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How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

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Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#71

Post by qwytw »

jpmoral wrote: post #65
qwytw wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that there is very little material to work with because all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost and what little we have of Tyrsenian (and to an even much lesser Tartessian and some others) is really insufficient to make any substantial claims about their origins or shared features.

> all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost Do you mean non-PIE European languages?

Yes of course (I would generally expect most European linguists and anthropologists to be more interested in studying European languages due to obvious reasons).

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#72

Post by badcppdev »

bobinux wrote: post #9

Recently found this video https://youtu.be/bzRxSVK7qIU where Sanskrit was being compared to Lithuanian. To think, that such geographically distant languages are so similar, as Lithuanian is one of the most well preserved languages in Europe. To get a grasp of what PIE sounded, the closest you can get in Europe is by listening to Lithuanian (especially the older dialects of it)

So many people don't really like the word 'closest'. I thought your comment was very clear.

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#73

Post by acadapter »

retrac wrote: post #69
panick21_ wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets go to Finish, quite different: 1 – yksi 2 – kaksi 3 – kolme 4 – neljä 5 – viisi 6 – kuusi 7 – seitsemän 8 – kahdeksan But it almost feels as if its related a little. Or its my brain playing tricks.

Ah, but check out the personal pronouns: English Russian Finnish Hungarian me, menya, mina, en we, my, me, mi thou, ty, te, ti he, on, hän, ő What's very weird is that it is probably not because the languages are related, but because the same forces that create pronouns, work in a similar way across languages. It's important the sounds be very different, for example, to minimize ambiguity. And they're some of the fir…

There's something called the "M-T pronoun paradigm", a trace of earlier proto-languages that aren't reconstructible today, possibly from as far back in time as the Stone Age.

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#74

Post by hzay »

qwytw wrote: post #45
troupo wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMO we know too much (though obviously still too little) about PIE and not enough about non-PIE languages, and I find those much more interesting.

The problem is that there is very little material to work with because all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost and what little we have of Tyrsenian (and to an even much lesser Tartessian and some others) is really insufficient to make any substantial claims about their origins or shared features.

Dravidian languages are extremely not lost.

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#75

Post by qwytw »

hzay wrote: post #74
qwytw wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that there is very little material to work with because all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost and what little we have of Tyrsenian (and to an even much lesser Tartessian and some others) is really insufficient to make any substantial claims about their origins or shared features.

Dravidian languages are extremely not lost.

I'm aware that an overwhelming majority of the global population use non IE languages. I just wouldn't expect that most research related to them would be published in English (and even if it was it would probably be much harder to understand for people who only speak English + other IE languages).

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#76

Post by edgyquant »

bjackman wrote: post #4
h4zel wrote: post #3

PIE is fascinating. I desperately wish we knew more about that culture

I read a book called The Horse, The Wheel, and Language by David W. Anthony after watching Simon Roper videos with great interest for the last couple of years. I can definitely recommend that if you're interested in the topic. A pretty detailed exploration of the Kurgan Hypothesis.

This book is currently free on audible

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#77

Post by edgyquant »

jpmoral wrote: post #65
qwytw wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem is that there is very little material to work with because all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost and what little we have of Tyrsenian (and to an even much lesser Tartessian and some others) is really insufficient to make any substantial claims about their origins or shared features.

> all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost Do you mean non-PIE European languages?

[flagged]

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#78

Post by edgyquant »

qwytw wrote: post #75
hzay wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Dravidian languages are extremely not lost.

I'm aware that an overwhelming majority of the global population use non IE languages. I just wouldn't expect that most research related to them would be published in English (and even if it was it would probably be much harder to understand for people who only speak English + other IE languages).

This other commenters are just being pedantic and have nothing to add. What you meant was perfectly valid English and there’s no need to explain you meant European languages when discussing European languages.

However I do not believe your comment about the “vast majority” of languages is accurate. I indo-European languages make up about half of all languages on the planet (3.2 billion) and no other language family comes close.

Re: How we know languages like proto-Indo-European existed [video]

#79

Post by edgyquant »

misja111 wrote: post #63
panick21_ wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Lets go to Finish, quite different: 1 – yksi 2 – kaksi 3 – kolme 4 – neljä 5 – viisi 6 – kuusi 7 – seitsemän 8 – kahdeksan But it almost feels as if its related a little. Or its my brain playing tricks.

Yep, Finnish is not considered a Indo European language.

It isn’t but it has a ton of influence thanks to Swedish.
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