Semitic and Finno-Ugrian??

[Glen Gordon]

>>Could someone explain how PIE itself,...could have
>>been in contact with a semitic language, let alone proto-semitic.

>-- As I understand the hypothesis, it was that proto-Semitic was in
>contact with proto-Ugrian.

Proto-Ugrian? I don't know of that theory and would be far too unlikely,
I would gather. What I personally surmise is that _North_ Semitic had
reached the south shores of the Black Sea and the speakers of this
language were in contact with the IE speakers on the eastern shore as
well as Kartvelian speakers to the south of the IE. This is supported by
reconstructed items in both IE and Kartvelian which clearly show a
Semitic influence of some kind. I don't know of much Semiticisms in
Uralic languages apart from instances of the word for "seven" which
could just as well be borrowed from an intermediary source like IE or
its daughter languages.

The original Proto-Semitic isn't involved in this.

--------------------------------------------
Glen Gordon
glengordon01 at hotmail.com

Kisses and Hugs
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