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Linguistics researches: the Usko-Mediterranean theory

Arnaiz Villena has also published, together with Jorge Alonso García, many books propounding a linguistic theory on what they call the Usko-Mediterranean languages. This theory proposes the existence and identification of the Usko-Mediterranean family of languages consisting of many languages that its proponents translate by means of modern Basque dictionaries.

So besides modern Basque the alleged Usko-Mediterranean family of languages consists of Iberian, Tartessian, Paleo-Berber, Etruscan, Ancient Egyptian, Sumerian, Hurrian, Hittite, Elamite, Eblaite, Ugaritic, Punic, Minoan (Linear A), as also the language of the Indus script and of the ancient “glyphs” scripts of the Pacific Ocean and America, as they call them^[1]. Besides these languages, Arnaiz and Alonso claim that some North and South Caucasian languages (“ Circassian”, Chechen, Ingush, Georgian) also belong to the Usko-Mediterranean languages. Arnaiz has also interpreted some Biblical personal names through Basque (such as “Adam”, “ Eva”, “Cain”, “Abel”, or “ Javeh”) ^[2].

It must be taken into account that this theory is based on considering that all the previous researches on those dead languages is wrong^[3] . For instance, they claim that they, but not Champollion, are the ones who deciphered Egyptian hieroglyphs, in spite of the fact that they keep the Champollion's and egyptologists transcriptions of hieroglyphs^[4]. They claim, for example, that the cartouche of the bilingual inscription Rosseta Stone in which Champollion identified the name of Ptolemy must be translated as "cremación - una- si -muerte - oración - fuego - hermandad - difuntos - pecadores -si" ("cremation - one - if - death - pray - fire - brotherhood - deceaseds - siners - if")^[5].

In this way they also change the meaning of many celebrated ancient inscriptions. So they claim that texts as the Code of Hammurabi, the poem of the Battle of Kadesh or the Epic of Gilgamesh are not what use to be thought, but religious and funeral texts of the Usko-Mediterranean religion, typically represented by concepts as the Gate of Darkness and the Mother Goddess ^[6].

At a comparative level, the Usko-Mediterranean hypothesis has only shown series of comparisons of words between the different languages ^[7], but has not put forward neither any syntax, nor morphology, nor rules of phonetic evolution, as also has not attempted the reconstruction of the alleged proto-language. Instead of any proto-language, the Usko-Mediterranean theory uses as the centre for all their comparisons modern Basque lexicon, and claims to have discovered that the Basque language is the “Rosetta Stone” that allows to decipher ancient languages (^[8]).

Criticisms to the Usko-Mediterranean theory

The Usko-Mediterranean theory has been rejected by every expert that has reviewed it, as lacking any scientific value. As a matter of fact, experts who have reviewed it use to explain that it is such a nonsense that it would not need to be reviewed, but that they do because it has been published using the seal of a University Press and using public funds^[9]

The main points of the theory that have been reviewed are those related with its basis, the use of the Basque lexicon on which its decipherment is based, but it has also has received explicit comments on its interpretation of ancient Iberian inscriptions (De Hoz 1999) and Canary Islands rock inscriptions (Pichler 2005). The review made by expert Basque linguists ^[10] shows that the theory has claimed the existence of Basque words that do not exist, has attributed never attested meanings to existing words, that uses as evidence to translate ancient inscriptions many Basque words that are Latin or Romance loanwords (such as ‘bake’ “peace” Lat. ‘pace(m)’) or neologisms invented in the XIXth century by Sabino Arana (such as ‘aba’ “father”). Lakarra ^[11] has quantified the percentage of faulty or invented Basque words in the Basque lexicon used by Alonso and Arnaiz is a 85% of the whole, while the remnant 15% many times is at best dubious.

Bibliography

Arnaiz publications on the Usko-Mediterranean theory

Arnaiz Villena, Antonio (2007): "Lectura de la lengua ibérica" Euskararen Jatorriaren II. Biltzarra, Arantzadi (Donostia).

Arnaiz Villena, Antonio (2009): “Los graffiti en euskera de Iruña Oka y la cultura usko-mediterranea” Euskararen Jatorriaren IV. Biltzarra, Iruña Oka.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (1999): Minoicos, Cretenses y Vascos. Un estudio genético y lingüístico ISBN-13: 978-8489784666, Madrid.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2000a): El origen de los vascos y otros pueblos mediterráneos Editorial Complutense, ISBN-13: 978-8489784840, Madrid.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2000b): “The Usko-Mediterranean languages” in Gomez-Casado, E., Jorge Martinez-Laso & Antonio Arnaiz-Villena: Prehistoric Iberia - Genetics, Anthropology, and Linguistics, Springer, ISBN-13: 978-0306463648, pp. 205-246.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2000c): Egipcios, Bereberes, Guanches Y Vascos Editorial Complutense, ISBN-13: 978-8474915822, Madrid.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2001): Caucasicos, Turcos, Mesopotamicos y Vascos ISBN-13: 978-8474916522 Madrid.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2007): Diccionario Ibérico Euskera Castellano según los archivos ibéricos Fundación de Estudios Genéticos y Lingüísticos (FEGEL), ISBN 978-84-612-0465-6, Tarragona.

