Letter: The first word
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: In his claim that Lithuanian is the oldest of the living European languages, R A J Greenhill (letters, 26 October) mentions its Indo-European origin. Although the Indo-European family of languages was introduced to Europe by peoples moving in, it is undisputed that they displaced languages that already existed on this continent.
The true contender for the oldest living European language is Basque, which pre-dates any European language, Indo-European or otherwise. It is very much a living language, spoken by well over a million people in Spain and southern France. Euskara, as the Basques call their tongue, is said to be a descendant of ancient Iberian, the language spoken in Spain before the coming of the Indo-Europeans. There are some philologists who believe that the language dates right back to the origins of man himself.
Yours faithfully, GEORGE BEAL Surbiton, Surrey
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments