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Judean-Sanskrit/Bantu/Austronesian?

From:Kristian Jensen <kljensen@...>
Date:Friday, January 22, 1999, 11:32
Here's an idea: Judean-Sanskrit. I know there a group of Jews that
live in India. As to when and how they got there, I really don't
know. But perhaps a Judean language could arise in India if history
presented itself differently.

Here's another idea: Judean-Bantu. I saw a TV-program once (I think
it was BBC) about studying the genetic make-up of people around the
world and how such studies reveal a lot about human history. Among
the people shown were a Bantu-speaking group from Zimbabwe that
claim to be Jews (celebrating Hanukka, practicing circumcission,
etc.). They also claim to be one of the lost tribes of Israel and
the true builders of the ruins of Zimbabwe. They look African so
there are many skeptics, but a genetic study of them revealed that
they in fact have more Yemenite blood in them than the surrounding
Bantu-speaking people. This lead the TV program to theorize that
they are perhaps distantly related to Yemite Jews who also claim to
be true Jews and one of the lost tribes of Israel. It was theorized
by the program that Yemenite Jews might have had trade relations
along the East coast of Africa. Some might have settled in Africa,
introduced Judaism, and intermarried with the local population so
their descendants are now the Zimbabwean Jews. If this situation is
true, then what if the Jewish language was more influential in the
development of this tribe's language? What would this Judean-Bantu
language look like?

Here's another idea again: Judean-Austronesian. What if Yemenite
Jewish sailors were bold enough to venture away from the coast of
East Africa to 'discover' Madagascar? What if they settled in
Madagascar? Might there not have been a Jewish language that would
have developed when influenced by the local Austronesian speakers?

Some food for thought.

Regards,
-Kristian- 8-)