Re: [tied] Ah, look at all the lonely languages

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, "Gerry" <waluk@...> wrote:

>
> 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").
>
> 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.
>
> 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".

You are really testing my resolve to stop being a smart-ass!

David