Arnaiz Villena, A. & Alonso García, J. (2008): Diccionario Etrusco-Euskera-Castellano, Fundación de Estudios Genéticos y Lingüísticos (FEGEL), ISBN 978-84-612-4214-6 , Tarragona.

Bibliography reviewing the Usko-Mediterranean theory

De Hoz Bravo, J. (1999). "Viaje a ninguna parte a través del Mediterráneo. Las lenguas que no hablaron ni iberos, ni etruscos, ni cretenses" Revista de Libros, nº 28 · Abril, 1999.

Lakarra Andrinua, J. (2001): "El vascuence en Europa" in V.M. Amado y De Pablo, S. (eds) Los vascos y Europa, Gasteiz, 75-121

Lakarra Andrinua, J. (2006): "Protovasco, munda y otros: reconstrucción interna y tipología holística diacrónica", Ohienart 21 2006, 229-322.

Múgika Urdangarín, L. Mª: (2003): "Egipcios, bereberes guanches y vascos": ¿está su clave en el euskara?" Boletín de la Real Sociedad Bascongada de Amigos del País, ISSN 0211-111X, Tomo 59, Nº 2, 2003 , pp. 361-399.^[12]

Pichler, W. (2005)“The Libyco-Berber inscriptions of the Canary Islands – misused as a playground for specialists and amateurs” ,La Lettre de l’AARS No 28 (2005) 4-5.

References

^ La metodología uskomediterránea
^ Arnaiz 2009
^ In fact they even denounce the previous investigations to be a "scientific fraud": "Descubrimiento de un gran fraude científico, al comprobarse que las traducciones actuales del egipcio, hitita, púnico, eblaíta, sumerio-babilonio, son enteramente falsas" (La metodología uskomediterránea)
^ Arnaiz & Alonso 2000, 309-334
^ Arnaiz & Alonso 2007, p. 8
^ Arnaiz & Alonso 2000, 397ff.; 2001 4c and 4d
^ A comparisons table can be seen in Arnaiz & Alonso 200b
^ Arnaiz & Alonso 2008, backcover: “el euskera. Especie de piedra de Rosetta que ha permitido el desciframiento no sólo de los archivos conservados en Europa, África y Oriente Medio, sino que abre una interesante vía de acceso a otros textos e inscripciones de países muy alejados del Asia o de los nuevos continentes”
^ De Hoz 1999; Pichler 2005. De Hoz 1999 states that: “ it is an unmitigated disaster which at first should not be reviewed" ("es un desastre sin paliativos que en principio no debería ser reseñado"), and that "it is a Human Sciences work without the slightest value and against not only the scientific methodology but also against the basic common sense" ("un trabajo de ciencias humanas carente del más mínimo valor y a contrapelo no ya de la metodología científica más elemental sino del simple sentido común") . Pichler (2005) qualify their translations of Canary Islands rock inscriptions as “compulsory comic”.
^ Múgika 2003; Lakarra 2001 and 2006
^ Lakarra 2001 and Lakarra 2006, footnote 29
^ A bad formatted copy of this paper can be read in this link

[1] La metodología uskomediterránea

[2] Arnaiz 2009

[3] In fact they even denounce the previous investigations to be a "scientific fraud": "Descubrimiento de un gran fraude científico, al comprobarse que las traducciones actuales del egipcio, hitita, púnico, eblaíta, sumerio-babilonio, son enteramente falsas" (La metodología uskomediterránea)

[4] Arnaiz & Alonso 2000, 309-334

[5] Arnaiz & Alonso 2007, p. 8

[6] Arnaiz & Alonso 2000, 397ff.; 2001 4c and 4d

[7] A comparisons table can be seen in Arnaiz & Alonso 200b

[8] Arnaiz & Alonso 2008, backcover: “el euskera. Especie de piedra de Rosetta que ha permitido el desciframiento no sólo de los archivos conservados en Europa, África y Oriente Medio, sino que abre una interesante vía de acceso a otros textos e inscripciones de países muy alejados del Asia o de los nuevos continentes”

[9] De Hoz 1999; Pichler 2005. De Hoz 1999 states that: “ it is an unmitigated disaster which at first should not be reviewed" ("es un desastre sin paliativos que en principio no debería ser reseñado"), and that "it is a Human Sciences work without the slightest value and against not only the scientific methodology but also against the basic common sense" ("un trabajo de ciencias humanas carente del más mínimo valor y a contrapelo no ya de la metodología científica más elemental sino del simple sentido común") . Pichler (2005) qualify their translations of Canary Islands rock inscriptions as “compulsory comic”.

[10] Múgika 2003; Lakarra 2001 and 2006

[11] Lakarra 2001 and Lakarra 2006, footnote 29

[12] A bad formatted copy of this paper can be read in this link

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