Amerind is a widely rejected higher-level language family proposed by Joseph Greenberg in 1960 and elaborated by his student Merritt Ruhlen. Greenberg proposed that all of the indigenous languages of the Americas belong to one of three language families: the previously established Eskimo-Aleut and Na-Dene, and everything else, otherwise classified by specialists as belonging to dozens of independent families, as Amerind. Because of a large number of methodological issues with the 1987 book Language in the Americas, the relationships he proposed between these languages have been rejected by the majority of historical linguists as spurious.
Facts
RegionThe indigenous languages of the Americas (North, Central and South America) 1 Proto-Language StatusA widely rejected higher-level language family proposed by Joseph Greenberg in 1960 and elaborated by his student Merritt Ruhlen; rejected by the majority of historical linguists as spurious because of methodological issues in the 1987 book Language in the Americas. 1 Sources
1. Wikipedia: Amerind Languages
Wikimedia FoundationWikipedia Amerind languages, lead paragraph, sentence 2
Greenberg proposed that all of the indigenous languages of the Americas belong to one of three language families
Wikipedia Amerind languages, lead paragraph, sentence 1
Amerind is a widely rejected higher-level language family proposed by Joseph Greenberg in 1960 and elaborated by his student Merritt Ruhlen.
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