--- In
cybalist@yahoogroups.com, Piotr Gasiorowski
<piotr.gasiorowski@...> wrote:
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Gerry
> To: cybalist@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2003 9:01 PM
> Subject: [tied] Is Sumerian an Isolate? was: Re: Attention: John
Croft
>
> > 1) are there other language isolates?
>
> Plenty of them. Basque, Burushaski, Ainu, etc.
Yes, I'm familiar with the three you mention. Yet Basque isn't a
lonely isolated language and fuels the Basque separatist movement.
The Basque language is an inflected language whose origin is still
somewhat puzzling. The fact that it is not an Indoeuropean language,
and shows no ressemblance to languages in neighbouring countries, has
led to the formulation of a variety of hypotheses to explain its
existence. Owing to some similarities with the Georgian language,
some linguists think it could be related to languages from the
Caucasus. Others relate the language to non-Arabic languages from the
north of Africa. One of the most likely hypotheses argues that the
Basque language developed "in situ", in the land of the primitive
Basques. That theory is supported by the discovery of some Basque-
type skulls in Neolithic sites, which ruled out the thesis of
immigration from other areas. Many think it is a very old language
because there are words, such as that for axe ("aizkora"
or "haizkora") for example, that have the same root as the word rock
("aitz"> or "haitz").
> > 2) has anyone offered any explanations (wild or otherwise) for
there
> being no "commonality" between an isolate and other language
families?
>
> The reason is obvious. Isolates are lonely survivals of their
respective
> families. There must have been a time when languages closely
related to
> Sumerian were still spoken. They just happened to die out before
being
> recorded.
Another reason languages become isolates is because the language is
no longer taught in the schools or else a government forbids it use.
Migrations, due to political unrest, cause these language speakers to
move, sometimes for great distances.
> > IOW, could Sumer perhaps have been a "city of the gods" (or even
of the
> untouchables)?
>
> I don't think I understand this question.
I'm simply trying to pull out of the atmosphere some reasons why a
language becomes (or remains) an isolate. Guess another answer could
be "aliens from outer space".
Gerry
> Piotr