Language Families

[Michael Mccafferty]

On Mon, 5 Jun 2000, Robert G. Comegys wrote:

> Hi Mark,
>
> Finnish and Hungarian are Turkish languages, although Hungarian has been
> thoroughly saturated with Slavic loan words, something like the way English, a
> good Germanic language,  is loaded with French. (My apologies to the Germans,
> the French, and the English.)

Avoue'.
>
> Basque? Who knows. Its usually considered an isolate by most "responsible"
> (read dull and uninteresting) scholars.

John,

Does total lack of evidence imply that the scholars who have looked at the
matter are dull and uninteresting?  Correct me if I have
this wrong, but the Basque are a pre-Indo-European genetic-linguistic
group, ancient european inhabitants, and genetically connected to the
Irish. Who knows? Perhaps, they are also connected to the folks found near
the coast of Virginia in paleo-indian times that were mentioned recently
in the media.


Michael

>
> Regards,
>
> John Comegys
> Mark David Morris wrote:
>
> > With so many good linguists on the list, I hope someone might confirm or
> > correct my understanding that neither Finnish, Hungarian nor Basque are
> > Indo-European languages.  Thanks,  Mark Morris
> >
>
>


Michael McCafferty
307 Memorial Hall
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
47405
mmccaffe at indiana.edu

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"So, who you gonna believe,
me or your own eyes?"

              -Chico Marx

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