Kalevi Wiik
Encyclopedia
Kalevi Wiik is a professor emeritus of phonetics
at the University of Turku
, Finland
. He is best known for his controversial hypotheses about the effect of the Uralic languages
on creation of various Indo-European languages in northern Europe, such as Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic languages. Like Marija Gimbutas
before him, he has tried to combine archaeology
with linguistics
in order to locate the origins of European peoples. He also bases much of his hypothetical structures on results of genetics.
), inhabitation in Europe was in three main regions, refugio
s, whose populations then came to divide Europe between themselves. Western 'Basque' Europe and Northern 'Uralic' Europe were inhabited by hunters of large animals which were abundant during that period and spoke languages related respectively to modern Basque and Uralic. The rest of Europe was inhabited by hunters of smaller animals and was fragmented into many smaller unknown languages.
By 5500 BC the extinction of many large species of animals reduced the inhabitants of the Western and Northern regions to hunting small-game. The inhabitants of South-East Europe (hypothesized to have spread from the third, Balkan refugio) had adopted the Neolithic way of life of mixed farming and animal husbandry and were becoming economically more successful. Early farmers diffusing from Greece and the Balkans gave rise to Indo-European, serving as a lingua franca of the inhabitants of region X and displacing or gradually converting linguistically the less successful hunters from the other regions.
Wiik suggests that at the periphery of the Indo-European language expansion, the Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Celtic and Iberian languages were formed; these were Indo-European flavored with many elements from the languages of the hunters: Basque and Uralic. He claims the Post-Swiderian
people (originating from western Poland) as Finnic-Ugric, and the Saami
as migrants from (Magdalenian) Western Europe that changed their original language, probably Basque-like, to a Uralic tongue.
Thus, Wiik proposes that eventually most of Europe was Indo-Europeanized as many of the Basque and Uralic speaking hunters adopted IE languages. Only in the periphery of the European continent, in the Iberian peninsula and in Northeast Europe strong nuclei of hunters apparently adopted farming without being linguistically converted: modern Basque and Finnish speakers are descendants of mostly these early hunters of the Ice Age. Everywhere else, the Indo-European languages which originated in Southeast Europe, have won the upper hand. The key proposition in Wiik's hypothesis is the phonetics-derived idea that the Finnic-Ugric and Basque populations who adopted the fashionable Indo-European language to replace their own, learned their new language a bit badly and used pronunciations in a way familiar to their birth language, which all gave rise to the new languages, German, Slavic and Baltic, as well as Celtic and Iberian. In essence, Wiik suggests that German, Slavic, Baltic, Celtic and Iberian did not emerge from Indoeuropeans themselves, but among the Finnic-Ugric and Proto-Basque populations. This would make the Germanic, Slavic, Baltic, Celtic and Iberian populations genetically as descendants not of Indo-Europeans, but of Finnic-Ugric and Proto-Basque respectively, a claim not fully supported by any genetic evidence.
In “Where Did European Men Come From” Wiik surveyed Y chromosome variation in Europeans and in accordance with his position that “The men of the Balkan refuge were more likely than those of any other to have spoken an early form of the Indo-European language.”
Wiik's views have gained a lot of critique. The possible linguistic substrate in Germanic seems to have nothing in common with Uralic languages, and there is no evidence for Uralic languages ever having been spoken in Central Europe, as opposed to northern and eastern Europe where they attestedly were spoken.
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
at the University of Turku
University of Turku
The University of Turku , located in Turku in southwestern Finland, is the second largest university in the country as measured by student enrollment, after University of Helsinki. It was established in 1920 and also has faculties at Rauma, Pori and Salo...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
. He is best known for his controversial hypotheses about the effect of the Uralic languages
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
on creation of various Indo-European languages in northern Europe, such as Germanic, Slavic, and Baltic languages. Like Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas
Marija Gimbutas , was a Lithuanian-American archeologist known for her research into the Neolithic and Bronze Age cultures of "Old Europe", a term she introduced. Her works published between 1946 and 1971 introduced new views by combining traditional spadework with linguistics and mythological...
before him, he has tried to combine archaeology
Archaeology
Archaeology, or archeology , is the study of human society, primarily through the recovery and analysis of the material culture and environmental data that they have left behind, which includes artifacts, architecture, biofacts and cultural landscapes...
with linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
in order to locate the origins of European peoples. He also bases much of his hypothetical structures on results of genetics.
