The Vasconic substrate hypothesis is a proposal that several Western European languages contain remnants of an old
language family
A language family is a group of languages related through descent from a common ''ancestral language'' or ''parental language'', called the proto-language of that family. The term "family" reflects the tree model of language origination in hist ...
of
Vasconic languages
The Vasconic languages (from Latin 'Basque') are a putative family of languages that includes Basque and the extinct Aquitanian language. The extinct Iberian language is sometimes putatively included.
The concept of the Vasconic languages is o ...
, of which
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
is the only surviving member. The proposal was made by the German linguist
Theo Vennemann
Theo Vennemann genannt Nierfeld (; born 27 May 1937 in Oberhausen-Sterkrade) is a German historical linguist known for his controversial theories of a "Vasconic" and an "Atlantic" stratum in European languages, published since the 1990s.
He was ...
, but has been rejected by other linguists.
According to Vennemann, Vasconic languages were once widespread on the European continent before they were mostly replaced by
Indo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the overwhelming majority of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and the northern Indian subcontinent. Some European languages of this family, English, French, Portuguese, Russian, Dutc ...
. Relics of these languages include
toponyms
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
across Central and Western Europe.
Theory
Theo Vennemann (2003) proposes that after the
last Ice Age, Vasconic people (perhaps coming from Africa) resettled all of
Western Europe
Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context.
The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the ancient Mediterranean ...
. They gave names to the rivers and places. These names often persisted after the Vasconic languages were replaced by Indo-European languages in most of their area. The present Basque area in northern Spain and southern France is postulated to be a relic.
In support of this argument, Vennemann cites, ''inter alia'':
* cultural similarities noted by
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas ( lt, Marija Gimbutienė, ; January 23, 1921 – February 2, 1994) was a Lithuanian archaeologist and anthropologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of " Old Europe" and for her Kurgan hypothesis, ...
;
* parallels in geographical
toponym
Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a proper name of ...
s which may be relics of a
pre-Indo-European substratum
In linguistics, a stratum (Latin for "layer") or strate is a language that influences or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum or substrate is a language that has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum or sup ...
, including
** numerous examples from
Old European hydronymy
Old European (german: Alteuropäisch) is the term used by Hans Krahe (1964) for the language of the oldest reconstructed stratum of European hydronymy (river names) in Central and Western Europe.Hans Krahe, ''Unsere ältesten Flussnamen'', Wiesbad ...
and maritime terminology, noted by scholars such as
Hans Krahe
Hans Krahe (7 February 1898 – 25 June 1965) was a German philologist and linguist, specializing over many decades in the Illyrian languages. He was born in Gelsenkirchen.
Work
Between 1936 and 1946 he was a professor at the University of W ...
, that do not necessarily have an Indo-European root, such as words in
West Germanic languages
The West Germanic languages constitute the largest of the three branches of the Germanic languages, Germanic family of languages (the others being the North Germanic languages, North Germanic and the extinct East Germanic languages, East Germanic ...
for "
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
" (Dutch ''
zee'') and "
ice
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
" (Dutch ''
ijs'') that are similar to their respective Basque counterparts, i.e. ''
itsaso'' and ''
izotz''.
** the similarity of names like
Val d'Aran
Aran (; ; ) (previously officially called in Occitan Val d'Aran, Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an administrative entity (formerly considered a comarca) in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, consisting of the Aran Valley, in ar ...
,
Arundel
Arundel ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the Arun District of the South Downs, West Sussex, England.
The much-conserved town has a medieval castle and Roman Catholic cathedral. Arundel has a museum and comes second behind much large ...
, and
Arendal
Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...
to (for example) the
Standard Basque
Standard Basque ( eu, euskara batua or simply ''batua'') is a standardised version of the Basque language, developed by the Basque Language Academy in the late 1960s, which nowadays is the most widely and commonly spoken Basque-language version ...
word ''
haran
Haran or Aran ( he, הָרָן ''Hārān'') is a man in the Book of Genesis in the Hebrew Bible. He died in Ur of the Chaldees, was a son of Terah, and brother of Abraham. Through his son Lot, Haran was the ancestor of the Moabites and Ammonite ...
