Many people in Europe might know that Basque (or Euskara) is probably the oldest language of western Europe, and that its origin is unkown. The only known fact about it is that this language was already spoken when Indoeuropeans arrived in the continent, so it is a treasure we must take care of. If someone wants to learn more about Basque people and the myths surrounding them and their language, there is a good book in which anyone can find nice explanations: The Basque History of the World, by Mark Kurlansky.
Even though the mysteries regarding the origins of Euskara are so interesting, I want to focus on the latest theory which has emerged to explain them. Jaime Martín, a graduate in Roman Philology from the Complutense of Madrid, has recently stated that it is actually an African language, originated in Mali. Moreover, he claims that about 70 percent of more than 2,000 pairs of words in both Basque and Dogon language family he analysed share common elements. It took him about 12 years to compare both languages in a survey that he aims to publish soon. A newspaper called Periodista Digital was quick to echo such news in this way:
El que se consideraba idioma más antiguo de Europa, viene del desierto de Mali
Resuelto el misterio: Un estudio confirma que el euskera es una lengua africana
"El dogón sólo se diferencia del vasco en que no tiene declinaciones ni sujeto ergatibo"
Periodista Digital, 04 de abril de 2013 a las 12:24
Translated: The likely eldest language in Europe, comes from Malian desert.
A solved mistery: a survey confirms that Basque is an African language.
"The only difference between Dogon and Basque is that the first one has not got neither declinations nor ergative subject" (please note that there is a mistake in the subtitle: "ergatibo" -with B- is the Basque word for ergative, the right word in Spanish should be "ergativo").
However, neither the University of the Basque Country nor Auñamendi (a society which aims to investigate and divulge Basque cultural heritage) consider that Martín's survey is reliable. The same thought was shared by Xabier Kintana, a member of Euskaltzaindia (Academy of the Basque language), who stated that the theory made by this philologist is a nonsense. For instance, the word "soro" ("orchard", in Basque) is an evolution of the Latin "solum", a fact that invalidates one of Fernando Martín's arguments.
This is likely to be just another myth about this ancient tongue to address the lack of information regarding its origins and the key features of this people who have lived in the north of actual Spain and the south of France for centuries. In fact, it was occupied and divided between those countries by the 15th century.
As I said before, there are many theories regarding the origins of Basque language so far. One of the most bizarres says that it was the language spoken before building Babel Tower. Furthermore, they claim it to be the mother tongue of Tubal, a grandson of Noah. Instead, some philologist and most Basques satirize on this issue, saying ironically that it is Tubal's language or even that it has an alien origin! This is a vignette by Basque artist Zaldieroa on the theory of the extraterrestial theory.
As I said before, there are many theories regarding the origins of Basque language so far. One of the most bizarres says that it was the language spoken before building Babel Tower. Furthermore, they claim it to be the mother tongue of Tubal, a grandson of Noah. Instead, some philologist and most Basques satirize on this issue, saying ironically that it is Tubal's language or even that it has an alien origin! This is a vignette by Basque artist Zaldieroa on the theory of the extraterrestial theory.
Translation: The origins of Basque Language, by Zaldieroa. Today, the extraterrestrial origin.
First cartoon: Unga! Unga!
Second cartoon: Unga! Unga! Unga!
Third cartoon: -Unga!
-Ea! Finish, Unga-Unga!
-I said that it's finished!
-Unga!
Fourth cartoon: I am bringing you a present (showing a piece of paper which reads "Nor Nori Nork", literally meaning "Who/what To Whom Who" and used to make sentences with direct and indirect object).
Therefore, lots of books have been published, and highlights of the Basque people have reflected even in the cinema. As an example, here are two clips of some famous films released by Hollywood.
Thunder in the Sun (1959)
McGyver
Moreover, someone can find this sort of stereotypes everywhere, even in Twitter. This is a Tweet by @MyLanguageCloud about one of them: its difficulty (there is no evidence that the Basque is the most difficult language in the world).
The most difficult language to learn is Basque, which is spoken in northwestern Spain and southwestern France.
— My Language Cloud (@MyLanguageCloud) 2013 apirila 5
To avoid this sort of misjudgements, we should get more informed of the key features of such an ancient people. Their culture is very rich and as valuable as any other.
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