Re: Submerged Languages

Sabine wrote

> Now which 'reality' is that you're talking about? As far as I know

the main

> substratum language in Hittite we know about is 'Hatti' (non IE),

roughly

> situated in northern middle Anatolia. I haven't come across any known
> substratum language mentioned for all of western and southern

Anatolia -

> those languages from there we know about are Luwian and later Lycian,

Lydian

> and Carian (and some more smaller ones) for a long time taken to be

non-IE.

> Lycian is seen as a later development of Luwian, but I've also read

about

> possible affinities to (what little we have of)Lin. A as ancestor of

Lycian

> (possibly more similarities than with Luwian, but it's a lack of

texts in

> Lin. A that prevents scholars from knowing more, it seems). So the

most

> probable candidate as ancestor for 'Pelasgian' or Aegean (the

possible group

> of languages of the eastern Mediterranean and western Anatolia), a
> substratum of Greek and (allegedly) Eteo-Cretan (I have never seen

evidence

> for that, but I didn't look closely, I admit) would be the language

written

> in Lin. A. And for that we still don't know if it is IE or not (if

yes it

> must be very old, I understand). But IF it is, it might well be one

proof

> for the Anatolian PIE theory ...
>
> So we'll have to wait until my colleagues here in Crete and in western
> Anatolia (there is proof for the existence of Lin. A in the Minoan

stratum

> of Miletus) have found some more archaeological evidence for our
> discussion!!

Do you have any more information about Lin? I was also of the
understanding that Carian, spoken around Harlicarnassus, was a non IE
language, as was Eutruscan/Lesbian. Or are you saying that latest
research is suggesting that these are IE after all?

Regards

John