Proto-Basque (Basque: aitzineuskara; Spanish: protoeuskera, protovasco; French: proto-basque), or Pre-Basque,[a] is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees. A small sample of what is thought to be a form of Proto-Basque has been discovered on the Hand of Irulegi, an inscribed bronze artifact in the shape of a right hand dated to the 1st century BCE.[1]
The first linguist who scientifically approached the question of the historical changes that Basque had undergone over the centuries was Koldo Mitxelena. His work on Proto-Basque focused mainly on between the 5th century BCE and the 1st century CE, just before and after initial contact with the Romans. By comparing variants of the same word in modern dialects and the changes that Latin loanwords had undergone, he deduced the ancestral forms and the rules for historical sound changes. His groundbreaking work, which culminated with the publication of his book Fonética histórica vasca (1961), was carried out mostly before the Aquitanian inscriptions were found, but they fully backed up Mitxelena's proposed Proto-Basque forms.[2]
Since then, a number of other prominent linguists, such as Larry Trask, Alfonso Irigoien, Henri Gavel and most recently Joseba Lakarra, Joaquín Gorrotxategi and Ricardo Gómez, have made further contributions to the field. Some of them, such as Lakarra, have focused their attention on even older layers of the language (Pre-Proto-Basque) that preceded the Celtic invasion of Iberia.
Vocabularyedit
Studying the behaviour of Latin and early Romance loanwords in Basque, Koldo Mitxelena discovered that Proto-Basque *n was lost between vowels and that Proto-Basque had no *m. Both are relatively unusual cross-linguistically, but /n/ was also partially deleted between vowels during the history of the nearby Gascon and Galician-Portuguese.
One of the puzzles of Basque is the large number of words that begin with vowels in which the initial and second vowels are the same. Joseba Lakarra proposes that in Pre-Proto-Basque there was extensive reduplication[3] and that later, certain initial consonants were deleted, leaving the VCV pattern of Proto-Basque:
^Jones, Sam (2022-11-15). "Hand of Irulegi: ancient bronze artefact could help trace origins of Basque language". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-06-18.
^(in Basque) Lakarra, Joseba (2009). "Aitzineuskara berreraikiaz: zergatik ezkerra?" (PDF). Euskera (54, 1): 52. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
External linksedit
Trask, R. L. (2008), Wheeler, Max W. (ed.), Etymological Dictionary of Basque(PDF), Falmer, UK: University of Sussex
Joseba Lakarra (2006), "Protovasco, munda y otros: Reconstrucción interna y tipología holística diacrónica", in "Oihenart. Cuadernos de Lengua y Literatura". 2007-09-29 at the Wayback Machine(in Spanish)
Ricardo Gómez, "De re etymologica: vasc. -(r)antz 'hacia'", UPV/EHU / "Julio Urkixo" Euskal Filologia Mintegia (in Spanish)
April 11, 2024
proto, basque, language, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, se. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Proto Basque language news newspapers books scholar JSTOR September 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message Proto Basque Basque aitzineuskara Spanish protoeuskera protovasco French proto basque or Pre Basque a is the reconstructed predecessor of the Basque language before the Roman conquests in the Western Pyrenees A small sample of what is thought to be a form of Proto Basque has been discovered on the Hand of Irulegi an inscribed bronze artifact in the shape of a right hand dated to the 1st century BCE 1 Proto BasquePre BasqueReconstruction ofBasque dialectsEra500 BCE 100 CE Contents 1 Background 2 Vocabulary 3 See also 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksBackground editThe first linguist who scientifically approached the question of the historical changes that Basque had undergone over the centuries was Koldo Mitxelena His work on Proto Basque focused mainly on between the 5th century BCE and the 1st century CE just before and after initial contact with the Romans By comparing variants of the same word in modern dialects and the changes that Latin loanwords had undergone he deduced the ancestral forms and the rules for historical sound changes His groundbreaking work which culminated with the publication of his book Fonetica historica vasca 1961 was carried out mostly before the Aquitanian inscriptions were found but they fully backed up Mitxelena s proposed Proto Basque forms 2 Since then a number of other prominent linguists such as Larry Trask Alfonso Irigoien Henri Gavel and most recently Joseba Lakarra Joaquin Gorrotxategi and Ricardo Gomez have made further contributions to the field Some of them such as Lakarra have focused their attention on even older layers of the language Pre Proto Basque that preceded the Celtic invasion of Iberia Vocabulary editStudying the behaviour of Latin and early Romance loanwords in Basque Koldo Mitxelena discovered that Proto Basque n was lost between vowels and that Proto Basque had no m Both are relatively unusual cross linguistically but n was also partially deleted between vowels during the history of the nearby Gascon and Galician Portuguese Proto Basque Modern Basque English ardano ardo wine h ur ur water arrani arrain fish bene mehe thin slim bini mihi tongue egu gaitz ekaitz storm eLana eNala elai enara barn swallow gaztana gazta cheese ini ihi rush plant organa orga cart sen be seme son seni sehi servant suni suhi son in law un be ume young baby zani zain guard zini zii zi acornOne of the puzzles of Basque is the large number of words that begin with vowels in which the initial and second vowels are the same Joseba Lakarra proposes that in Pre Proto Basque there was extensive reduplication 3 and that later certain initial consonants were deleted leaving the VCV pattern of Proto Basque Pre Proto Basque Proto Basque Modern Basque English dar da dar adaR adar horn anatomy dats da dats adats adats long hair der de der edeR eder beautiful dol do dol odoL odol blood gor go gor gogoR gogor hard nal na nal anaL ahal can to be able nan na nan anan tz ahantz to forget nin ni nin inin tz ihintz dew nol no nol onoL ohol board nur nu nur unuR hur hazelnut zal za zal azal azal bark zen ze zen zezen zezen bull ten te ten eten eten break ran ra ran aran aran plumSee also editVasconic languages Proto Basque Swadesh list Wiktionary Notes edit See Proto language Proto X vs Pre XReferences edit Jones Sam 2022 11 15 Hand of Irulegi ancient bronze artefact could help trace origins of Basque language The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved 2023 06 18 Trask L The History of Basque Routledge 1997 ISBN 0 415 13116 2 in Basque Lakarra Joseba 2009 Aitzineuskara berreraikiaz zergatik ezkerra PDF Euskera 54 1 52 Retrieved 22 April 2016 External links editTrask R L 2008 Wheeler Max W ed Etymological Dictionary of Basque PDF Falmer UK University of Sussex Joseba Lakarra 2006 Protovasco munda y otros Reconstruccion interna y tipologia holistica diacronica in Oihenart Cuadernos de Lengua y Literatura Archived 2007 09 29 at the Wayback Machine in Spanish Ricardo Gomez De re etymologica vasc r antz hacia UPV EHU Julio Urkixo Euskal Filologia Mintegia in Spanish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Proto Basque language amp oldid 1209601243, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
