ABOUT-WORDS-L Archives

From: "Cohen, Izzy" <>
Subject: Hebrew origin of Indo-European ?
Date: Thu, 22 Aug 2002 01:30:14 -0500

> Here we go again with the almost-but-not-quite
> would-be Hebrew origin of Indo-European.

Just for the record, izzy has *never* proposed
a "Hebrew origin for IE". What is commonly
called Hebrew (by most linguists) is far
too recent to be a precursor of IE.

Izzy *does* believe in the monogenesis of
language and therefore does believe in the
existence of a common precursor for IE and
AA (Afro-Asiatic) languages. This is
generally known as the Nostratic hypothesis,
of which several varieties exist.

If one accepts monogenesis, then ALL languages
are equally old/ancient, to the minute. This
even includes contrived languages, such as
Esperanto, which are based on grammatical
constructs and word-stocks that exist in
so-called natural languages.

Izzy does think that Semitic languages have
influenced other languages to a greater
degree than most linguists accept, primarily
due to the existence of Aramaic as a lingua
franca for about 600 years.

Semitic Influence
=================

[Stephan Grass wrote offlist:]
> If you could prove that Hebrew was that "one speech and
> one tongue" before the collapse of Babel, then the Nobel
> (NBL = to tie firmly) is all yours. :-)

This is the position of Isaac Mozeson in his book, The WORD.
It seriously overstates my position. I simply believe in
monogenesis of language: language evolved once along with
the human beings who spoke it. And that original language
did not substantially resemble any language that exists today.
Now, whether you call this original language proto-Hebrew
or proto-Basque or something else is just a matter of
nomenclature.

In 1924, Holger Pedersen proposed Nostratic, a language which
preceded both IndoEuropean and AfroAsiatic. But you could just
as properly call it proto-any language which evolved from it.

Cennydd [Kenneth Allen Hyde] wrote:
> ... to Izzy Cohen, all unusual collocations or words,
> even those with documented origins, are actually derived
> from early Hamito-Semitic and pre-IE languages through a
> process of cultural contact, linguistic borrowing, and
> glossing.

This also overstates my case. :-/

I *do* believe that Semitic languages have influenced IE
languages more than most professional linguists have
acknowledged. The genetic aspect of that influence is
via a Nostratic-like ancestor.

However, areal influences include:

1 - Physical proximity with Germani tribes originally inhabiting
Anatolia and areas near the Caucasus mountains. I suspect
the term Germani is derived from kHermes. My reconstructed
(Phoenician) anthropomorphic map of Hermes in Asia minor
has his cranium in the Ukraine, his left shoulder [KaSeF]
at the Caspian sea, his heart [Gk cardia] at Kurd-istan,
his biceps at Pontus < Gk pontiki, his elbow [KiFooF-yaD]
was Cappadocia, his fingers/phalanges were at Phrygia,
his pupik at Mt kHermon (then part of Lebanon, the reversal
of Skt nabhila = navel), ... his knee [BeReX] in Bahrain,
and his right [YeMiN] foot in Yemen.

2 - The impact of Aramaic as a lingua franca for almost
600 years, beginning in the 6th cent B.C. At that time,
the world was not the global village it is today,
but words do tend to be borrowed into other languages
(especially) from the current lingua franca.

3 - Contact with Phoenician explorers and merchants. The
Phoenicians obtained tin in Cornwall, England. They
may have obtained iron [BaRZeL] in Brazil. ;-)

4 - The influence of the Carthaginians in S.E. Spain and
northern Italy. Hannibal [247-183] crossed the Alps
into Italy during the 2nd Punic war. My body-part
map of Aphrodite indicates that her face [PaNim] was
lost during the 3rd Punic war. The rest of her is
still there in north Africa. Her reversed cranium is
now Morocco. It still has a Fez. The Atlas mountains
[atlas: 3. first cervical vertebra] support her head.
Her hair [Sa3aRos] is the Sahara desert. Her chin
[SaNTir] reverses to Tunisia. Her backbone [SHiDRa]
is the Gulf of Sidra. Her heart [LeV] is Lybia. Her
breast [SHaD] is Chad. Her narrow [TZaR] waist is
Misr/Mitzraim. Her side [TZaD] is Sudan. And her left
[SMoL] leg is Somalia.

5 - Following the Roman conquest of Israel, Jews dispersed
to several European areas. Jews were expelled from
England in 1290 by Edward I. There must have been
more than a few there to warrant their expulsion.
Many of those driven out of Spain in 1492 moved to
Holland.

6 - The Crusades brought Europeans to the "Holy Land":
First Crusade1095-1099
Second Crusade 1147-1148
Third Crusade 1189-1192
Fourth Crusade 1202-1204
Fifth Crusade 1218-1221
Sixth Crusade 1228-1229
Seventh Crusade 1248-1254

7 - About 5 centuries of Moorish control in Spain, from about
715 to 1260. Moorish control of Granada ended in 1492.
In 1588, the Spanish armada was defeated in the English
Channel. The remainder of the armada sailed north, around
Scotland, then south through the Irish sea. Due to storms
and lack of provisions, some of that fleet landed in
Ireland and Wales. Typically the officers were ransomed
but the (sometimes Arabic speaking) crews were absorbed by
the local population. In Ireland, the result is called
"Black Irish".

8 - The Bible has been translated into more languages than
any other text. The Old Testament was originally written
mostly in Hebrew. Words which could not easily be translated
were transliterated and borrowed into the target language.
For example: leviathan, literally, jackal/teeth that accompany
(you at sea), probably a pilot whale (where PiLoT is a reversal
of DoLPhin).

9 - Some Hebrew words have entered other languages via Yiddish.
For example: gunmoll < Yiddish < Heb GaNaV = to steal +
MaLWeH = one who accompanies; hence, a female companion
of a criminal. Compare this LW with that in LeWiaTHaN
(using W for vav).

The ultimate in genetic followed by areal influence is illustrated
by Valentyn Stetsyuk's clickable "Map of Nostratic Languages" at
http://www.geocities.com/valentyn_ua/
Here he places Kartvalian, Altaic, IndoEuropean, Semitic, Uralic,
and Dravidian all within walking distance (literally) of each
other south of the Caucasus between the Black and Caspean seas.

ciao,
Israel "izzy" Cohen

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