LANGUAGES AND LEGENDS; THE MOTHER TONGUE, MIGRATIONS, AND MYTHS:
It is a largely unrecognized fact that names can survive over thousands and tens of thousands of years and here we present a wide range of conclusions and their supporting studies that are all based upon this fact.
ALL OF THESE STUDIES ARE SURELY CONTROVERSIAL. The language studies are not "linguistics" in the conventional sense of detailed analyses of the structure of language; they are entirely concerned with the vocabularies, no specialized linguistics knowledge is required and, to quote a prominent expert, our work "breaks usual patterns of such research." This analysis might well be called "Mother Tongue for the Common Man". The widespread existence of similar names is an undeniable fact – the integration of this discovery with conventional linguistic studies is another matter. The mythology studies are also sure to disturb students and enthusiasts of separate mythologies. In addition, here the need to comprehend the complex field of Indian religion and myth is likely to deter many from following in our footsteps.
PART 1: THE MOTHER TONGUE: The most important of our discoveries is probably the fact that all of the world’s languages are linked together in one world language since there are the same names for parts of the human body worldwide. This is even true for languages that are remote from each other in every sense, including geographic, linguistic, cultural, and technological status. The evidence is massive since it is based on a study that shows over 4000 links between the names for one hundred parts of the body in over 750 languages worldwide. If not part of a single hypothetical "original or Mother Tongue," these names are part of ancient linked languages prior to dispersal of peoples throughout the world. One of the most significant facts is the strong links with Africa that are consistent with the "out of Africa" hypothesis. The other equally striking fact is that the languages of the Americas are strongly linked with all of the rest of the world and in this sense, the Americas are in no way remote from the Old World.
PART 2: USES OF LANGUAGE: Here we present a number of separate studies that show how languages can be used to find out how and when peoples migrated.
The most striking shows how the complex pattern of the different languages in South America can be unfolded to show how a succession of different "migrations may have occurred. Another shows how the pattern of the two major groups of Australian languages could be a result of migration of the peoples of the land that once lay between present day Australia and Papua when this land was flooded at the end of the last Ice Age.
Two others concern the Indo-European peoples. The first study is an exercise in "glottochronology" that finds the fraction of the original "Proto Indo European" names that survived in later vocabularies of known date such as Mycenaean Greek, Latin, and modern languages. This study is unique in its approach and is statistically much more accurate than other such studies. Very significantly, the date and probable location of this beginning can be linked with a specific archaeological event. The second study extends this work to show the separation pattern of Baltic, Slavic, Germanic, Latin, and Celtic language groups from Proto Indo European in Europe and how and when the separations of these five groups occurred. There are also two relevant smaller non Indo-European studies that address Akkadian, hieroglyphic Egyptian and Athapaskan.
PART 3: INDO-EUROPEAN MYTHOLOGY: Of comparable importance to the "one world language" studies is our detailed and intensive study of the six major surviving Indo European mythologies, namely Indian (Hindu), Persian, Greek, Germanic (Norse), Irish, and Welsh (Arthurian). The extent of the work is such that only summaries can be presented here. In each separate mythology, the sources and contents are evaluated and in particular the genealogies and exploits of the principal figures in each mythology are reviewed and analyzed in depth. However, the extent and detail of Indian myths far exceed all of the others combined and contain the keys to a single Indo European mythology. We are led to the striking and controversial conclusion that all seven principals are members of six generations of a single family. In Indian terms this family extends from Brahma to Krishna, but in all cases the principals are known by many names. The most complete accounts are only found in Indian but some parts of both names and exploits are found in every mythology.
Only small elements of our identifications such as equating Greek Uranus with Indian Varuna have previously been seen. Many or most of our conclusions are controversial but, in our judgment, are clearly supportable if studies are pursued to the considerable depth and detail required. The most clear is the same name for the "King of the Gods" found as Gwoden in Norse and Gadhin in Indian and as Gwydion in Welsh. Some of the other striking links are as follows - the Irish hero Cuchulain’s defense of the cattle of Ulster with the same act of Uttara in Indian; the death of Balin at his brother’s hand in "Morte d’Arthur" with the identically-named Indian Balin by his brother and its link to the Norse death of Balder; Greek Perseus’ slaying of a woman with a sickle and the Indian Parashurama (an incarnation of Vishnu) who cut off his mother’s head also with a sickle; equating Arthurian Merlin with the Indian priest Viswamitra; equating Arthur and Mordred with Indian Vishnu and Krishna.
CONTENTS
MOTHER TONGUE-ONE WORLD LANGUAGE:
The great extent of our language studies makes it impossible to present more than a small fraction of our data and our analyses here. We have produced literally hundreds of documents all of which range from simple but significant and informative listings of data to multidocument detailed analyses of entire groups of languages and regions. Consequently we arrange our documents here to begin with three documents that give a brief but sufficient description of the fundamentals and source data used in our studies and follow these with a number of analyses that represent the three main types of analyses into which our studies may be conveniently divided.
