7 ms·

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

by h4zel 3y ago

bjackman 3y ago
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.
- edgyquant 3y ago
  This book is currently free on audible
troupo 3y ago
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.
- inawarminister 3y ago
  Yes, though it makes sense as majority of Europe and Europe-descended cultures are Indo-Europeans, with Indians and Iranians as the other major cultures. We know much about Proto-Semitic AND Proto-Afro-Asiatic, thankfully, due to the antiquity of recorded Semitic languages in the Near East. Proto-Austronesian seems to be clear too with the 600+ languages we have access to. Unfortunately the languages between the three (Caucasians, language isolates, Tibeto-Burman, Andamanese, Turko-Mongol-Yeniseian Altaic* sprachbund etc) are much more obscure. Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing and evidence of the importance of paleo-linguistics in finding out informations about our ancestors
  - bradrn 3y ago
    > Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing and evidence of the importance of paleo-linguistics in finding out informations about our ancestors This is a bit controversial, though. I haven’t read through the original papers, but one person who did so informed me that they found this relationship not very convincing at all. Still, it’s fascinating stuff!
  - OfSanguineFire 3y ago
    > Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing. Vajda’s theory is still regarded as very tentative by the community, and even Vajda himself suggests in his most recent book on the subject that work towards proving a connection has barely begun. It is definitely not settled science.
- qwytw 3y ago
  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.
  - jpmoral 3y ago
    > all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost Do you mean non-PIE European languages?
    - qwytw 3y ago
      Yes of course (I would generally expect most European linguists and anthropologists to be more interested in studying European languages due to obvious reasons).
      - jpmoral 3y ago
        Thanks. I asked because this is a topic that interests me that I don't know a lot about. I wasn't sure whether there was a theory that (almost) everything is PIE or whether there was an Asian component to your comment or something else that was in my unknown unknowns.
    - edgyquant 3y ago
      [flagged]
      - jpmoral 3y ago
        Wow. I asked because this is a topic that interests me that I don't know a lot about. I wasn't sure whether there was a theory that (almost) everything is PIE or whether there was an Asian component to the comment or something else that was in my unknown unknowns. Don't jump down people's throats based on uncharitable readings of what they wrote.
  - hzay 3y ago
deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

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

by h4zel 3y ago

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.

edgyquant 3y ago
This book is currently free on audible

troupo 3y ago

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.

inawarminister 3y ago
Yes, though it makes sense as majority of Europe and Europe-descended cultures are Indo-Europeans, with Indians and Iranians as the other major cultures. We know much about Proto-Semitic AND Proto-Afro-Asiatic, thankfully, due to the antiquity of recorded Semitic languages in the Near East. Proto-Austronesian seems to be clear too with the 600+ languages we have access to. Unfortunately the languages between the three (Caucasians, language isolates, Tibeto-Burman, Andamanese, Turko-Mongol-Yeniseian Altaic* sprachbund etc) are much more obscure. Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing and evidence of the importance of paleo-linguistics in finding out informations about our ancestors
- bradrn 3y ago
  > Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing and evidence of the importance of paleo-linguistics in finding out informations about our ancestors This is a bit controversial, though. I haven’t read through the original papers, but one person who did so informed me that they found this relationship not very convincing at all. Still, it’s fascinating stuff!
- OfSanguineFire 3y ago
  > Yeniseian (the originator of such words as Tengri, Kha(g)an, etc) being connected to Native American Apache language was pretty amazing. Vajda’s theory is still regarded as very tentative by the community, and even Vajda himself suggests in his most recent book on the subject that work towards proving a connection has barely begun. It is definitely not settled science.
qwytw 3y ago
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.
- jpmoral 3y ago
  > all non-PIE languages besides Basque have been lost Do you mean non-PIE European languages?
  - qwytw 3y ago
    Yes of course (I would generally expect most European linguists and anthropologists to be more interested in studying European languages due to obvious reasons).
    - jpmoral 3y ago
      Thanks. I asked because this is a topic that interests me that I don't know a lot about. I wasn't sure whether there was a theory that (almost) everything is PIE or whether there was an Asian component to your comment or something else that was in my unknown unknowns.
  - edgyquant 3y ago
    [flagged]
    - jpmoral 3y ago
      Wow. I asked because this is a topic that interests me that I don't know a lot about. I wasn't sure whether there was a theory that (almost) everything is PIE or whether there was an Asian component to the comment or something else that was in my unknown unknowns. Don't jump down people's throats based on uncharitable readings of what they wrote.
- hzay 3y ago

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]