Re: Basque, where did they come from?

Whittet (Whittet@shore.net)
26 Aug 1995 15:56:25 GMT

In article <miuran.28.809206825@rd.hydro.on.ca>, miuran@rd.hydro.on.ca says...
>
>In article <410v4n$imi@sun.lclark.edu> adunn@sun.lclark.edu (Allan Dunn) write
>s:
>>From: adunn@sun.lclark.edu (Allan Dunn)
>>Subject: Re: Basque, where did they come from?
>>Date: 18 Aug 1995 02:49:59 GMT
>>Allan MacKinnon (x93shg@juliet.stfx.ca) wrote:
>>
>>: > : As I understand it, the Basque language is in a different language
>family>: > : (I once read it was a *Na-Dene* language or something like
>that). >: > ^^^^^^^^^^
>>: >
>>: > To me the Dene people are the "Navajo." Very curious...Explain? I'm lost!
>>: >
>: I don't believe that it was a Na-Dene language as that was native to
>>: North America, along with Amerind and some other language. The language
>>
>>I don't believe that Sumerian and Etruscan are any more related to
>>Basque, than Na-Dene (although there is more of a possibility of the
>
>According to my note, Basque language is listed under the Sino-Caucasian
>language group, in line with Sino-Tibetian and North Caucasian. Basque has
>been a distinct population for at least 18,000 years according to the
>archaeological and DNA evidences. It is the only survivor of the language
>spoken in the southern and eastern Europe before the arrival of the Indo-
>European languages. An ancient population was isolated in the region at
>the peak of the last ice age. The cultural differences, including the
>language, and the geographical barriers maintained the unique genetic and
>linguistic identity. The source: New Scientist, the issue unknown.
>
>Nobby Miura

The Basque name for their language is Euskera. They were unknown as a people
until they sucessfully withstood a Roman invasion in the 1st century BC. The
fought off all invaders including the Visigoths with apparent success but finally
succumbed to Christianity in the 3rd century and in the 6th century a group of
Spanish Basques crossed the Pyranees to Aquitania to found Gascony.

Philologists have tried for a long time to trace the origins of the lanquage,
which in its original form has no words for abstract concepts. Links with
Ligurian from Northern Italy and even with Japanese have been suggested,but
a couple of decades ago the language was established to have links with Caucasian.

The literature in Basque was meager to begin with , but Basque was entirely
suppressed during the reign of Franco.

Steve