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Re: Basque, where did they come from?
Cameron Laird (claird@Starbase.NeoSoft.COM)
7 Sep 1995 06:03:35 -0500
In article <42cloo$mm7@lyra.csx.cam.ac.uk>,
Jong <jong@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk> wrote:
>The Basque lang has got SOV structure which is the
>same as Ural Altaic language like Korean, Japanese, Turkish
>Finnish and a lot of small languages in the central
>Asia. Also, these non European Nordic (in broad terms) languages
>are very old and most widely ranging.
>Basque must be one of the branches which has been surrounded by
>IndoEuropeans. It is not a mystery at all in this respect. It can
>be comparable with Caucasion like Inu tribe isolated in
>Japan.
>
>Jong
>
With respect, no.
1. I don't think it's right to write about Ural-Altaic
languages before an unsophisticated audience without
quotes marks or some other indication that this
taxon is, at best, disputed. It's equally unfortu-
nate to co-ordinate Basque and Ural-Altaic languages,
as you have done here; surely you agree that the
likeliest affiliation for Basque is with the Cau-
casian languages.
2. Baltic-Finnic languages are largely SVO. Hungarian
has free word order. I grant that there's general
agreement that the "primitive" condition of Uralic
languages is SOV.
3. Using "Nordic", even in combination with "Non Euro-
pean", for the indigenes of north Eurasia is
simply confusing.
4. I don't understand at all what you are saying about
the Ainu. Yes, it's generally agreed to be an
isolate, but its speakers certainly constitute more
than a tribe, and any identification of them as
"Caucasian like" is, at best, problematic.
I'm no linguist. I've cross-posted to sci.lang in the hope
the scholars there can help us.
--
Cameron Laird http://starbase.neosoft.com/~claird/home.html
claird@Neosoft.com +1 713 267 7966
claird@litwin.com +1 713 996 8546 FAX
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