If we knew for sure the family would
already be called Indo-Tyrrhenian. I'd put it as follows: as non-IE languages
go, Etruscan is one of the most promising candidates for a genetic relationship
with IE. The main problem is that our knowledge of Etruscan is very imperfect.
There are not enough Etruscan words with well-established meanings to test the
regularity of sound correspondences. It's also a pity that Etruscan is virtually
an isolate. Apart from the "Etruscoid" language of the Lemnos Stele (just a few
sentences) and some very enigmatic languages known from short inscriptions, like
Rhaetic of Camunic, which are difficult to relate to anything, the Tyrrhenian
part of the hypothetical superfamily is represented by a single language, or
rather its disiecta membra.
Piotr
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2002 10:00 PM
Subject: Re: [tied] Re: lat. barbatus
Dear List,
To whomever: I asked a few weeks ago how (if at
all) Etruscan is related to
IE, but got no answer. I'm still curious.
Thank you, Anne