Hi David, you wrote:
> A few digests ago the matter of a possible Semitic substrate across
Europe came up. I guess the question may be, does this really exist,
and is it a product of PIE contact with Semitic languages (early PIE -
PSemitic relations) or over an overlay of Indo-European speakers
over Semitic speakers (a true substrate). This seems like it would be
an interesting debate and an important finding to determine.
I asked John Croft on ABH if maybe this proposed Afro-Asiatic or
Semitic substrate in North Western Europe could have been the result
of contact with Phoenician traders, and thus loan-words. His reply
was:
"I have wondered the same thing. But the evidence seems to point to
something deeper. Word order is not something that comes from
culture contact, but may come from a substrate contact."
thoughts?
-Michael
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