Basques

[Ptarmigan]

Basques people, better known as Euskalduna in their language. Basque is the only language in Europe that is not Indo-European in origin. The origins of Basque is a mystery. Some linguists believe it is related to Armenian, Etruscan, Finnish, Hungarian, Indians tribes of America, Ainu, and even the language of lost Atlantis. Basque seems to show some characteristics of Caucasian languages and Armenian. Some scientists believe Ainu and Basque are related to each other. Some even think Basques are directly related to Cro-Magnon humans. Basques live in northern Spain and southern France. Prominent Basques are Louis Daguerre, the inventor of photography and Cristina Saralegui, the host of Cristina on Univision. There are some speculations that Christopher Columbus is Basque.

Euskara
FAQs About Basques

[gobucks]

This is a good article of info. Didn't know the basque language was unrelated.

Eric Van Lustbader wrote a bood where the hero was imprisoned for years with someone who knew basque and taught it to him.

Bilbo Baggins, b/c of this article, has a new meaning as well, so thanks.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Ptarmigan. Basque has some distant living relatives. It also carries a goodly number of loanwords, which obscures its origin. Barry Fell noted (in one of his books, I think, but I've been unable to find it) that a Native American traveling in Spain heard two men conversing in his own native tongue, and though there were differences, he could communicate with them. They were Basque speakers. :'D

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[SunkenCiv]

Oops, forget to ping GGG.

Ping!

[T. Buzzard Trueblood]

Prominent Basques are Louis Daguerre, the inventor of photography and Cristina Saralegui, the host of Cristina on Univision. There are some speculations that Christopher Columbus is Basque.

Hey, don't forget "Sam the Sham" of Wooly Bully fame.

[SunkenCiv]

History of the Basque Language
by Manfred Owstrowski

The area where Proto-Indo-European was originally spoken (the Proto-Indo-European "homeland") is still a matter of dispute, but various hints point to Eastern Europe, north and north-east of the Black Sea, and it seems to be rather clear that Indo-European languages are relatively late intruders in Western Europe. Concerning the time when Proto-Indo-European must have been in use, one may think of the end of the stone age in Europe... Obviously, Basque is not an Indo-European language, as it can easily be seen if one compares the basic lexicon and grammar (morphology and syntax) of Basque with the basic lexicon and grammar of Indo-European languages. If one looks at the vocabulary of Basque, one finds the most fundamental words of the language strikingly different from those found in Indo-European languages, whereas a great number of other (less basic) words are loans from Latin or from Romance languages... Whereas the vocabulary of modern Basque is a mixture of genuine ("old") Basque words and Indo-European (mainly Latin and Romance) loans, the grammatical elements (morphemes) of Basque are generally unrelated to Indo-European ones, so they constitute the non-Indo-European frame of the language. The inflexion of Basque nouns and verbs is totally different from that of Indo-European languages... In my opinion, the only rewarding field of study that will be left here after the treating of the mentioned fields of research is the problem of an assumable historical relation between Basque and North Caucasian, South Caucasian, or both. Are there remote connexions between Basque and the Caucasus?

[blam]

The Relationship Between The Basque And Ainu

[Ptarmigan]

I saw that article already. Thanks for the link.

[Mike Darancette]

St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuit order was Basque.

[Ptarmigan]

Thanks. Never knew that. I learn something new everyday.

[Mike Darancette]

I learn something new everyday.

Being part Basque I keep up (last name is NOT French).

Others: Simon Bolivar and Maurice Ravel.

[Ptarmigan]

Cool. Never knew about Simon Bolivar being Basque. Who is Maurice Ravel?

[Mike Darancette]

Who is Maurice Ravel?

Composer - Most famous work "The Bolero"

[Cronos]

Basque is the only language in Europe that is not Indo-European in origin.

Got to point this out -- Hungarian, Latvian, Finnish etc. are not Indo-European either -- they belong to the Finno-Ugaritic language group. Chechen and Dagesthani are not Indo-European either, and neither is Turkish.

[Cronos]

oh, and I think St. Ignatius of Loyola (founder of the Jesuits/Society of Jesus) was Basque

[SunkenCiv]

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