The first three are "Introduction and Overview", "Perspective of World Migrations", and "Specific Languages used in Studies". The fourth relates to "Chains of Names" and specifically is "Out of Africa to Easter Island". The fifth concerns regional linkage and is entitled "Out of Africa to the Americas". The sixth is entitled "Striking and Strange Links"; as the title indicates it addesses established chains of links that are difficult to understand.
This is the introduction to an extensive series of studies in which we show that languages across the entire world that are remote from each other geographically, racially, historically, technologically, and linguistically have similar names for parts of the body and so must be derived from a single older language, the "Mother Tongue". This is the prime conclusion of a massive study in which we have collected, ordered, and analyzed the names for one hundred parts of the body or body secretions for over 750 languages across the World. These names were chosen because of the simple fact that all peoples have the same bodies whatever whatever the environment, technical, or social aspects of their ways of life. In general world regions and individual languages are linked in chains of similar names that presumably indicate migration patterns. An important factor of these chains is that the languages of the Americas are very strongly linked with all the languages of the Old World. Thus we show that in a language sense the Americas are not remote lands but are integrally and importantly linked with all world languages. A third point is that although the initial point or origin of a chain of linkages cannot be proven, many of our analyses are consistent with migration out of Africa.
MOTHER TONGUE 2 -PERSPECTIVE OF WORLD MIGRATIONS
With reservations we begin by accepting the prevailing view that modern man originated in Africa as a working hypothesis. This event probably occurred about 150,000 BP and during from this time to the present day the world saw the major ice fields expand and recede. As part of these events sea levels fell and rose. All of these changes affected possible migration routes out of Africa. Here we show a simple regional world pattern that reflects these changes and that we use to order our analyses of language linkages.
MOTHER TONGUE 3 -SPECIFIC LANGUAGES USED IN STUDIES
Here we list the specific languages used in our studies in each region of the World.
MOTHER TONGUE 4 - STRUCTURE OF THE LISTS OF LINKS
The basic lists used in our analyses are those of the two syllable or two-letter "doubles"; these contain within them any more complex names such as "triple" or "quads". The most fundamental of these are where we give all links between a given language and the rest of the World. From these lists we can extract links in a wide variety of forms such as those with another language or another region or a given linguistic group. The heart of our studies is that we find that there are chains of similar names that are strikingly widespread both linguistically and geographically.
MOTHER TONGUE 5 - REGIONS - OUT OF AFRICA TO THE AMERICAS
Here we illustrate analyses of linked regions rather than individual names. Here we give the first portion of what must be a complex document showing the links between the regions of Africa and the rest of the World where we only emphasize the strong links between Africa and the Americas. The full analysis of "Out of Africa" must address many additional linkages.
MOTHER TONGUE 6 - AFRICA THROUGH INDIA TO EASTER ISLAND
This study was chosen to show how names in both regional and language groups can form chains to a remote individual language. This is just one of many such examples deliberately chosen to emphasize the nine links between the geographical extremes of Africa and Easter Island (RAPANUI). We have also chosen to show how these nine links form two separate chains that include the Dravidian and Mundari language groups found in the intervening "chokepoint" in Western India. The results are given in detail in two forms. One gives all of the actual linked names - the other shows the language locations by region to show the worldwide links more clearly. Africa, Dravidian and Mundari India, and remote Rapanui are connected not only to each other in clear chains but they are also linked to all of the rest of the World.
MOTHER TONGUE 7 - STRIKING AND STRANGE LINKS
Some chains of names appear to be well established but present linkages that are (to say the least) difficult to explain. Here we give two such examples.
MISCELLANOUS LANGUAGE STUDIES:
SOUTH AMERICAN MIGRATIONS: An analysis of the present day pattern of language families in South America shows that it can be explained as resulting from a succession of migrations into the sub continent.
A review of the present pattern of languages in Australia shows that the prefix languages intruded into the original suffix languages. The topography of the sea-bed between Australia and Papua/New Guinea is examined and it is shown that the prefix intrusion was probably due to sudden and catastrophic flooding off the northwest coast.
DATING LANGUAGES:
DATING PART ONE: PROTO INDO EUROPEAN DATING
A unique,rigorous, glottochronological study of the relationship of Proto Indo European vocabularies to later, datable, Indo European vocabularies has been made as part of a full review of Proto Indo European origins. The initial vocabulary is almost 900 words and the results are thus statistically far more reliable than other studies. The vocabularies include Mycenaean Greek, Roman, and later including modern languages. A consistent pattern of erosion of the "original" vocabulary is found which supports the validity of glottochronology in this rare specific case where a considerable number of datable vocabularies are available. However, the derived rate of change is quite different from that usually assumed which calls into question the validity of the older, less rigorous studies.
