AHC: Basque speaking Iberia

[Hvalrossen]

How could Iberia become Basque speaking?

Could Basque somehow become the dominant language(spoken by elite) in Iberia? Could Basque become the majority language of Iberia, with atleast over 50%, meaning majority not plurality?

Could Basque somehow become the dominant and/or majorit language of Iberia following the collapse of the Roman Empire?

 

[LSCatilina]

That's , IMO, unlikely except with a prehistoric PoD : Basque language was already put in a corner by the VIth century at latest, in face of Iberian and Indo-European languages, which wasn't the best grounds for a structural expansion.

 

[altwere]

There is some indication that basque is related to the Iberian languages.

 

[Nomis Nosnibor]

I think this is highly possible if we can butterfly away the indo European migrations.

Beyond this maybe (and I’m not an expert on this area of the world by any means) the Arabicization of Iberia becomes more complete except the basque areas. Could a reconquista with an alternative and wanked Vasconia/Kingdom of Pamplona at its head slowly regain some linguistic ground and territory?

 

[Arkenfolm]

There is some indication that basque is related to the Iberian languages.

Some, but it still isn't Basque any more than Greek is Latin.

 

[Nomis Nosnibor]

I would be surprised that it has any “relation” to the current insitu Iberian languages frankly.

However maybe it was a branch of Iberian or Iberian itself - I don’t know. Many efforts have been made by linguists to find living and even extinct language links/relatives which to my knowledge have been wholly unsuccessful. It is currently classed as a language isolate according to my current scheme and memory.

 

[altwere]

Yes, but Greek and Latin are in the same language family. I'm not saying that Iberian is ancestral to Basque, although it might be, but that they might be related as in the same language family. Unfortunately Iberian is mostly know from short inscriptions, mostly burial stelae. we can read the script, but need to guess the meanings. Its like Etruscan but worse as we understand some Etruscan.

 

[Hvalrossen]

I think this is highly possible if we can butterfly away the indo European migrations.

Beyond this maybe (and I’m not an expert on this area of the world by any means) the Arabicization of Iberia becomes more complete except the basque areas. Could a reconquista with an alternative and wanked Vasconia/Kingdom of Pamplona at its head slowly regain some linguistic ground and territory?

Basque reconquista may work. If there was strong Basque population growth while that of non-Basques in Iberia was negative then the Basque language may spread t other settlements.

What about a scenario during/after the fall of the Roman Empire?

 

[altwere]

I had a TL several years back. Where a plague infested Iberia during the reconquesta and the Basque were the least affected and spread south across much of central and southern Iberia

 

[Mongo]

I would be surprised that it has any “relation” to the current insitu Iberian languages frankly.

However maybe it was a branch of Iberian or Iberian itself - I don’t know. Many efforts have been made by linguists to find living and even extinct language links/relatives which to my knowledge have been wholly unsuccessful. It is currently classed as a language isolate according to my current scheme and memory.

From a post I wrote in 2015:

Euskara might have been related to PaleoSardinian, an extinct language of which little is known but which appears to have had a similar system of suffixes to that of Euskara. This would be unsurprising, given the genetic similarity of the Basques and the Sardinians. Correspondences in vocabulary found between proto-Euskara and Paleosardinian include ardi "ox", hartze "rock, stone", berri "new", aran "valley", iri/ili "settlement", istil "marsh", gorri/gurri "red", beles "black", mando "wild ass", ola "hut", obi "cave", turri "spring, well" and ur "water".

 

[Hvalrossen]

I had a TL several years back. Where a plague infested Iberia during the reconquesta and the Basque were the least affected and spread south across much of central and southern Iberia

Do you wanna link it?

 

[altwere]

Not really, it pretty much sucked.

 

[Tripledot]

Basque reconquista may work. If there was strong Basque population growth while that of non-Basques in Iberia was negative then the Basque language may spread t other settlements.

What about a scenario during/after the fall of the Roman Empire?

Wasn't Sancho the Great Basque? Could be a starting point, though then again him being from Navarre/Pamplona didn't really help expand Basque hegemony OTL.

 

[Hvalrossen]

Wasn't Sancho the Great Basque? Could be a starting point, though then again him being from Navarre/Pamplona didn't really help expand Basque hegemony OTL.

It is not sure if the power that Basques have will actually strenghten the Basque language. Good point. The Visigoths ruled the Iberian peninsula, they were assimilated by the majority culture for the most part.