Statistical Dating of Uralic Proto-Languages Through Comparative Linguistics with Added Sound Change Law Analyses
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Contents Abbreviations of the Names of Languages in the Statistical Maps
V Contents Abbreviations of the names of languages in the statistical maps. xiii Abbreviations in the text. xv Foreword 17 1. Introduction: the objectives 19 2. On the theoretical framework of research 23 2.1 On language typology and areal linguistics 23 2.1.1 On the history of language typology 24 2.1.2 On the modern language typology ' 27 2.2 Methodological principles 33 2.2.1 On statistical methods in linguistics 34 2.2.2 The variables 41 2.2.2.1 On the phonological systems of languages 41 2.2.2.2 Techniques in word-formation 43 2.2.2.3 Lexical categories 44 2.2.2.4 Categories in nominal inflection 45 2.2.2.5 Inflection of verbs 47 2.2.2.5.1 Verbal categories 48 2.2.2.5.2 Non-finite verb forms 50 2.2.2.6 Syntactic and morphosyntactic organization 52 2.2.2.6.1 The order in and between the main syntactic constituents 53 2.2.2.6.2 Agreement 54 2.2.2.6.3 Coordination and subordination 55 2.2.2.6.4 Copula 56 2.2.2.6.5 Relative clauses 56 2.2.2.7 Semantics and pragmatics 57 2.2.2.7.1 Negation 58 2.2.2.7.2 Definiteness 59 2.2.2.7.3 Thematic structure of sentences 59 3. On the typology of languages spoken in Europe and North and 61 Central Asia 3.1 The Indo-European languages 61 3.1.1 Indo-Iranian languages 63 3.1.1.1New Indo-Aryan languages 63 3.1.1.1.1 Romany 63 3.1.2 Iranian languages 65 3.1.2.1 South-West Iranian languages 65 3.1.2.1.1 Tajiki 65 3.1.2.2 North-West Iranian languages 68 3.1.2.2.1 Kurdish 68 3.1.2.2.2 Northern Talysh 70 3.1.2.3 South-East Iranian languages 72 3.1.2.3.1 Pashto 72 3.1.2.4 North-East Iranian languages 74 3.1.2.4.1 -
Migracijske Teme 4/1988
Migracijske teme 15 (1999), 1-2: 63-153 UDK: 809.45-0 Izvorni znanstveni rad Primljeno: 17. 11. 1998. Paolo Agostini University of Padova [email protected] LANGUAGE RECONSTRUCTION – APPLIED TO THE URALIC LANGUAGES* SUMMARY After pointing out the shortcomings and methodological weakness of the general theory of linguistic reconstruction, the author disputes the alleged antiquity of Uralic. Proto-Uralic as recon- structed by the scholars seems to be the sum of a set of features belonging to several distinct language families. The paper examines a number of lexical concordances with historically attested languages and comes to the conclusion that the Proto-Uralic word-stock is the result of a sum of borrowings that took place from the most disparate languages: Balto-Slavic, Old Swedish, several Turkic dialects, Mongolic, Tunguz, Aramaic, Hebrew, Arabic, late Middle Persian dialects, Byzantine Greek and Latin. Yet, other languages may also come into account: Chinese, Caucasian languages as well as lan- guages unknown in present day are possible candidates. A large number of bases of the Uralic word- stock can be easily identified by following a few phonological constraints. The linguistic features of the Uralic daughter-languages seem to show that they originated from a pidgin language spoken along the merchant routes that connected the Silk Road to North- and East-European trade. It is a well-known phenomenon that sometimes, when groups of people speaking different languages come into contact for the first time, a new restricted language system (lingua franca or pidgin) comes into being in order to cater to essential common needs. -
Izhorians: a Disappearing Ethnic Group Indigenous to the Leningrad Region
Acta Baltico-Slavica, 43 Warszawa 2019 DOI: 10.11649/abs.2019.010 Elena Fell Tomsk Polytechnic University Tomsk [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7606-7696 Izhorians: A disappearing ethnic group indigenous to the Leningrad region This review article presents a concise overview of selected research findings rela- ted to various issues concerning the study of Izhorians, including works by A. I. Kir′ianen, A. V. Labudin and A. A. Samodurov (Кирьянен et al., 2017); A. I. Kir′ianen, (Кирьянен, 2016); N. Kuznetsova, E. Markus and M. Muslimov (Kuznetsova, Markus, & Muslimov, 2015); M. Muslimov (Муслимов, 2005); A. P. Chush′′ialova (Чушъялова, 2010); F. I. Rozhanskiĭ and E. B. Markus (Рожанский & Маркус, 2013); and V. I. Mirenkov (Миренков, 2000). The evolution of the term Izhorians The earliest confirmed record of Izhorians (also known as Ingrians), a Finno-Ugrian ethnic group native to the Leningrad region,1 appears in thirteenth-century Russian 1 Whilst the city of Leningrad became the city of Saint Petersburg in 1991, reverting to its pre-So- viet name, the Leningrad region (also known as the Leningrad oblast) retained its Soviet name after the collapse of the USSR. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 PL License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/pl/), which permits redistribution, commercial and non- -commercial, provided that the article is properly cited. © The Author(s) 2019. Publisher: Institute of Slavic Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences [Wydawca: Instytut Slawistyki Polskiej Akademii Nauk] Elena Fell Izhorians: A disappearing ethnic group indigenous to the Leningrad region chronicles, where, according to Chistiakov (Чистяков, 2006), “Izhora” people were mentioned as early as 1228. -
