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40-653: The Paleo-Siberian languages are several language isolates and small language families spoken in parts of Siberia . They are not known to have any genetic relationship to each other; their only common link is that they are held to have antedated the more dominant languages, particularly Tungusic and latterly Turkic languages , that have largely displaced them. Even more recently, Turkic (at least in Siberia) and especially Tungusic have been displaced in their turn by Russian . Four small language families and isolates are usually considered to be Paleo-Siberian languages: On

80-484: A common ancestral language. This is what makes up a language family , which is a set of languages for which sufficient evidence exists to demonstrate that they descend from a single ancestral language and are therefore genetically related. For example, English is related to other Indo-European languages and Mandarin Chinese is related to other Sino-Tibetan languages . By this criterion, each language isolate constitutes

120-867: A dozen sign languages of the hill tribes in Thailand including the Ban Khor Sign Language . These and more are all presumed isolates or small local families, because many deaf communities are made up of people whose hearing parents do not use sign language, and have manifestly, as shown by the language itself, not borrowed their sign language from other deaf communities during the recorded history of these languages. Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families because their genetic relationship to other languages has been established. This happened with Japanese and Ryukyuan languages , Korean and Koreanic languages , Atakapa and Akokisa languages , Tol and Jicaque of El Palmar languages, and

160-446: A family of its own. In some situations, a language with no ancestor can arise. This frequently happens with sign languages —most famously in the case of Nicaraguan Sign Language , where deaf children with no language were placed together and developed a new language. Caution is required when speaking of extinct languages as language isolates. Despite their great age, Sumerian and Elamite can be safely classified as isolates, as

200-450: A few remaining native speakers, with no new acquisition, highly restricted use, and near-universal multilingualism. "Extinct" languages have no native speakers, but are sufficiently documented to be classified as isolates. With few exceptions, all of Africa's languages have been gathered into four major phyla: Afroasiatic , Niger–Congo , Nilo-Saharan and Khoisan . However, the genetic unity of some language families, like Nilo-Saharan ,

240-590: A genetic relationship with Korean and other northeast-Asian languages, argue that Southern Ryukyuan initial /b/ and Yonaguni /d/ are retentions of Proto-Japonic voiced stops *b and *d that became /w/ and /j/ elsewhere through a process of lenition . However, many linguists, especially in Japan, prefer the opposite hypothesis, namely that Southern Ryukyuan initial /b/ and Yonaguni /d/ are derived from local innovations in which Proto-Japonic *w and *j underwent fortition . The case for lenition of *d - > j -

280-683: A grouping of convenience for a variety of unclassifiable language isolates located in Northeast Eurasia. Some proposals for the relationship of languages located within the Paleo-Siberian group have been made by some scholars, including Edward Vajda , who suggests them to be related to the Na-Dené and Eskimo–Aleut families of Alaska and northern Canada . This would correlate with the widespread idea that North America's aboriginal peoples migrated from present-day Siberia and other regions of Asia when

320-521: A language previously considered an isolate may no longer be considered one, as happened with the Yanyuwa language of northern Australia , which has been placed in the Pama–Nyungan family. Since linguists do not always agree on whether a genetic relationship has been demonstrated, it is often disputed whether a language is an isolate. A genetic relationship is when two different languages are descended from

360-589: A language to classify it as either a language isolate or as a part of another language family. Unclassified languages are different from language isolates in that they have no demonstrable genetic relationships to other languages due to a lack of sufficient data. In order to be considered a language isolate, a language needs to have sufficient data for comparisons with other languages through methods of historical-comparative linguistics to show that it does not have any genetic relationships. Many extinct languages and living languages today are very poorly attested, and

400-541: A second-person pronoun in Northern Ryukyuan, and a reflexive pronoun in Southern Ryukyuan. Proto-Ryukyuan had another second-person pronoun, *ʔe or *ʔo , attested throughout the islands. The following interrogative pronouns can be reconstructed: The following demonstratives can be reconstructed: The Old Japanese demonstrative so 2 < *sə indicated remoteness from the speaker, and became

