Paleo-Balkan languages

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The Paleo-Balkan languages were the Indo-European languages which were spoken in the Balkans in ancient times:

Dacian language
Thracian language
Illyrian language
Liburnian language
Paionian language
Proto-Greek language
*Mycenean language
**Ancient Greek
Ancient Macedonian language (often classified as deriving from Proto-Greek)

Because of the fragmentary evidence that has survived, it is unknown how closely related these languages were, i.e. whether they belonged to a common branch of the Indo-European language family or merely a Sprachbund. However, no linguist proposes that the Liburnian language---which is generally considered to have been closely akin to the Venetic language---is part of the same IE branch as the Ancient Macedonian language or Greek language.

The modern languages descending from Paleo-Balkan languages are Albanian, Greek, and possibly Armenian (from a Phrygian dialect perhaps). Dacian, Thracian, or Illyrian have all been proposed as the language from which Albanian evolved, but it is still disputed which language was its ancestor. Many substratum words of Paleo-Balkan origin are found in Romanian, and some in South Slavic.

The Greek language, the Phrygian language and the Armenian language may all derive from the same group. It is known that the Hellenes migrated to the Greek mainland from the Balkans in several waves between 2000 BC and 1000 BC, and also the Phrygians are known to have moved to Anatolia from Thrace, in around 1200 BC. The Armenians, in turn, according to Herodotus were colonists of the Phrygians, probably separating in ca. the 8th century BC.

Paleo-Balkan languages

See also