I first became aware of the idea that modern European languages were spawned by Sanskrit when I read Wild Wales, George Borrow's last major work. However, when educating the great unwashed these days, reference to web sites seems to be a far more acceptable means of delivering a didactic coup de grace.
At the close of Wild Wales, Borrows devoted a whole section to comparisons between the Sanskrit and Welsh languages, much of which has since been discredited, such as his claim that,
"The original home of the Cumro was Southern Hindustan, the extreme point of which, Cape Comorin, derived from him its name."
However, if you have ever heard an Englishman attempting a piss take at the South Wales accent, you could understand his confusion.
Even the Romantic Borrow summarised by writing,
"From comparing the words in that list one might feel disposed to rush to the conclusion that the Cumric sprang from the Sanscrit, the sacred language of sunny Hindustan. But to do so would be unwise, for deeper study would show that if the Welsh has some hundreds of words in common with the Sanscrit, it has thousands upon thousands which are not to be found in that tongue, after making all possible allowance for change and modification."
And as a prelude to a series of rhetorical questions went on to state,
"No subject connected with what is called philosophy is more mortifying to proud human reason than the investigation of languages...."
I quote the above directly from my copy of Wild Wales, which Borrow wrote in 1861. If only he were alive to contribute to HHAD!
P.S. Analysing the origin of place names was also a minor feature of my architecture degree course!
