[gothic-l] Possible Non Indo-European substrates in Germanic?

[F.E.J.D. IV]

Dear Friends,

I am trying to find reputable (recent) papers, books, authors as
concerns possible - NON Indo-European - substrates in the Germanic
languages.
I have searched this list's archives to no avail, perhaps it is not a
very popular topic.

A simplistic explanation of the theory of Non Indo-European substrates
in Germanic - follows.
Some linguists think there are many words in the Germanic languages
whose roots are difficult to identify.
Some theorists have suggested that there might have been a people
called the Aesir (Indo-European speakers) who displaced and or
intermixed to some extent with a people called the Vanir. In this
theory, the Vanir are speakers of non-Indo-European languages who
could have been relatively autochthonous to Central, Northern and
Western Europe and claimed by such theorists to be the source of the
non IE substrate of Proto-Germanic. It may be of interest to remind
readers that the Goths acclaimed their proceres (men of stature) as
Ansis (demigods).
One grouping indicative of the stated substrate are words having to do
with ships and the sea; i.e. (keel, oar, rudder, steer, and mast). The
latter are shared by almost all Germanic languages, however, cognates
and/or tenses for these specific words are not found in other branches
of Indo-European. Other such groups are those words dealing with war
and weapons; e.g. the likes of (sword, shield, helmet, bow, and
knight)yet another grouping are words dealing with animalia; (eel,
carp, stork, and bear).
A number of theories have been advanced about this hypothetical
linguistic substrate. Some have referred to these unknown people as
Folkish, because they believe folk to be a word of non-Indo-European
origin; others refer to them as the Battle-axe people. The name
Battle-axe people (corded ware culture) identifies widely-scattered
Early Bronze Age sites in Europe. Burial sites containing the
characteristic corded ware, impressed with cords in the unfired clay,
are known in a wide area in northern, central and westen Europe:
Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Netherlands,
northwest Germany, Denmark and southern parts of Norway and Sweden.
One dismissive explanation is that even words known to have recent
origins often have unknown or uncertain etymologies, and the etymology
of long established words may often be no more than guesswork, thus,
it is unreasonable to expect to be able to precisely identify the
origins of every word in a language with complete certainty.
On the other hand, there has been a revival of interest in "contact
linguistics" within this last decade, the latter interest has again
opened up the question of non IE substrates, not only in Germanic but
in other IE languages.
Should anyone know something about this topic please let me know.

Cheers,
F.E.J.D. IV



------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~-->
Yahoo! Domains - Claim yours for only $14.70
http://us.click.yahoo.com/Z1wmxD/DREIAA/yQLSAA/wWMplB/TM
--------------------------------------------------------------------~->

You are a member of the Gothic-L list.  To unsubscribe, send a blank email to <gothic-l-unsubscribe at egroups.com>.
Yahoo! Groups Links

<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
    http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gothic-l/

<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
    gothic-l-unsubscribe at yahoogroups.com

<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
    http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/