcoming events.
Problems of Celtic Lexicography (I)
Stokesday / Dydd Stokes / Lá Stokes, Aberystwyth
This one day conference will be held on the 6th of June in Tŷ Trafod, Visualisation Centre, Aberystwyth University to inaugurate a series of annual academic meetings of linguists and philologists working in the domain of Celtic lexicography. Lexicography is a scholarly discipline which studies lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries, and traces of lexicography can be identified as early as the late 4th millennium BCE, with the first known examples being Sumerian cuneiform texts. The word dictionarium was in use by the late 14th century, while the invention of computers changed lexicography at the end of the last century. As the Department of Welsh and Celtic Studies has begun a research project to producee a Dictionary of Early Celtic of Britain and Ireland, funded by the Leverhulme Trust, it appeared reasonable to begin a scholarly discussion of various problems of dictionary-making, which is multifaceted by nature. Indeed, we must ask questions about the compilation of corpora, depth and angles of analysis of individual lexemes, volume of illustrations and system of cross-references, the role of etymological and grammatical commentaries – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. This set of questions will be discussed by renowned lexicographers working on dictionaries of modern and medieval Celtic languages (Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx) as well as ancient Celtic and other languages which have historically been in contact with Celtic languages. As Aberystwyth University is the seat of the Anglo-Norman Dictionary, and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, also situated in Aberystwyth, is home to Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, the historical Welsh dictionary, Aberystwyth is the perfect venue for such meetings, which are dubbed Stokesday / Lá Stokes to match Bloomsday (Lá Bloom), observed annually in Dublin in June. This is our tribute to Whitley Stokes (1830 – 1909), a pioneering Celtic lexicographer.
The event is free to attend. See below for the programme:
6 June 2026: 9.30- 17.40
Tŷ Trafod
Visualisation Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth, SY23 3BF
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 9.30. – 11.20. | Simon Rodway (Aberystwyth University): Opening remarks. Bernhard Maier (University of Tübingen): Whitley Stokes and Celtic lexicography: the evidence of his correspondence. Andrew Hawke (Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, UWTSD): Problems of Welsh Lexicography: the view from GPC. |
| Coffee break | |
| 11.50. – 13.00 | David Stifter (Maynooth University): Corpus PalaeoHibernicum – Developing a lexical database of Old Irish. Karen Jankulak (Anglo-Norman Dictionary, Aberystwyth University): Celtic in the Anglo-Norman Dictionary. |
| Lunch break | |
| 14.15. – 15.50. | Alexander Falileyev (Aberystwyth University): Dictionary of Early Celtic of Britain and Ireland: counting problems. Juan Luis García-Alonso (University of Salamanca): Etymologizing Hispano-Celtic: Challenges in Identifying Reliable Lexicographical Units in Fragmentarily Attested Languages. Ranko Matasović (University of Zagreb): Which words cannot be found in the Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (and why). |
| Tea break | |
| 16.10. – 17.40. | David Mandić (Faclair na Gàidhlig, Edinburgh): Some editorial dilemmas in Faclair na Gàidhlig. Christopher Lewin (University of Edinburgh): Manx lexicography: background, opportunities, challenges. Simon Rodway (Aberystwyth University): Closing remarks. |
October 2025 - Oktoberfest at the Mouth of Στουκκία, 25 Years of Ancient Celtic at Aberystwyth
Oktoberfest at the Mouth of Στουκκία
25 Years of Ancient Celtic at Aberystwyth / 25 Mlynedd o Hen Gelteg yn Aberystwyth
25 October 2025
Tŷ Trafod
Visualisation Building, Penglais Campus, Aberystwyth, SY23 3BF
Printable Microsoft Word version of the Program
| Time | |
|---|---|
| 9:30 - 11:20 |
Simon Rodway (Aberystwyth University): Introduction: 25 Years of Ancient Celtic studies at Aberystwyth. Patrick Sims-Williams (Aberystwyth University): The Celticity of “Celtic Britain”. Nicholas Zair (University of Cambridge) & Mark Darling (Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg): Celtic in the curse tablets from Uley. |
|
Coffee break |
|
| 11:50 - 13:00 |
Torsten Meissner (University of Cambridge): Some (very) British names. David Parsons (University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies): Celtic before Cornish: some thoughts on the earliest linguistic evidence from south-western England. |
| Lunch break | |
| 14:15 - 15:50 |
Alexander Falileyev (Aberystwyth University): ‘New’ Gaulish names from Aquitania and their importance for Celtic historical grammar Juan Luis García-Alonso (University of Salamanca): Again on Hispano-Celtic vs Celtiberian: was there a Non-Celtiberian Celtic in Northern Hispania? Corinna Salomon (University of Vienna): Graphematical considerations regarding the Greek supplementary letters in Gallo-Latin inscriptions. |
| Tea break | |
| 16:10 - 17:40 |
John T. Koch (University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies): PIE > Celtic: implications of new evidence for an updated working hypothesis. Luka Repanšek (University of Ljubljana): Back to the Perfect: Reconsidering the 3rd sg. perfect ending of *CeH-roots in Ancient Celtic. Simon Rodway (Aberystwyth University): Closing remarks. |