440-418: A secondary role. The complementary approach of comparative reconstruction from the dialects and Ryukyuan has grown in importance since the work of Shirō Hattori in the 1970s. Proto-Japonic words are generally polysyllabic, with syllables having the form (C)V. The following Proto-Japonic consonant inventory is generally agreed upon, except for the values of *w and *j (see below): Scholars agree that

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480-414: Is Old Japanese , which was recorded using Chinese characters in the 7th and 8th centuries. Ryukyuan varieties are considered dialects of Japanese in Japan but have little intelligibility with Japanese or even among one another. They are divided into northern and southern groups, corresponding to the physical division of the chain by the 250 km-wide Miyako Strait . The Shuri dialect of Okinawan

520-478: Is attested since the 16th century. All Ryukyuan varieties are in danger of extinction. Since Old Japanese displays several innovations that are not shared with Ryukyuan, the two branches must have separated before the 7th century. The migration to the Ryukyus from southern Kyushu may have coincided with the rapid expansion of the agricultural Gusuku culture in the 10th and 11th centuries. After this migration, there

560-456: Is marked by a long vowel in the first syllable instead of a distinct pitch pattern, which led Hattori to suggest that the original distinction was one of vowel length. The first-person pronouns were *wa and *a , but they are distinguished in different ways in the daughter languages. The form *na , which may have been borrowed from Koreanic , yielded an ambivalent personal pronoun in Japanese,

600-659: Is questionable, and so there may be many more language families and isolates than currently accepted. Data for several African languages, like Kwisi , are not sufficient for classification. In addition, Jalaa , Shabo , Laal , Kujargé , and a few other languages within Nilo-Saharan and Afroasiatic -speaking areas may turn out to be isolates upon further investigation. Defaka and Ega are highly divergent languages located within Niger–Congo -speaking areas, and may also possibly be language isolates. Current research considers that

640-513: Is reconstructed for Old Japanese e 2 in the few cases that it alternates with o 2 (< *ə ). Some authors propose a high central vowel *ɨ to account for these alternations, but there is no evidence for it in Ryukyuan or Eastern Old Japanese. The alternate reflex e 2 seems to be limited to specific monosyllabic nominal stems such as se ~ so 2 'back', me 2 ~ mo 'seaweed' and ye ~ yo 2 'branch'. The Japanese pitch accent

680-507: Is substantially weaker, with the fortition hypothesis supported by Sino-Japonic words with Middle Chinese initials in *j also having reflexes of initial /d/ in Yonaguni, such as dasai 'vegetables' from Middle Chinese *jia-tsʰʌi ( 野菜 ). An entry in the late-15th-century Korean annals Seongjong Taewang Sillok records the local name of the island of Yonaguni in Idu script as 閏伊是麼, which has

720-408: Is that they arose independently in isolation and thus do not share a common linguistic genesis with any other language but themselves. This explanation mostly applies to sign languages that have developed independently of other spoken or signed languages. Some languages once seen as isolates may be reclassified as small families if some of their dialects are judged to be sufficiently different from

760-522: Is the Nicaraguan Sign Language , a well documented case of what has happened in schools for the deaf in many countries. In Tanzania, for example, there are seven schools for the deaf, each with its own sign language with no known connection to any other language. Sign languages have also developed outside schools, in communities with high incidences of deafness, such as Kata Kolok in Bali, and half

800-656: Is the reconstructed language ancestral to the Japonic language family . It has been reconstructed by using a combination of internal reconstruction from Old Japanese and by applying the comparative method to Old Japanese (both the central variety of the Nara area and Eastern Old Japanese dialects) and the Ryukyuan languages . The major reconstructions of the 20th century were produced by Samuel Elmo Martin and Shirō Hattori . The Japonic language family comprises Japanese , spoken in

840-570: Is usually not recorded in the Old Japanese script. The oldest description of the accent, in the 12th-century dictionary Ruiju Myōgishō , defined accent classes that generally account for correspondences between modern mainland Japanese dialects. However, Ryukyuan languages share a set of accent classes that cut across them. For example, for two-syllable words, the Ruiju Myōgishō defines five accent classes, which are reflected in different ways in

