Pre-Indo-European languages

Pre-Indo-European languages are any of several old languages, not necessarily related to one another, that existed in prehistoric Europe and South Asia before the arrival of speakers of Indo-European languages. The oldest Indo-European language texts date from 19th century BC in Kültepe in modern-day Turkey, and while estimates vary widely, spoken Indo-European languages are believed to have developed at the latest by the third millennium BC (see Proto-Indo-European Urheimat hypotheses). Thus the Pre-Indo-European languages must have developed earlier than, or in some cases alongside, the Indo-European languages.

A handful of these languages still survive. Some of the pre-Indo-European languages are attested only as linguistic substrates in Indo-European languages; however, some others (like Etruscan, Minoan, Iberian etc.) are also attested from inscriptions.

Before World War II all the unclassified languages of Europe and Near East were commonly referred to as Asianic languages; this term encompassed several languages that were later found to be Indo-European, e.g. Lydian, while others (Hurro-Urartian, Hattic etc.) were classified as distinct language families. The term pre-Indo-European is not commonly accepted, as some linguists maintain the idea of the relatively late arrival of their speakers to Europe; they prefer to speak about non-Indo-European languages. A new term, Paleoeuropean, was coined recently. The latter term is not applicable to the languages that predated and/or coexisted with Indo-European outside Europe, e.g. Iran or India.

Surviving pre-Indo-European languages include:

Examples of suggested or known substrate influences on specific Indo-European languages:

Several of these languages are attested in inscriptions. These include Basque, Etruscan, Minoan, Aquitanian, Iberian, and Urartian.

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