Mark Odegard wrote:

>
> From: Gerry Reinhart-Waller <waluk@...>
>
> > I don't think the Lithuanians would especially like being
> reformed.
> > Don't you recall their millennium contribution: it was very
> archaic in
> > movement, costume, song etc. There *culture* was presented
> as the
> > oldest one of the lot.
>
> We're veering off-topic (at least for this group), but the
> Lithuanians can indeed claim to be the oldest, and
> ***purest*** of all the Indo-European peoples in linguistic
> terms (there are no native-speakers of proto-Indo-Iranian or
> proto-Balto-Slavic). The trouble is, most people have barely
> heard of Lithuania and have not the least idea of the glories
> associated with the language and culture.
>
> I mean no disrespect to the other languages of Eastern Europe.
> It's just that Lithuanian is the most archaic of the IE
> languages.
>

No, I don't think we're veering off topic. I only wanted to illustrate
with an image that many of the group contributors might have seen since
*everyone* I know watched parts of the millennium celebration. Yes,
Lithuanian is a very archaic, ancient language.
Gerry