Reconstructing Proto-Ugric and Proto-Uralic Object Marking Katalin É
Reconstructing Proto-Ugric and Proto-Uralic Object Marking Katalin É. Kiss ([email protected]) Research Institute for Linguistics of the Hungarian Academy and Pázmány P. University Abstract This paper demonstrates that syntactic changes in the feature specifications of functional heads can be traced back to undocumented stages of languages. It reconstructs the object–verb relation in Proto-Uralic – by means of the comparative method adapted to syntax. Present-day Uralic languages display differential object–verb agreement and/or differential accusative marking. In double-marking languages, the head licensing object–verb agreement may be different from that licensing accusative-marking. The licensing conditions of object marking are also different across languages. It is argued that the Uralic parent language had both object-verb agreement and accusative assignment licensed by a TP-external functional head with a [topic] feature. The [topic] feature of this head has been reanalyzed as [specific] in Udmurt, and as [definite] in Hungarian – via a natural extention of the content of the notion of topicality. In languages with generalized accusative assignment, i.e., in Hungarian and Tundra Nenets, the licensing of object agreement and accusative marking have been divorced; the latter has come to be associated with v. Keywords: differential object marking (DOM), object–verb agreement, accusative, syntactic reconstruction, comparative method 1. Introduction According to the Borer–Chomsky Conjecture (Borer 1984), the parametric values of grammars are expressed in the functional lexicon. Under this assumption, syntactic changes involve changes in the feature specifications of functional heads. It is an open question whether changes of this type, affecting features of morphologically real or abstract syntactic heads, can be traced back to undocumented stages of languages (cf. -
Das Jukagirische Im Kreise Der Nostratischen Sprachen
Studia Linguistica Universitatis Iagellonicae Cracoviensis 130 (2013): 171–190 DOI 10.4467/20834624SL.13.011.1142 MICHAEL KNÜPPEL Georg-August-Universität, Göttingen [email protected] DAS JUKAGIRISCHE IM KREISE DER NOSTRATISCHEN SPRACHEN Keywords: Yukaghir languages, Nostratic linguistics, Uralo-Yukaghir question, treat- ment of Yukaghir by Nostraticists, history of linguistics Abstract The Yukaghir language as a member of the Nostratic family of languages The article deals with the treatment of Yukaghir languages (Tundra-Y., Kolyma-Y., Chuvan, Omok) by several prominent Nostraticists (H. Pedersen, V. M. Illič-Svityč, J. H. Greenberg, A. R. Bomhard, K. H. Menges, V. Blažek, A. B. Dolgopol’skij). The author gives an overview on their attempts of different quality to relate the Yukaghir languages with the Nostratic family and sketches some omnicomparativists’ hypothesises on macro-families such as “Uralo-Yukaghir” or “Eurasiatic”. 1. Einleitung Daß der Titel des vorliegenden Beitrages den Leser zunächst etwas befremden dürfte, ist vom Vf. durchaus beabsichtigt, erweckt er doch den Anschein, als entspräche es der Intention des Autors, die Zugehörigkeit der jukagirischen Sprachen (Tundra- Jukagirisch, Kolyma-Jukagirisch, Omokisch u. Čuvanisch) zu den nostratischen Sprachen zu postulieren. Würde ein solcher Versuch auf Anhieb einigermaßen grotesk erscheinen, so ist doch anzumerken, daß eine Reihe von Nostratikern, dies ernsthaft in Erwägung ziehen, und entsprechende Überlegungen durchaus immer wieder Befürworter finden. Auch sind entsprechende Versuche keineswegs neu und, bezieht man die Spekulationen hinsichtlich der sogenannten „Uralo-Jukagirischen“ 172 MICHAEL KNÜPPEL Hypothese1 in die Betrachtungen ein, sogar folgerichtig (wird das Proto-Uralische von den Nostratikern doch als eine „Tochtersprache“ des [Proto-]Nostratischen angesehen). Inzwischen ist eine ganze Reihe von Arbeiten, in denen auch die jukagi- rischen Befunde für diverse [Re-]Konstruktionen berücksichtigt wurden, erschienen. -
Indigenous Languages Indigenous Languages Are Disappearing WHY DO LANGUAGES DIE?
