Re: Indo-European Studies

@#$%!?! (smryan@netcom.com)
Fri, 7 Jul 1995 23:53:52 GMT

(1) I didn't know the term "IndoEuropean" was used in anthropology or
archealogy. In originated in philology>linguistics where it has a
precise meaning.

: This logic is based on false premise. Sanskrit is much older than
: any languages of Europe. In fact, Europe is only 6000 years old
: and Sanskrit is much older than that. Rig veda is supposed to be
: composed around 6500 BC!!!!

(2) I know little about the diffusion of people and other aspects of
culture, but the linguistics is very probably wrong. (I cannot say
absolutely wrong because history doesn't go back that far. Anything not
written is mutable.)

Sanskrit is part of the Indo-Iranian branch of IE along with Vedic,
many of the languages of north and central India, Old Persian, and Farsi.
As to whether Sanskrit reached it current form before any other current IE
language--possibly. But the branches of IE, Germanic, Italo-Celtic,
Balto-Slavic, Armenian, Greek, Tocharian, ..., are all old as Indo-Iranian.

As best as I remember the IE languages were evolving separately by about
4000 years ago, with Hittite being separated early, before larnygeals were
all elided, maybe 5000 years ago. 6000 years sounds more like PreIE,
whatever that was. Nostratic? A creole of older Eurasian languages?

Some religious terms and themes are shared among the Rg Veda, Greek and
Romans, and the Eddas of Iceland.

(3) I have no idea how old the songs of the Rg Veda. The current form is
much more recent then 6500 years.

We have written records of the divergence of American and British English
from each other and older forms of English, but we in America still tell
the stories of Robin Hood. In fact we make movies and TV series where
everybody speaks American English.

: Some European languages may have been derived from Sanskrit, but
: the origin of Sanskrit lies in India.

(4) No. No no no. All IE languages go back to common source(s) which
is (are) not Sanskrit. Sanskrit is not even the oldest IndoIranian
language. Whether ProtoIndoEuropean (PIE) was the language of a single
tribe or culture or a community of cultures is uncertain.

I have no idea where Sanskrit reached its current form unless there are
written records of that time.

: So Europe is the center of all civilizations? The tone sounds similar
: to what Max Muller and Hitler were propagating earlier in this
: century.

(5) As far as the languages are concerned neither modern Europe nor modern
India are the sources of IE languages. They are all descended from a
common source. Where that source was, I have no idea. India? Europe?
Lake Bakhail? The Black Sea?

(6) Again, I don't know enough to comment on anthropology or sociology or
archealogy, but I do know enough linguistics to say you're off track.
Unless you wish to reject the whole of linguistics. That is your
priviledge, but if you do so, you had best not use linguistics to
support your ideas.

-- 

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