Proto-Eskimoan | |
---|---|
Proto-Eskimo, Proto-Inuit-Yupik | |
Reconstruction of | Eskimo languages |
Era | by ca. 2000 BCE |
Reconstructed ancestor | |
Lower-order reconstructions |
Proto-Eskimoan, Proto-Eskimo, or Proto-Inuit-Yupik, is the reconstructed ancestor of the Eskimo languages. [1] It was spoken by the ancestors of the Yupik and Inuit peoples. It is linguistically related to the Aleut language, and both descend from the Proto-Eskaleut language. [2]
Comparative studies of Eskimo and Aleut languages suggest that the Proto-Eskimoan and Proto-Aleut languages diverged between 4000 and 2000 BCE. [3] [4]
According to the International Encyclopedia of Linguistics, "Eskimo languages show variation primarily in their phonology and lexicon, rather than in syntax." In addition, "Proto-Eskimo had four vowels */i a u ə/, but few or none of the long vowels or diphthongs found in the modern languages." [5]