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880-465: The "Papuasphere" centered in New Guinea includes as many as 37 isolates. (The more is known about these languages in the future, the more likely it is for these languages to be later assigned to a known language family.) To these, one must add several isolates found among non- Pama-Nyungan languages of Australia : Proto-Japanese Proto-Japonic , Proto-Japanese , or Proto-Japanese–Ryukyuan

920-692: The Samguk sagi reflect the original language of the Korean peninsula and a component in the formation of both Korean and Japanese. It is suggested that this language was related to Nivkh in some form. Juha Janhunen suggests the possibility that similar consonant stop systems in Koreanic and Nivkh may be due to ancient contact. Martine Robbeets suggests that Proto-Korean had a Nivkh substrate influence. Further parallel developments in their sound inventory (Old to Middle Korean and Proto-Nivkh to Nivkh) as well as commonalities in

960-522: The Xincan Guatemala language family in which linguists have grouped the Chiquimulilla , Guazacapán , Jumaytepeque , and Yupiltepeque languages. Below is a list of known language isolates, arranged by continent, along with notes on possible relations to other languages or language families. The status column indicates the degree of endangerment of the language, according to the definitions of

1000-453: The moraic nasal of later forms of Japonic, which derive from contractions or borrowings from other languages such as Middle Chinese . The other Old Japanese consonants are projected back to Proto-Japonic except that authors disagree on whether the sources of Old Japanese w and y should be reconstructed as glides *w and *j or as voiced stops *b and *d respectively, based on Ryukyuan reflexes: Some authors, including advocates of

1040-541: The Middle Korean reading zjuni sima , with sima glossed in the text as the Japonic word for 'island'. That is direct evidence of an intermediate stage of the fortition *j - > *z - > d -, leading to the modern name /dunaŋ/ 'Yonaguni'. Most authors accept six Proto-Japonic vowels, which are as follows: The vowels *i , *u , *ə and *a have been obtained by internal reconstruction from Old Japanese, with

1080-571: The Old Japanese voiced consonants b , d , z and g , which never occurred word-initially, are derived from clusters of nasals and voiceless consonants. In most cases, the two consonants were brought together by loss of an intervening vowel. A few words display no evidence for a former vowel, and scholars reconstruct a syllable-final nasal of indeterminate place preceding the voiceless obstruent, as in *tunpu > Old Japanese tubu > Modern Japanese tsubu 'grain', *pinsa > OJ piza > MJ hiza 'knee'. These nasals are unrelated to

1120-590: The UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger . "Vibrant" languages are those in full use by speakers of every generation, with consistent native acquisition by children. "Vulnerable" languages have a similarly wide base of native speakers, but a restricted use and the long-term risk of language shift . "Endangered" languages are either acquired irregularly or spoken only by older generations. "Moribund" languages have only

1160-416: The basis of morphological, typological, and lexical evidence, Michael Fortescue suggests that Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Nivkh (Amuric) are related, forming a larger Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric language family. Fortescue does not consider Yeniseian and Yukaghir to be genetically related to Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric. The purpose of the existence of Paleo-Siberian itself lies in its practicability and remains

1200-609: The existence of language isolates is that they might be the last remaining member of a larger language family, said language possibly could have had relatives in the past that have since disappeared without being documented leaving it an orphaned language much like the Ket language spoken in central Siberia who belongs to the wider Yeniseian language family, had it been discovered in recent times independently from its now extinct relatives such as Yugh and Kott it would have been classified as an isolate. Another explanation for language isolates

1240-673: The fact that they cannot be linked to other languages may be a reflection of our poor knowledge of them. Hattic , Gutian , and Kassite are all considered unclassified languages, but their status is disputed by a minority of linguists. Many extinct languages of the Americas such as Cayuse and Majena may likewise have been isolates. Several unclassified languages could also be language isolates, but linguists cannot be sure of this without sufficient evidence. A number of sign languages have arisen independently, without any ancestral language, and thus are language isolates. The most famous of these

