Greek substrate language
Encyclopedia
The term Pre-Greek substrate refers to the unknown language or languages that are conjectured to have been spoken in prehistoric Greece
before the settlement of Proto-Greek
speakers in the area. It is thought possible that Greek took over some thousand words and proper names from such a language (or languages), because a proportion of its vocabulary cannot be satisfactorily explained as deriving either from Proto-Indo-European
or any known, directly attested languages.
features. Some of these explanations include:
(perhaps specifically Luwian
) substratum has been proposed, on the basis of -ss- and -nd- (corresponding to -ss- and -nth- in mainland Greece) placenames being widespread in Western Anatolia.
that Tyrrhenian
was a former language of Athens and that the Tyrrhenians had been expelled to Lemnos
, it has been suggested that the substrate language was related to Lemnian, and thus by modern association to Etruscan
.
(Eteocretan) substratum is the view of Arthur Evans
who assumed widespread Minoan colonisation of the Aegean, policed by a Minoan thalassocracy
.
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
before the settlement of Proto-Greek
Proto-Greek language
The Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
speakers in the area. It is thought possible that Greek took over some thousand words and proper names from such a language (or languages), because a proportion of its vocabulary cannot be satisfactorily explained as deriving either from Proto-Indo-European
Proto-Indo-European language
The Proto-Indo-European language is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European languages, spoken by the Proto-Indo-Europeans...
or any known, directly attested languages.
Possible "pre-Greek" loanwords
- Personal names (e.g. Οδυσσεύς Odysseus)
- Theonyms (e.g. Ερμής Hermes)
- Maritime terms, words for the sea, shipping (e.g. θάλασσα thálassa "sea")
- Words relating to Mediterranean agriculture, (e.g. ϝἐλαία (w)elaia "olive", άμπελος ampelos "vine")
- Words regarding rulers, given by the populace (e.g. Τύραννος Tyrannos "tyrant")
- Building technology (e.g. πύργος pyrgos "tower")
- Placenames including -nth- (e.g. Κόρινθος KorinthosCorinthCorinth is a city and former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corinth, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit...
, Ζάκυνθος ZakynthosZakynthosZakynthos , also Zante, the other form often used in English and in Italian , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the third largest of the Ionian Islands. It is also a separate regional unit of the Ionian Islands region, and the only municipality of the regional unit. It covers an area of ...
), -ss- (e.g. Παρνασσός Parnassos) and -tt- (e.g. Υμηττός HymettusHymettusHymettus, also Hymettos is a mountain range in the Athens area, East Central Greece. It is also colloquially known as Trellos or Trellovouno , a name of uncertain origin...
)
Substratum theories
Various explanations have been put forward to explain these substrateSubstratum
In linguistics, a stratum or strate is a language that influences, or is influenced by another through contact. A substratum is a language which has lower power or prestige than another, while a superstratum is the language that has higher power or prestige. Both substratum and superstratum...
features. Some of these explanations include:
Anatolian substratum
An AnatolianAnatolian languages
The Anatolian languages comprise a group of extinct Indo-European languages that were spoken in Asia Minor, the best attested of them being the Hittite language.-Origins:...
(perhaps specifically Luwian
Luwian language
Luwian is an extinct language of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. Luwian is closely related to Hittite, and was among the languages spoken during the second and first millennia BC by population groups in central and western Anatolia and northern Syria...
) substratum has been proposed, on the basis of -ss- and -nd- (corresponding to -ss- and -nth- in mainland Greece) placenames being widespread in Western Anatolia.
Tyrrhenian substratum
On the basis of statements in ThucydidesThucydides
Thucydides was a Greek historian and author from Alimos. His History of the Peloponnesian War recounts the 5th century BC war between Sparta and Athens to the year 411 BC...
that Tyrrhenian
Tyrsenian languages
Tyrsenian , named after the Tyrrhenians , is a closely related ancient language family proposed by Helmut Rix , that consists of the extinct Etruscan language of central Italy, the extinct Raetic language of the Alps, and the extinct Lemnian language of the Aegean Sea.-The...
was a former language of Athens and that the Tyrrhenians had been expelled to Lemnos
Lemnos
Lemnos is an island of Greece in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within the Lemnos peripheral unit, which is part of the North Aegean Periphery. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Myrina...
, it has been suggested that the substrate language was related to Lemnian, and thus by modern association to Etruscan
Etruscan language
The Etruscan language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization, in what is present-day Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna...
.
Minoan substratum
The existence of a MinoanMinoan civilization
The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age civilization that arose on the island of Crete and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC. It was rediscovered at the beginning of the 20th century through the work of the British archaeologist Arthur Evans...
(Eteocretan) substratum is the view of Arthur Evans
Arthur Evans
Sir Arthur John Evans FRS was a British archaeologist most famous for unearthing the palace of Knossos on the Greek island of Crete and for developing the concept of Minoan civilization from the structures and artifacts found there and elsewhere throughout eastern Mediterranean...
who assumed widespread Minoan colonisation of the Aegean, policed by a Minoan thalassocracy
Thalassocracy
The term thalassocracy refers to a state with primarily maritime realms—an empire at sea, such as Athens or the Phoenician network of merchant cities...
.
See also
- Eteocretan
- EteocypriotEteocypriotEteocypriot was a pre-Indo-European language spoken in Iron Age Cyprus. The name means "true" or "original Cyprian" parallel to Eteocretan, both of which names are used by modern scholarship to mean the pre-Greek languages of those places. Eteocypriot was written in the Cypriot syllabary, a...
- Etruscan languageEtruscan languageThe Etruscan language was spoken and written by the Etruscan civilization, in what is present-day Italy, in the ancient region of Etruria and in parts of Lombardy, Veneto, and Emilia-Romagna...
- Goidelic substrate hypothesis
- PelasgiansPelasgiansThe name Pelasgians was used by some ancient Greek writers to refer to populations that were either the ancestors of the Greeks or who preceded the Greeks in Greece, "a hold-all term for any ancient, primitive and presumably indigenous people in the Greek world." In general, "Pelasgian" has come...
- Proto-Greek languageProto-Greek languageThe Proto-Greek language is the assumed last common ancestor of all known varieties of Greek, including Mycenaean, the classical Greek dialects , and ultimately Koine, Byzantine and modern Greek...
- Substratum in Vedic SanskritSubstratum in Vedic SanskritVedic Sanskrit has a number of linguistic features which are alien to most other Indo-European languages. Prominent examples include: phonologically, the introduction of retroflexes, which alternate with dentals; morphologically, the formation of gerunds; and syntactically, the use of a quotative...
- Tyrrhenian languages