LL-L "History" 2002.09.26 (06) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L * 26.SEP.2002 (06) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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 A=Afrikaans Ap=Appalachian B=Brabantish D=Dutch E=English F=Frisian
 L=Limburgish LS=Lowlands Saxon (Low German) S=Scots Sh=Shetlandic
               V=(West)Flemish Z=Zeelandic (Zeêuws)
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From: Mike-club <botas at club-internet.fr>
Subject:


Dear Lowlanders,
Does anybody know the way to an answer to the
following question:
Do scholars of prehistory have any idea about the
language(s) and racial features of the inhabitants of North-,
Central and Western Europe before Indo-European tribes
(Celtic and Germanic) appeared on the scene?
Archeologists have unearthed numerous traces of these
people, but anything on their linguistic affiliations and
what they might have looked like, where they came from
etc.?
I remember vaguely reading somewhere long ago that it is
believed that the salient differences between the
Scandinavian (North Germanic) and the other Germanic
languages are due to a Scandinavia-specific pre-I.-E. substrate,
but no details whatsoever.
Any help?
Mike Wintzer

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: History

Mike, Lowlanders,

Most certainly, historical information in books about the languages of
Europe I have read are pretty much silent on the topic of pre-Indo-European
languages.  I have always assumed that this is because nothing concrete is
known, and anything that can be said would be conjecture.

One of the hypotheses (?) I have come across most often is that the pre-IE
population of Northern Europe (at least) consisted predominantly of
agriculturalists when it encountered the immigrating (invading?)
horse-breeding Indo-Europeans.

Theo Vennemann is one of the few linguists who try to deal with pre-IE
elements and substrates.
(http://www.germanistik.uni-muenchen.de/germanistische_linguistik/TV/Vennema
nn.htm)

Winfred Lehmann is another (e.g., Lehmann, Winfred P.: Residues of
Pre-Indo-European Active Structure and their Implications for the
Relationships among the Dialects. Innsbruck: Institut für Sprachwissenschaft
der Universität, 1995 (Innsbrucker Beiträge zur Sprachwissenschaft; Vorträge
und Kleinere Schriften; 61)).

Furthermore, pre-IE place name hypotheses are discussed fairly frequently.
Also, pre-IE (matrifocal, goddess-centered) belief systems tend to be
discussed in anthropology.

In Southern Europe we have language isolates such as Etruscan, Raetic and
Basque, that are considered remnants of languages spoken before the arrival
of Indo-European speakers, and perhaps the language isolates of the Caucasus
(such as Kartvelian/Georgian) can be considered remnants also.  As far as I
know, there are no such cases in Northern Europe.  I would be delighted to
know that I am wrong here.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron

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