Quote Originally Posted by Gaius Sempronius Gracchus View Post
(I don't like the term 'Germanic' any more than I like 'Celtic' btw, I think both are steeped in quasi nationalist/ethnic drivel.
But there's the rub. From a denotative standpoint, 'Celtic' refers to a set of similar cultures and languages which tend to differ from cultures and languages termed 'Germanic,' or 'Latin.' The problem is that the term is over-generalised in popular culture. Most labels can be discredited on a connotative basis. Furthermore, the comparison between 'Germanic' and 'Asian' is frankly unfair. Germanic languages and cultures evince strong familial relations hinting at a common origin whereas the designation 'Asian' describes a geographic region. Obviously, outside influences can alter a language - for instance, about 70% of English words have a non-English root - but the grammar and base of the languages can still be identified as belonging to a certain group. Again, almost all the words in this post have Anglo-Saxon origins. Not to mention languages at the fringe of a lingual group tend to blend with neighbouring tongues like modern Swiss.

Am I delusional, or does ancient Irish have more in common with Gaulish than Proto-Germanic?