Views
Wiik proposes Indo-European origins in Southeast Europe, using linguistic, genetic, archaeological and anthropological data which he interprets to support his hypotheses. He believes that from 23,000-8000 BC (the last Ice AgeIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
), inhabitation in Europe was in three main regions, refugio
Last Glacial Maximum
The Last Glacial Maximum refers to a period in the Earth's climate history when ice sheets were at their maximum extension, between 26,500 and 19,000–20,000 years ago, marking the peak of the last glacial period. During this time, vast ice sheets covered much of North America, northern Europe and...
s, whose populations then came to divide Europe between themselves. Western 'Basque' Europe and Northern 'Uralic' Europe were inhabited by hunters of large animals which were abundant during that period and spoke languages related respectively to modern Basque and Uralic. The rest of Europe was inhabited by hunters of smaller animals and was fragmented into many smaller unknown languages.
By 5500 BC the extinction of many large species of animals reduced the inhabitants of the Western and Northern regions to hunting small-game. The inhabitants of South-East Europe (hypothesized to have spread from the third, Balkan refugio) had adopted the Neolithic way of life of mixed farming and animal husbandry and were becoming economically more successful. Early farmers diffusing from Greece and the Balkans gave rise to Indo-European, serving as a lingua franca of the inhabitants of region X and displacing or gradually converting linguistically the less successful hunters from the other regions.
Wiik suggests that at the periphery of the Indo-European language expansion, the Germanic, Baltic, Slavic, Celtic and Iberian languages were formed; these were Indo-European flavored with many elements from the languages of the hunters: Basque and Uralic. He claims the Post-Swiderian
Swiderian culture
Swiderian culture, also published in English literature as Sviderian and Swederian, is the name of Final Palaeolithic cultural complexes in Poland and the surrounding areas. The type-site is Świdry Wielkie, in Otwock. The Swiderian is recognized as a distinctive culture that developed on the sand...
people (originating from western Poland) as Finnic-Ugric, and the Saami
Sami people
The Sami people, also spelled Sámi, or Saami, are the arctic indigenous people inhabiting Sápmi, which today encompasses parts of far northern Sweden, Norway, Finland, the Kola Peninsula of Russia, and the border area between south and middle Sweden and Norway. The Sámi are Europe’s northernmost...
as migrants from (Magdalenian) Western Europe that changed their original language, probably Basque-like, to a Uralic tongue.
Thus, Wiik proposes that eventually most of Europe was Indo-Europeanized as many of the Basque and Uralic speaking hunters adopted IE languages. Only in the periphery of the European continent, in the Iberian peninsula and in Northeast Europe strong nuclei of hunters apparently adopted farming without being linguistically converted: modern Basque and Finnish speakers are descendants of mostly these early hunters of the Ice Age. Everywhere else, the Indo-European languages which originated in Southeast Europe, have won the upper hand. The key proposition in Wiik's hypothesis is the phonetics-derived idea that the Finnic-Ugric and Basque populations who adopted the fashionable Indo-European language to replace their own, learned their new language a bit badly and used pronunciations in a way familiar to their birth language, which all gave rise to the new languages, German, Slavic and Baltic, as well as Celtic and Iberian. In essence, Wiik suggests that German, Slavic, Baltic, Celtic and Iberian did not emerge from Indoeuropeans themselves, but among the Finnic-Ugric and Proto-Basque populations. This would make the Germanic, Slavic, Baltic, Celtic and Iberian populations genetically as descendants not of Indo-Europeans, but of Finnic-Ugric and Proto-Basque respectively, a claim not fully supported by any genetic evidence.
In “Where Did European Men Come From” Wiik surveyed Y chromosome variation in Europeans and in accordance with his position that “The men of the Balkan refuge were more likely than those of any other to have spoken an early form of the Indo-European language.”
Wiik's views have gained a lot of critique. The possible linguistic substrate in Germanic seems to have nothing in common with Uralic languages, and there is no evidence for Uralic languages ever having been spoken in Central Europe, as opposed to northern and eastern Europe where they attestedly were spoken.