Issue 9 Under Sail Newspaper March 2019 other languages that are spoken? Do they have future or are they condemned to die? Indigenous languages Languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social integration and development, but also as a repository for each person's unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. However, despite their immense value, languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate. In an article recently published in The New With this in mind, the United Nations Yorker, the issue of endangered languages is declared 2019 The Year of Indigenous explored in depth. They report a concern that Languages (IY2019) in order to raise up to half of today’s living languages are in awareness of them, not only to benefit the danger and will be extinct by the end of the people who speak these languages, but also 21st century. This means a language dies on for others to appreciate the important average every four months. contribution they make to our world's rich cultural diversity. Indigenous languages are disappearing In today’s globalized world, language usage is changing rapidly. English is the dominant language of the internet. More people now have a working knowledge of English as a WHY DO LANGUAGES DIE? second (or third) language than the number of people who consider English their mother Languages die for many reasons. Some are tongue. At the same time, more than three cultural. For example, many cultures have billion people – nearly half of the world’s been colonized or otherwise dominated by current population – speak one of only 20 another culture. -
Open-Source Morphology for Endangered Mordvinic Languages
Open-Source Morphology for Endangered Mordvinic Languages Jack Rueter Mika Hämäläinen Niko Partanen Dept. of Digital Humanities Dept. of Digital Humanities Dept. of Finnish, University of Helsinki University of Helsinki Finno-Ugrian [email protected] and Rootroo Ltd and Scandinavian Studies [email protected] University of Helsinki [email protected] Abstract languages. 2002 saw the publication of the first monolingual dictionary of Erzya (Abramov, 2002), This document describes shared development and the manuscript was proclaimed open by the of finite-state description of two closely re- author for future development. The Mordvin lan- lated but endangered minority languages, Erzya and Moksha. It touches upon mor- guages have continued to receive a fair share of pholexical unity and diversity of the two lan- linguistic research interest in the recent years (Luu- guages and how this provides a motivation for tonen, 2014; Hamari and Aasmäe, 2015; Kashkin shared open-source FST development. We de- and Nikiforova, 2015; Grünthal, 2016). scribe how we have designed the transducers After the release first finite-state transducer for so that they can benefit from existing open- the closely related Komi-Zyrian (Rueter, 2000), source infrastructures and are as reusable as possible. it was only obvious that similar work should be done for Erzya Mordvin. Fortunately, over the 1 Introduction past decade there has been an increasing number of publications on Erzya, relating to its morphol- There are over 5000 languages spoken world wide, ogy (Rueter, 2010), its OCR tools (Silfverberg and and a vast majority of them are endangered (see Rueter, 2015) and universal dependencies (Rueter Moseley 2010). -
"Evolution of Human Languages": Current State of Affairs
«Evolution of Human Languages»: current state of affairs (03.2014) Contents: I. Currently active members of the project . 2 II. Linguistic experts associated with the project . 4 III. General description of EHL's goals and major lines of research . 6 IV. Up-to-date results / achievements of EHL research . 9 V. A concise list of actual problems and tasks for future resolution. 18 VI. EHL resources and links . 