Paleo-Siberian languages - Misplaced Pages Continue

1280-527: The languages are well enough documented that, if modern relatives existed, they would be recognizably related. A language thought to be an isolate may turn out to be related to other languages once enough material is recovered, but this is unlikely for extinct languages whose written records have not been preserved. Many extinct languages are very poorly attested, which may lead to them being considered unclassified languages instead of language isolates. This occurs when linguists do not have enough information on

1320-689: The main islands of Japan; Hachijō , spoken on Hachijō-jima , Aogashima , and the Daitō Islands ; and the Ryukyuan languages , spoken in the Ryukyu Islands . Most scholars believe that Japonic was brought to northern Kyushu from the Korean peninsula around 700 to 300 BC by wet-rice farmers of the Yayoi culture and spread throughout the Japanese archipelago , replacing indigenous languages. The oldest attested form

1360-696: The other Old Japanese vowels derived from vowel clusters. The mid vowels *e and *o are required to account for Ryukyuan correspondences. In Old Japanese, they were raised to i and u respectively except word-finally. They have also left some traces in Eastern Old Japanese dialects and are also found in some early mokkan and in some modern Japanese dialects. The other vowels of Old Japanese are believed to derive from sequences of Proto-Japonic vowels, with different reflexes in Ryukyuan and Eastern Old Japanese: In most cases, Proto-Japonic *əi corresponds to Old Japanese i 2 . Proto-Japonic *əi

1400-521: The standard to be seen as different languages. Examples include Japanese and Georgian : Japanese is now part of the Japonic language family with the Ryukyuan languages , and Georgian is the main language in the Kartvelian language family. There is a difference between language isolates and unclassified languages , but they can be difficult to differentiate when it comes to classifying extinct languages . If such efforts eventually do prove fruitful,

1440-510: The syntax between Koreanic and Nivkh specifically have been observed. Alexander Vovin, in a criticism of the Altaic language grouping, has suggested that Korean shares similarities with other Pale-Siberian languages in several important respects (i.e. phonotactics, verb incorporation v. compounding, adjectives as verbs and not nominals) The Ob-Ugric and Samoyedic languages predate the spread of Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic languages, but are part of

1480-512: The three major accent systems of mainland Japanese, here represented by Kyoto, Tokyo, and Kagoshima. In each case, the pattern of high and low pitches is shown across both syllables and a following neutral particle. Ryukyuan languages, here represented by Kametsu (the prestige variety of the Tokunoshima language ), show a three-way division, which partially cuts across the five mainland classes. In some Ryukyuan dialects, including Shuri, subclass (a)

1520-599: The two continents were joined during the last ice age. Ket, or more precisely the now largely extinct Yeniseian family, has been linked to the Na-Dené languages of North America. Dené–Yeniseian has been called "the first demonstration of a genealogical link between Old World and New World language families that meets the standards of traditional comparative-historical linguistics". In the past, attempts to connect it to Sino-Tibetan , North Caucasian and Burushaski have been made. Kim Bang-han proposed that placename glosses in

1560-791: The well established larger Uralic family, thus not Paleo-Siberian. Yukaghir has often been suggested as a more distant relative of Uralic as part of the Uralic-Yukaghir languages , as well as Eskimo-Aleut as part of the Uralo-Siberian languages . However, these hypotheses are controversial and not universally accepted. Below are selected basic vocabulary items in proto-languages reconstructed for Paleo-Siberian languages and language families. Proto-Eskimo , Proto-Uralic , Proto-Ainu, Ainu , Proto-Korean and Proto-Japanese are also given for comparison. Notes : C = Proto-Chukotian; I = Proto-Inuit Language isolate One explanation for

1600-550: Was limited influence from mainland Japan until the conquest of the Ryukyu Kingdom by the Satsuma Domain in 1609. Early reconstructions of the proto-language, culminating in the work of Samuel Martin , were based primarily on internal reconstruction from Old Japanese. Evidence from Japanese dialects and Ryukyuan languages was also used, especially regarding the history of the Japanese pitch accent , but otherwise assuming

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