The function and typology of absolute and conjunct flexion in early celtic: Some hints from ancient Egyptian

The double system of absolute and conjunct verbal flexion in early Celtic, and Old Irish in particular, has been the subject of many discussions and speculations, which conventionally deal with its origin within Celtic from the point of view of comparative Indo-European linguistics. The emphasis has been on explaining the formal aspects of the system, with the result that functional aspects have barely been considered. This paper considers the system as functional, and draws attention to its analogues in Middle Egyptian and Coptic, within a purely typological framework (no substrate theory).