Re: Skiri Bastarnae

> Maybe I should clarify. If a population changes to a new language
> (let's call language A), they might keep some words from their old
> language (call it language B). But we still say that the population
> speaks language A (although they may modify it, speaking with an
> accent etc). In the example you mention, Germanic is a IE-language.
> But about 30% of the words of the Germanic languages cannot be

found

> in other IE languages. Therefore it is assumed (by some) that those
> words are from the language the (now) Germanic-speaking peoples
> spoke, before they changed to speak (proto-)Germanic.

I really wish that people would stop quoting this "30% non-IE
vocabulary in Germanic" as if it was an established fact. Where are
the scientific proofs for this? What Germanist or IE-ist has
established this fact beyond reasonable doubt? I have only ever seen
one such list of alleged non-IE Germanic words (online), and
personally I was not at all convinced that the list was very accurate.

- Chris Gwinn