Proto-Celtic - An Exploration: Celtic ICM & Q/P Words Function IE Roots

[Larry Trask]

--On Monday, July 2, 2001 5:57 pm +0000 DFOKeefe at aol.com wrote:

>           Our opinion that there is a strong relationship between
> Indo-European and Fenno-Ugric is buttressed by Professor Kalevi Wiik's own
> independent research.  He is a distinguished professor of phonetics in
> Finland. He is well-supported by modern genetic data which has knocked out
> the isolationist linguistic claims of Basques and Fenno-Ugrics,
> particularly as regards the rh negative blood factor.

Nonsense.  Absolute balderdash.

First, genetic data cannot conceivably establish any linguistic conclusions
whatever.

Second, the observations about the proportion of Rh-negative blood among
the Basques are just that: observations, not "claims", and least of all
"linguistic claims".

Third, the linguistic isolation of Basque is just as much a fact today as
it ever was.

Fourth, Kalevi Wiik has not established anything at all, least of all about
Basque.  What he does is to draw pretty maps showing Uralic-speakers
wandering all over the solar system zillions of years ago.  He has built a
career out of this simple party piece.

The rest of this posting is too distressing to comment on.

Larry Trask
COGS
University of Sussex
Brighton BN1 9QH
UK

larryt at cogs.susx.ac.uk

Tel: (01273)-678693 (from UK); +44-1273-678693 (from abroad)
Fax: (01273)-671320 (from UK); +44-1273-671320 (from abroad)