Iberian language

More than eight decades after the finding, the stele of Sinarcas is today one of the banners of the Museum of Prehistory of Valencia and a relevant object of the Iberian culture in Valencia. In this paper we intend to provide new data on the circumstances of its discovery, to update the study of
its inscription at a philological level and to insert it into its historical and spatial context: North of the Requena-Utiel Plateau, an area where the metallurgy seems to have played an important role in the complex Romanization process of the Iberian territory of Kelin.
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Més de vuit dècades després de la seva troballa, l'estela de Sinarcas és ara com ara un dels estendards del Museu de Prehistòria de València i una peça insigne de la cultura ibèrica en l'àmbit valencià. En les següents línies pretenem aportar noves dades sobre les circumstàncies de la seva troballa, actualitzar a nivell filològic l'estudi de la seva inscripció i inserir-la en el context històric i espacial: el nord de la Meseta de Requena-Utiel, una zona on la metal·lúrgia sembla haver-hi jugat un paper important en el complex procés de romanització del territori ibèric de Kelin.
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Más de ocho décadas después de su hallazgo, la estela de Sinarcas es hoy por hoy uno de los estandartes del Museu de Prehistòria de València y una pieza insigne de la cultura ibérica en el ámbito valenciano. En las siguientes líneas pretendemos aportar nuevos datos sobre las circunstancias de su hallazgo, actualizar a nivel filológico el estudio de su inscripción e insertarla en su contexto histórico y espacial: el norte de la Meseta de Requena-Utiel, una zona donde la metalurgia parece haber
jugado un papel importante en el complejo proceso de romanización del territorio ibérico de Kelin.

“Per a més abundància, una major afinitat es percep també inclús en les llengües uráliques que en les indoeuropees. Tot aço dirigix —lliteralment orienta— l'orige del vasconic —i secundàriament i en una manera llogicament més conjectural l'orige de l'ibèric— cap a l'orient, a zones on els parlants de les llengües hispàniques pogueren estar en contacte en les llengües altaiques en general i un poc més estretament en les túrciques.”
Xaverio Ballester, 2015.

“La lengua vasca, sea cual sea su antigüedad, no surgió de la nada un buen día por casualidad. […] es falso afirmar que el vasco no está emparentado con nada […] El vasco es una lengua "eurasiática" en el pleno sentido del término [...] (El vasco) representa una rama de este superfilo al igual que las lenguas caucásicas (y las Altaicas) representan otra rama del mismo filo…”
Michel Morvan, 2009.

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This comparative linguistic study delves into the fascinating possibility of a linguistic connection between Basque (Euskara) and Japanese, two languages separated by thousands of kilometers and millennia. Through meticulous analysis, the authors present evidence of lexical, morphological, and grammatical similarities suggesting a remote link between these languages, proposing a common ancestor in linguistic prehistory. From just a few words collected by Resurrección María de Azkue (1966) and recent press sources, we have now progressed to 61 potential correlates; although there are likely many more, as this study has never aimed to conduct a comprehensive comparison of the Basque and Japanese lexicons.

The study employs the expanded "Swadesh List" of 200 words, plus 8 additional, equally stable ("non-borrowable" between languages of different families), to find 20.67% potential cognates between both languages, suggesting a common "Mother Language" and placing the divergence of these languages between approximately 7000 and 5000 years ago. This result positions Basque and Japanese as "first cousin languages," challenging the traditional notion that Basque is an isolated language, the sole survivor of a family unrelated to any other Eurasian family.

The document delves into lexical comparisons between terms with clear phonetic and semantic similarities. These coincidences not only suggest a deep cultural and linguistic connection but also prompt a reconsideration of theories regarding prehistoric human migrations and settlement patterns, offering new avenues for future research in comparative and prehistoric linguistics.

We provide a summary of Basque and Eurasian paleogenetics that could yield valuable insights into the potential relationship between the Basque language and genetic migrations in the Iberian Peninsula. We briefly address the ongoing genetic diversity in the Basque Country and southern France from prehistory to the present day. True isolation, preserving the distinct genetics of Basques, particularly evident in paternal lineages of the "R1b Clan," began around the Iron Age, continuing into Roman times. This isolation has also preserved their remarkable language, which, as a living fossil, should be considered "Cultural Heritage of Humanity," akin to numerous languages already declared as such by UNESCO. We find no inherent superiority or greater relevance in these languages compared to Basque, which has endured, thanks in part to its genetic isolation, maintaining many of its ancient voices unchanged by external influences, despite acquiring Celtic-Iberian, Latin, Romance, and other loanwords.

We are aware that "genes ≠ languages." No one has yet demonstrated a direct relationship between genes and languages. However, it has been shown that the same language can be spoken by different genetic lineages (both paternal and maternal), and vice versa, that the same genetic lineages (both paternal and maternal) can speak different languages. Therefore, there is no exact correspondence between genes and languages.

The first thing that must be understood and accepted, whether one likes it or not, is that genes are not equal to languages. Geneticists have already been convinced of this. In other words, many languages can be spoken by individuals with the same genetic profile, and conversely, the same language can be spoken by individuals with a single genetic profile. If there ever was something akin to "genes = languages," it could only have occurred in the origins of the first language families of the Paleolithic or Mesolithic. However, with the advent of the Neolithic and its significant movements and the inevitable increase in genetic mixing, it is no longer tenable to assert that "genes = languages." The Pre-Proto-Basque could have been perfectly forged in the Altai Mountains and surrounding areas; in fact, this is where the R1b emerges, which after thousands of years inhabiting these regions, migrates towards northwest Eurasia (Siberians and Uralics) and towards the Asian steppes and southern Russia, giving rise to the Yamnaya, and from these descendants of the "R1b Clan," the vast majority of Basque-speaking people (note that after the Basque speakers, those with the highest concentration of ancestral R1b from the same Yamnaya branch are the Bashkirs). Therefore, even though "genes ≠ languages" at least since the Neolithic, in this case study, it could even be genetically supported. It is abundantly clear that "genes ≠ languages," but the comparison of linguistic data with genetic data allows us, in this case, to conclude that the Basque language (possibly related to the Transeurasian/Altaic, perhaps Pre-Proto-Turkic) could be linked to some males of the "R1b Clan" (post-Bronze Age) originating in the Altai Mountains, not only genetically but also linguistically.

The theory proposed here suggests that Basque, undoubtedly stemming from this R1b paternal genetic lineage, has preserved an agglutinative language similar to Transeurasian/Altaic and Pre-Proto-Turkic spoken by ancient R1b individuals over 5000 years ago, and could have reached southern France at some point between that time and the Bronze Age, through a group of steppe descendants of the Yamnaya who spoke this agglutinative language related to the Transeurasian/Altaic macrofamily, most likely carriers of a western pre-proto-Turkic branch, although other groups of this same Yamnaya steppe culture may have spoken a variant of Indo-Iranian-European. Both possibilities are not mutually exclusive. The coexistence of these two languages is best supported with genetic and linguistic data, as demonstrated in another study currently undergoing editing.

Thus, this study demonstrates, through the application of historical-linguistic scientific methods, that Basque and Japanese, beyond their natural differences due to geographical and temporal isolation, may share a common ancestor. This conclusion not only challenges traditional perceptions of the isolated development of these languages but also opens new avenues of research into prehistoric connections between distant peoples, suggesting a much richer and more complex shared history than previously considered. The evidence presented underscores the importance of continuing to explore the depths of our linguistic and cultural past to unravel the mysteries of human connection across time and space.

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