20 2 I. Currently active members of the project. Primary affiliation: Senior researcher, Center for Comparative Studies, Russian State University for the Humanities (Moscow). Web info: http://ivka.rsuh.ru/article.html?id=80197 George Publications: http://rggu.academia.edu/GeorgeStarostin Starostin Research interests: Methodology of historical linguistics; long- vs. short-range linguistic comparison; history and classification of African languages; history of the Chinese language; comparative and historical linguistics of various language families (Indo-European, Altaic, Yeniseian, Dravidian, etc.). Primary affiliation: Visiting researcher, Santa Fe Institute. Formerly, professor of linguistics at the University of Melbourne. Ilia Publications: http://orlabs.oclc.org/identities/lccn-n97-4759 Research interests: Genetic and areal language relationships in Southeast Asia; Peiros history and classification of Sino-Tibetan, Austronesian, Austroasiatic languages; macro- and micro-families of the Americas; methodology of historical linguistics. Primary affiliation: Senior researcher, Institute of Slavic Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow / Novosibirsk). Web info / publications list (in Russian): Sergei http://www.inslav.ru/index.php?option- Nikolayev =com_content&view=article&id=358:2010-06-09-18-14-01 Research interests: Comparative Indo-European and Slavic studies; internal and external genetic relations of North Caucasian languages; internal and external genetic relations of North American languages (Na-Dene; Algic; Mosan). -
ESTONIAN LANGUAGE Kala on Puu Juures A Fish Is Near the Tree Literally: A Fish Is in the Root of a Tree
ESTONIAN LANGUAGE Kala on puu juures A fish is near the tree Literally: A fish is in the root of a tree ISBN 9985-9341-9-9 / Published by the Estonian Institute 2004 / Illustrations: Jaagup Roomet / Design: Aadam Kaarma LABOR Estonian Language Urmas Sutrop Estonian is used in the army... aviation... theatre The Estonian language The ancestors of the Estonians arrived at Finnish, Hungarian and Estonian are the the Baltic Sea 13 000 years ago when the best known of the Finno-Ugric languages; mainland glaciers of the last Ice Age had rather less known are the following retreated from the area now designated smaller languages of the same language as Estonia. The first settlers who followed group: South Estonian, Votian, Livonian, the reindeer herds came here from south, Izhorian, Vepsian, Karelian, Sami, Erzya, from Central Europe. Although the vocab- Moksha, Mari, Udmurt and Komi, spoken ulary and grammar of the language used from Scandinavia to Siberia. by people in those days have changed beyond recognition, the mentality of the Estonian differs from its closest large tundra hunters of thousands of years ago related language, Finnish, at least as can be still perceived in modern Estonian. much as English differs from Frisian. The difference between Estonian and Hungar- The majority of European languages ian is about as significant as between belong to the Indo-European language German and Persian. group (e.g. Spanish, Polish, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Albanian, Romany, Greek or Along with Icelandic, Estonian is at Welsh). Of the ancient European langua- present one of the smallest languages in ges, once so widespread throughout the the world that fulfils all the functions continent, Basque in the Pyrenees, the necessary for an independent state to Finno-Ugric languages in the North and perform linguistically. -
Rhyming Dictionary
Merriam-Webster's Rhyming Dictionary Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Springfield, Massachusetts A GENUINE MERRIAM-WEBSTER The name Webster alone is no guarantee of excellence. It is used by a number of publishers and may serve mainly to mislead an unwary buyer. Merriam-Webster™ is the name you should look for when you consider the purchase of dictionaries or other fine reference books. It carries the reputation of a company that has been publishing since 1831 and is your assurance of quality and authority. Copyright © 2002 by Merriam-Webster, Incorporated Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Merriam-Webster's rhyming dictionary, p. cm. ISBN 0-87779-632-7 1. English language-Rhyme-Dictionaries. I. Title: Rhyming dictionary. II. Merriam-Webster, Inc. PE1519 .M47 2002 423'.l-dc21 2001052192 All rights reserved. No part of this book covered by the copyrights hereon may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, or information storage and retrieval systems—without written permission of the publisher. Printed and bound in the United States of America 234RRD/H05040302 Explanatory Notes MERRIAM-WEBSTER's RHYMING DICTIONARY is a listing of words grouped according to the way they rhyme. The words are drawn from Merriam- Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. Though many uncommon words can be found here, many highly technical or obscure words have been omitted, as have words whose only meanings are vulgar or offensive. Rhyming sound Words in this book are gathered into entries on the basis of their rhyming sound. The rhyming sound is the last part of the word, from the vowel sound in the last stressed syllable to the end of the word. -