'' "valley";
* other linguistic elements, especially
**
vigesimal
vigesimal () or base-20 (base-score) numeral system is based on twenty (in the same way in which the decimal numeral system is based on ten). '' Vigesimal'' is derived from the Latin adjective '' vicesimus'', meaning 'twentieth'.
Places
In ...
("base-20") counting/numerical systems, which Vennemann regards as a trait of Vasconic languages, in
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Georgian
Georgian may refer to:
Common meanings
* Anything related to, or originating from Georgia (country)
** Georgians, an indigenous Caucasian ethnic group
** Georgian language, a Kartvelian language spoken by Georgians
**Georgian scripts, three scrip ...
, the
Resian dialect
The Resian dialect or simply Resian (self-designation Standard , Bila , Osoanë , Solbica ; sl, rezijansko narečje , ; ) is a distinct variety in the South Slavic continuum, generally considered a Slovene dialect spoken in the Resia Valley, P ...
of Slovenian, and
Danish
Danish may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark
People
* A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark
* Culture of Denmark
* Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...
;
* evidence from
genetics
Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinian friar wor ...
and
blood type
A blood type (also known as a blood group) is a classification of blood, based on the presence and absence of antibodies and inherited antigenic substances on the surface of red blood cells (RBCs). These antigens may be proteins, carbohydrate ...
s, which show that the modern
Basque people
The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Ba ...
share physical characteristics with old populations throughout Western and Central Europe, especially in likely
refugia areas, such as mountain ranges.
Vennemann developed his ideas in a series of papers which were collected in a book called ''Europa Vasconica - Europa Semitica''. A long critical review of this appeared in ''Lingua'' 116.
Reception
The hypothesis has been largely rejected by historical linguists. Vennemann's theories on "Vasconic" toponymy and hydronymy were opposed by linguists such as P. R. Kitson (1996), and
Baldi & Richard (2006), who pointed out that most linguists see unusual European hydronyms as more likely to have Indo-European roots of some kind.
German linguist Dieter H. Steinbauer argued that it is difficult to argue on the basis of Basque because:
* its status as an
isolate
Isolate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Isolate'' (film), a 2013 Australian film
* ''Isolate'' (Circus Maximus album), 2007
* ''Isolate'' (Gary Numan album), 1992
Language
* Isolating language, with near-unity morpheme/word ...
means that there is insufficient historical data for the reconstruction of the substratal language and;
* Basque itself has adopted many words from Indo-European languages.
Steinbauer also criticised Vennemann for
* assuming that a Vasconic substratal language would necessarily share with Basque a feature of root words with initial
consonant clusters
In linguistics, a consonant cluster, consonant sequence or consonant compound, is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word ''splits''. In the education fie ...
;
* ignoring indications that the ancient
Etruscan language
Etruscan () was the language of the Etruscan civilization, in Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria (modern Tuscany, western Umbria, northern Latium, Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy and Campania). Etruscan influenced Latin but was eventually co ...
seems more closely related to western
Anatolian languages
The Anatolian languages are an extinct branch of Indo-European languages that were spoken in Anatolia, part of present-day Turkey. The best known Anatolian language is Hittite, which is considered the earliest-attested Indo-European language.
...
, and for
* several methodological flaws, concluding that "a scientific discourse with Vennemann must face insurmountable obstacles".
See also
*
Atlantic (Semitic) languages
The Atlantic languages of Semitic languages, Semitic or "Semitidic" (paraphyletic, para-Semitic) origin are a disputed concept in historical linguistics put forward by Theo Vennemann. He proposed that Semitic-language-speakers occupied regions in ...
*
Atlantic Bronze Age
The Atlantic Bronze Age is a cultural complex of the Bronze Age period in Prehistoric Europe of approximately 1300–700 BC that includes different cultures in Britain, France, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain.