DATING PART TWO: INDO EUROPEAN INVASIONS OF EUROPE:
As part of our study of Proto Indo European origins we have made glottochronological estimates of the separation of each European language group, Slavic, Celtic, Romance, etc., from each other. This unique study shows a consistent pattern of successive partial separation of groups from a common origin and then from each other followed by full separation of each language group. Dates for separations of language groups are derived using the time-scale established in our Proto Indo European study. These dates are consistent with archaeological and historical evidence and provide a unique picture of Indo European entries into Europe.
DATING PART THREE: DATING AKKADIAN AND EGYPTIAN:
Here we examine the links between ancient Akkadian and modern Hebrew and Arab languages and derive the rate of decay of these Semitic languages. We also examine the links for ancient, hieroglyphic Egyptian and the related modern Coptic. The rates of change of these two language are in good agreement and the estimated half-life is 1350± 150 years. This is significantly different from the value of 2240± 140 years derived from our detailed analysis of the well-established Indo-European languages. We conclude that different language groups may change at quite different rates and that all glottochronological analyses should reflect this fact.
DATING PART FOUR;POSSIBLE PITFALLS AS SHOWN BY ATHAPASKAN
In our glottochronology analyses we have generally found that the choice of words was not significant. This is particularly true of our analysis of Indo-European words where we examined almost 900 words found in Proto Indo European of a wide variety of meanings. In our study of changes in Semitic from ancient Akkadian and from ancient hieroglyphic Egyptian to Coptic we used names of parts of the body; this study also gave no indication that the choice of vocabulary was significant. However we have discovered one language group where some names appear to change and others do not. This is the Athapaskan or Na-Dene group of North American languages. From this circumstance we believe that there are possible or probable "pitfalls" in glottochronology so that the technique should be used with due caution.
INDO EUROPEAN LEGENDS:
STRUCTURE OF MYTHOLOGY STUDIES
Although each Indo European mythology is based on a common source each has been transposed to the country where the people now live, Irish legends in Ireland and so on. For each mythology a brief history of the people is given, and the sources of the legends are documented. Not all documentation is equally reliable and so must be critically reviewed. Individual names and genealogies, and also themes of the stories that are found in other mythologies, are identified. These are believed to be survivals from an original Indo European folklore or history.
A summary review of Indian mythology is given that emphasizes its key role in the understanding of Indo European mythology. This is because of its vast content and the capability of identifying the many different names of each principal character. The primary sources are described and all of the relevant mythological data are combined into a single extensive computer-searchable file. An exhaustive analysis shows for the first time that the principal gods, goddesses, heroes and demons belong to just six generations of one family. Examples of names and themes found in both Indian and the other mythologies are given.
ARTHURIAN (WELSH CELTIC) MYTHOLOGY
A summary review of the sources of Arthurian (Welsh Celtic) mythology is given. This shows how the rise of a historical leader of the Britons during the Saxon invasion became merged with mythological Welsh stories. This story was then re-written and expanded in the courts of Europe with some addition of original Welsh stories. Some key genealogies and stories are shown to be similar to Indian examples and so are survivals from original Indo European folklore.
The sources of Irish mythology are summarized. These include the Lebor Gabala Erenn, the Irish "Book of Invasions" which is unique in Indo European mythologies. The many "separate " invasions are shown to be connected and probably are descriptions of only one. Genealogical listings are confused and of little value but links with other Indo European mythologies, including Persian and Indian, are clear.
Germanic mythology is primarily Norse and the best known sources are the Poetic and Prose Edda which originated in Iceland. But major source of similar age which is apparently little recognised is the "History of Denmark" of Saxo Grammaticus. These and other sources are summarized and analyzed. Numerous links with other Indo European mythologies are identified.
The study of Greek mythology shows distinctive differences from those of other Indo European mythologies. For example, there is clear evidence of a merging of male-dominated Indo European stories with a prior strong female influence from the Mycenaean civilization. However we are particularly fortunate in our sources since they have effectively been gathered in one place by the erudition and skill of Robert Graves since he has collected and presented the information from over 60 ancient writers in one polished document. We find numerous examples of similar names and story themes for most of the prominent figures of Greek myth including, for example, the events and persons of the Trojan wars.
The importance of Persian mythology lies both in its close relationship to Indian and in the differences between them. The similarities are analyzed and it is clear that the two accounts are written from different sides of a major dispute; this is shown by the occurrence of the name Indra of the Indian King of the Gods as that of a lesser Persian demon. The sources of Persian mythology are largely re-written rather than older myths, and the evolving sources show many modifications of names. All sources are discussed in detail. There are many close links to Indian names and events, but also to other Indo European mythologies.
