While provocative, Vennemann's theories are highly debated and generally rejected by the mainstream linguistic community. Critics often argue that:
The toponymic (place-name) links are tenuous and can be explained by other linguistic families. Europa Vasconica-Europa Semitica
Structural similarities like VSO word order may be typological coincidences rather than proof of direct contact. Europa Vasconica-Europa Semitica
He even suggests these colonizers significantly impacted the development of Germanic languages , influencing everything from the invention of runes to the origins of deities like the Vanir . Academic Reception Europa Vasconica-Europa Semitica
This "substrate" influenced the vocabulary and structure of the languages that eventually replaced them.