Trade
The Atlantic Bronze Age ...
*
Aquitanian language
The Aquitanian language was the language of the ancient Aquitani, spoken on both sides of the western Pyrenees in ancient Aquitaine (approximately between the Pyrenees and the Garonne, in the region later known as Gascony) and in the areas south ...
*
Bronze Age in Europe
The European Bronze Age is characterized by bronze artifacts and the use of bronze implements. The regional Bronze Age succeeds the Neolithic and Copper Age and is followed by the Iron Age. It starts with the Aegean Bronze Age in 3200 BC
(succe ...
*
Indo-European substrate hypotheses
*
Neolithic Europe § Language in the Neolithic
*
Old European hydronymy
Old European (german: Alteuropäisch) is the term used by Hans Krahe (1964) for the language of the oldest reconstructed stratum of European hydronymy (river names) in Central and Western Europe.Hans Krahe, ''Unsere ältesten Flussnamen'', Wiesbad ...
*
Origin of the Basques § Old European
*
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
This is a list of the pre-Roman people of the Iberian Peninsula (the Roman Hispania, i. e., modern Portugal, Spain and Andorra). Some closely fit the concept of a people, ethnic group or tribe. Others are confederations or even unions of tri ...
*
Proto-Basque
Proto-Basque ( eu, aitzineuskara; es, protoeuskera, protovasco; french: proto-basque), or Pre-Basque, is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees.
Background
The first linguist wh ...
*
Urbian
*
Dené–Caucasian languages
Dené–Caucasian is a proposed language family that includes widely-separated language groups spoken in the Northern Hemisphere: Sino-Tibetan languages, Yeniseian languages, Burushaski and North Caucasian languages in Asia; Na-Dené languages in ...
References
*Alfred Bammesberger, Theo Vennemann: ''Languages in prehistoric Europe''. Winter, Heidelberg 2003, 319-332.
*Theo Vennemann; ''Europa Vasconica - Europa Semitica'', Berlin 2003.
* Theo Vennemann: ''Zur Frage der vorindogermanischen Substrate in Mittel- und Westeuropa.'' In: Patrizia Noel Aziz Hanna (ed.): ''Europa Vasconica''. Trends in Linguistics. Studies and Monographs. Bd 138. Europa Semitica. de Gruyter, Berlin 2003, 517-590.
* Theo Vennemann: ''Basken, Semiten, Indogermanen''. Urheimatfragen in linguistischer und anthropologischer Sicht. In: Wolfgang Meid (ed.): ''Sprache und Kultur der Indogermanen''. Akten der X. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft, 22.-28. September 1996. Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft. Bd 93. Innsbruck 1998, 119-138.
* Elisabeth Hamel, Theo Vennemann:
Vaskonisch war die Ursprache des Kontinents'. In: ''Spektrum der Wissenschaft''. Spektrumverlag, Heidelberg 25.2002,5,32ff.
External links
Personal homepage of Theo VennemannTheo Vennemann's page at University of Munich by Hayim Sheynin via
LINGUIST List
The LINGUIST List is a major online resource for the academic field of linguistics. It was founded by Anthony Aristar in early 1990 at the University of Western Australia, and is used as a reference by the National Science Foundation in the Unite ...
15.1878 (June 21, 2004)
Review of Theo Vennemann's ''Europa Vasconica-Europa Semitica'' by
Philip Baldi
Philip Baldi (born 1946) is an American linguist and classical scholar specializing in Indo-European studies. He is Professor Emeritus of Linguistics and Classics at Pennsylvania State University.
Biography
Baldi was born in Scranton, Pennsylvan ...
and B. Richard Page, in ''Lingua'', volume 116, issue 12, December 2006.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vasconic Substratum Theory
Pre-Indo-Europeans
Basque language
Historical linguistics
Vasconic languages
Linguistic strata