Pre-Greek languages

[petegray]

Thank you, Larry, for the summary of Renfrew's article.  I am continually
amazed how poorly stocked the great libraries of England are on PIE!

I'm responding to the idea that
> ... Greek itself evolved within Greece ... out of a more-or-less vanilla
> variety of PIE which had already
> occupied the territory.

You mention that Renfrew "acknowledges some difficulties" and it may be that
he answers my question in the article.    I would like to know how he
maintains this position in the light of a fairly probable Greek -
Indo-Iranian - Armenian Sprachbund, which on some views is innovative, not
merely retentive or conserving.   Does he suggest that somehow the I-I-ans
also originated within Greece?  Or that the vanilla ur-pre-Greek had already
acquired the characteristics it shares with II and Armenian before its
speakers occupied the terrritory - which would make it much more raspberry
ripple than vanilla?   Or does he believe that the shared characteristics
are mere retentions?   Any of these positions is open to serious question.

By the way, no one ever did tell me if the plural of Sprachbund
was -unds, -|nde, or -unde.   I guess I go for the middle one, making it a
language-association, rather than a language-collection.

Peter