Vasconic languages

The Vasconic languages (from Latin vasco 'Basque'), also called Euskarian or Basque-Aquitanian, are a putative language family that includes Basque and the extinct Aquitanian language (also called Vasco-Aquitanian), spoken in ancient times by the Vasco-Aquitanian peoples. Aquitanian was itself probably divided into several dialects or languages. Joaquín Gorrochategui distinguishes Aquitanian proper, the language of the Aquitani in the north, from Vasconic, the language of the Vascones in the south. While specialists agree that Basque and Aquitanian are genetically related, the status of the family itself remains uncertain. It is debated whether Aquitanian (or one of its dialects) is the direct ancestor of Basque (in which case it would not constitute a language family but a single language lineage), or whether the two instead represent sister languages descended from a common ancestor (making the language family valid). The extinct Iberian languages are sometimes tentatively included in this family, although this remains controversial.