Paleo-Balkan languages
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The Paleo-Balkan languages is a geo-linguistic concept referring to the Indo-European languages that were spoken in the Balkans in ancient times. With the exception of Greek and the language that gave rise to Albanian (see below), they are all extinct, due to Hellenization (in the south), Romanization (in the north) as well as the later Slavic migrations.
- Extinct langages (Thraco-Illyrian)
- Illyrian languages
- Paionian language
- Phrygian language
- Languages which are not extinct
Because of the fragmentary evidence from the extinct languages, particularly Illyrian, it is not known how closely related these languages were, i.e., whether they belonged to a common branch of the Indo-European language family or merely a Sprachbund. When a closer linguistic relationship is assumed, the extinct languages are referred to as Thraco-Illyrian. Albanian may have evolved from Daco-Thracian but this is disputed and the position of Albanian within Thraco-Illyrian remains undetermined.
Substratum words of Paleo-Balkan origin are found in Romanian, and to a lesser extent, in South Slavic languages.
