New York Times: Albanian oldest European language.

[KrashNick]

[Mens-Sarda]

I think they forgot to mention the Basque language, non indo-european language, spoken there long before the indo-european languages

[Empecinado]

Probably Basque is the oldest, even though has a lot of Romance vocabulary (up to 25%).

[SKYNET]

that's why nobody of Europeans understands Albanian?

[Mens-Sarda]

that's why nobody of Europeans understands Albanian?

It's an indo-european language, but an isolated language, like Greek, it doesn't belong to any "family" like German, Slav, Latin, or Celtic languages, that's why it sounds different from all the others

[blogen]

I think they forgot to mention the Basque language, non indo-european language, spoken there long before the indo-european languages

Long after, since the Basque langue presumably the last remains of the Near Eastern Bell Beaker settlers.

[Vlach]

Jesus, the Albanian is a young language in Europe! These are a short list:

Greek: ~4000 years (proto Greek: 3000-2000BC)
Hungarian: ~3000 years (proto Hungarian: 1800-1000BC)
German: ~2750 years (proto German: 1500-750BC)
Finnish: ~2000 years (proto Finnish: 1000BC-0AD)
...
English: ~1400 years (proto English: 0-600)
...
Albanian: ~1000 years (proto Albanian: 0-1000)
...
Serbocroatian: ~750 years (proto Serbocroatian: 900-1250), if we not recognized the independent Serbocroatian languages.
Italian: ~700 years (proto Italian: 300-1300)
...
Slovakian: ~500 years (proto Slovakian: 1000-1500)
Lithuanian: ~500 years (proto Lithuanian: 800-1500)
...
Serbian: ~150 years (proto Serbian: 1500-1850, if we recognized the independent Serbian language from the Serbocroatian.
etc.

The title said, oldest EUROPEAN language. Why hungarian is here?

[Vlach]

that's why nobody of Europeans understands Albanian?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_sprachbund

[blogen]

The title said, oldest EUROPEAN language. Why hungarian is here?

Why Indoeuropean here or the Basque? The only question in here is the arriving time:



Sorry Velaxa, but your family is Asian too, as most of the European language families (IE = Anatolia?, PU = Central Asia?, PB = Near East?) except the Caucasian languages. Basically the only real Europeans are the Chechens, Circasians and Dagestani peoples, since their language family was indigenous European origin. Maybe.

[Vlach]

Why Indoeuropean here or the Basque? The only question in here is the arriving time:



Sorry Velaxa, but your family is Asian too, as most of the European language families (IE = Anatolia?, PU = Central Asia?, PB = Near East?) except the Caucasian languages. Basically the only real Europeans are the Chechens, Circasians and Dagestani peoples, since their language family was indigenous European origin. Maybe.

Proto-romanian is from Europe, evolved in Europe. What about hungarian?