Vasconic substratum theory
The vaskonische hypothesis takes for large parts of Europe to a " vaskonische " language family, before the Indo-European languages spread in Western Europe in the 3rd millennium. From Vaskonischen today only Basque was indeed remained, however, traces of this language group in water and field names would have received Central and Western Europe. And waters ( hydronyms ) apply under Onomasten be particularly durable and can withstand a lot of language change.
Vaskonische language
" Vaskonisch " refers to an early form of today's Basque. As vaskonisch in the strict sense are signified by place names and brief inscriptions traditional language residues that inhabited in the Greco -Roman antiquity Aquitaine and the Basque Country today.
Justification of the hypothesis
The Munich-based linguist Theo Vennemann justified his hypothesis of a " proto-language vaskonischen " with some etymological arguments, and field names ( onomastics ). A European remnant population was crowded by the climatic conditions of the last Ice Age in the area of today's Basque country and have spread with warming again over Europe, until it was displaced by the Indo-European immigrants.
European corridor, places and waters names often contain similar word nuclei, which are still to be found in the Basque language. Starting from the assumption that geographical names are more older, in the more language areas they were found, concludes Vennemann, the name of these places come from a language that should be reduced in time before the Indo-European.
The vaskonische language area could through the synopsis names of water with the same word as cores al-/alm (Aller, Alm ), var-/ver ( Werre, Warne ), sal-/salm (Saale ), is-/eis ( Isar, Eisack ) and ur-/aur ( Urach, Herzogenaurach ) are determined and which takes place over the whole of Western and Central Europe. The relationship with the Basque language is produced, as in their vocabulary characteristic word elements - is, arn and ibar - would find that plug into many names in European waters and in the Basque always have a meaning in the context of water or natural waters.
Vennemann thinks he can find that many " ibar places" (Basque ibar ' valley, estuary ') located outside of the Basque Country in valleys or rivers. ( " Valley " bask aran. ) In the Basque valleys syllable is, which means " water, water", is found throughout Europe in places of waters and the " Arn -places". Also, the use of Vigesimalsystems whose traces have been preserved next to the Basque in Celtic languages , French and Danish language, had been characteristic of the old European language. Only through the Indo-European immigration, the decimal system in Europe has spread.
Criticism
While the basic age of this language is in the western Pyrenees region because of its isolated position and the lack of evidence of any migration no doubt the hypothesis of a Europe-wide distribution of a vaskonischen original language or language family by the majority of linguists is rejected. The Indoeuropäist Dieter Steinbauer is to consider, for example, that it would be presumptuous given the large number of loan words from Latin and other Indo-European languages and the comparatively recent historical documents in the Basque language, trying to reconstruct a vaskonische old European proto-language. In addition, there are already on the Iberian Peninsula several pre-Indo languages whose relationship is questionable with the Basque ( Vaskonischen ). Thus, a large-scale dissemination of Basque predecessor languages across Western and Central Europe is rather unlikely (see Basque language ).