Robert T. Harms Department of Linguistics & Plant Resources Center the University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78712 [email protected]
Robert T. Harms Department of Linguistics & Plant Resources Center The University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas 78712 [email protected] Education A.B., Univ. of Chicago, 1952 A.M., Univ. of Chicago, l956 [Slavic Languages] Ph.D., Univ. of Chicago, 1960 [Linguistics] Dissertation: "Descriptive Grammar of Estonian" Academic and research positions Instructor, U. Texas at Austin, 1958-1961 Visiting Asst. Professor, Columbia University,1960 Asst. Professor, U. Texas at Austin, 1961-1964 Visiting Assoc. Professor, Ohio State University, 1964 Visiting Assoc. Professor, Columbia University,1965 Assoc. Professor, U. Texas at Austin, 1965-1967 Professor, U. Texas at Austin, 1967-2006 Professor Emeritus, U. Texas at Austin, 2006-present Research Affiliate & Webmaster, Plant Resources Center, U. Texas at Austin, 2006-present Visting Professor, Univ. of Cairo, Summer Linguistic Institute, Summer 1973. US-Hungary Exchange Professor, U. Szeged/Hungarian Academy of Sciences, 1967-1968 Consultant for computational phonology: Microlytics, Incorporated, 1989 Administrative positions: 1972-73 Acting Chair, Department of Linguistics 1973-77 Chair, Department of Linguistics Fall 1993 Acting Chair, Department of Linguistics 1987-89 Graduate Advisor, Department of Linguistics 1998-present Graduate Advisor, Department of Linguistics Research travel awards 1954-56 Fulbright scholarship to Finland 1962-63 Inter-University Committee on Travel Grants award for study and research at Leningrad State University, USSR. 1967-68 Inter-University Committee on Travel Grants award for study and research at Szeged University and the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest. 1968 Fulbright research grant for Finland. 1978 National Academy of Sciences grant for research on various Finno-Ugric languages in the USSR. -
Multilingual Facilitation
Multilingual Facilitation Honoring the career of Jack Rueter Mika Hämäläinen, Niko Partanen and Khalid Alnajjar (eds.) Multilingual Facilitation This book has been authored for Jack Rueter in honor of his 60th birthday. Mika Hämäläinen, Niko Partanen and Khalid Alnajjar (eds.) All papers accepted to appear in this book have undergone a rigorous peer review to ensure high scientific quality. The call for papers has been open to anyone interested. We have accepted submissions in any language that Jack Rueter speaks. Hämäläinen, M., Partanen N., & Alnajjar K. (eds.) (2021) Multilingual Facilitation. University of Helsinki Library. ISBN (print) 979-871-33-6227-0 (Independently published) ISBN (electronic) 978-951-51-5025-7 (University of Helsinki Library) DOI: https://doi.org/10.31885/9789515150257 The contents of this book have been published under the CC BY 4.0 license1. 1 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Tabula Gratulatoria Jack Rueter has been in an important figure in our academic lives and we would like to congratulate him on his 60th birthday. Mika Hämäläinen, University of Helsinki Niko Partanen, University of Helsinki Khalid Alnajjar, University of Helsinki Alexandra Kellner, Valtioneuvoston kanslia Anssi Yli-Jyrä, University of Helsinki Cornelius Hasselblatt Elena Skribnik, LMU München Eric & Joel Rueter Heidi Jauhiainen, University of Helsinki Helene Sterr Henry Ivan Rueter Irma Reijonen, Kansalliskirjasto Janne Saarikivi, Helsingin yliopisto Jeremy Bradley, University of Vienna Jörg Tiedemann, University of Helsinki Joshua Wilbur, Tartu Ülikool Juha Kuokkala, Helsingin yliopisto Jukka Mettovaara, Oulun yliopisto Jussi-Pekka Hakkarainen, Kansalliskirjasto Jussi Ylikoski, University of Oulu Kaisla Kaheinen, Helsingin yliopisto Karina Lukin, University of Helsinki Larry Rueter LI Līvõd institūt Lotta Jalava, Kotimaisten kielten keskus Mans Hulden, University of Colorado Marcus & Jackie James Mari Siiroinen, Helsingin yliopisto Marja Lappalainen, M.