Proto-Yeniseian

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Proto-Yeniseian
PY
Reconstruction of Yeniseian languages
Reconstructed
ancestor
Proto-Dene-Yeniseian (hypothetical)
Lower-order reconstructions

Proto-Yeniseian or Proto-Yeniseic is the unattested reconstructed proto-language from which all Yeniseian languages are thought to descend from. It is uncertain whether Proto-Yeniseian had a similar tone/pitch accent system as Ket. [1] Many studies about Proto-Yeniseian phonology have been done, however there are still many things unclear about Proto-Yeniseian. [2] The probable location of the Yeniseian homeland is proposed on the basis of geographic names and genetic studies, which suggests a homeland in Southern Siberia. [3]

Contents

Phonology

According to Vajda, Proto-Yeniseian had the following phonemes, expressed in IPA symbols. [4]

Consonants

Bilabial Alveolar Postalveolar Retroflex Palatal Labiovelar Velar Uvular
Nasal *m*n*ŋʷ
Plosive voiceless *p*t[t͡ʃ]*tʳ [ʈ]*c*kʷ*k*q
voiced *b*d[d͡ʒ]*dʳ [ɖ]*ɡʷ
Fricative *s[ʃ]*šʳ [ʂ]*xʷ*x
Lateral *tɬ
Approximant *w*j
Rhotic *r

Vowels

Front Central Back
Close *i*ij*iw*u*uj*uw
Mid *e*ej*ew*o*oj*ow
Open *a*aj*aw

Vocabulary

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References

  1. "Ket language".
  2. de la Fuente, José Andrés Alonso (2006). "Proto-Yeniseian ūr₁'water'". Central Asiatic Journal. 50 (1): 3–7. JSTOR   41928405.
  3. "Yeneseian and Dene hydronyms" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-11-20. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  4. Fortescue, Michael D.; Vajda, Edward J. (2022), Mid-Holocene Language Connections Between Asia and North America, (Brill's Studies in the Indigenous Languages of the Americas, 17), Leiden, Boston: Brill.

Further reading