A hypothesis proposing that the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic language families (sometimes extended to Japonic and Koreanic as "Macro-Altaic") descend from a common ancestor. First advanced in the nineteenth century, the hypothesis was widely taught through the twentieth century but is now rejected by most specialists, who attribute the shared vocabulary and grammatical features it rests on to centuries of borrowing and areal contact between neighbouring peoples rather than common descent.
Facts
Disputed
Proto-Language StatusRejected by most historical linguists as a genuine reconstruction; treated instead as an inventory of borrowed and convergent forms accumulated through prolonged contact among Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic speakers. 1 A reconstructed "Proto-Altaic" has been proposed, notably in Sergei Starostin's etymological dictionary citing shared basic vocabulary such as the words for eye, ear, neck and bone, but most specialists attribute this shared material to borrowing and long-term areal convergence rather than common ancestry. A minority of scholars continues to defend the genetic relationship. RegionNo single homeland; the hypothesis proposes connecting language families native to Central and Northeast Asia, principally Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic 1 Speaker CountNot a demographic count of the disputed grouping itself (see this entity's own proto-language-status fact: most linguists reject Altaic as a genuine family). Sum of this atlas's own separately cited speaker-count facts for the three families the hypothesis unites: Turkic (~180,000,000), Mongolic (~5,700,000) and Tungusic (~75,000). Altaic
Filter Results1 entry
Connections
Held Differently
Mongolic, Language Families Why this is disputed. Mongolic is one of the three core families the Altaic hypothesis proposes to unite; most specialists attribute the resemblance to areal contact rather than common descent.
Source Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Tungusic, Language Families Why this is disputed. Tungusic is one of the three core families the Altaic hypothesis proposes to unite; most specialists attribute the resemblance to areal contact rather than common descent.
Source Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Turkic, Language Families Why this is disputed. Turkic is one of the three core families the Altaic hypothesis proposes to unite; most specialists attribute the resemblance to areal contact rather than common descent.
Source Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Includes
Turkish, Languages Altaic is a widely rejected genetic grouping; Turkish own demonstrated family is Turkic, not Altaic. Recorded as associated rather than holds, reusing the existing Turkish entity per lane-brief-depth rather than minting a new language whose primary classification is elsewhere.
Source Wikipedia: Turkic Languages
Open Questions
Source Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIntroduction
a sprachbund comprising the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic language families
Linguistic Classification section
the Altaic grouping is now considered by the majority of linguists as obsolete, with its similarities attributed to areal convergence typical of sprachbund
View the Source Wikipedia: Turkic Languages
Wikimedia FoundationIncludes: Turkish, Classification section, controversial Altaic language family, lacks support from a majority of linguists statementView the Source Open Questions (1 open question)
How many speakers do the languages grouped under the proposed Altaic family actually total?
Altaic (Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic, sometimes joined with Korean and Japonic in the broader Macro-Altaic proposal) is a disputed grouping most linguists reject as a genuine genetic family rather than the product of contact and chance resemblance. Tertiary sources report language counts for the proposal (about 66 to 74 living languages) but no combined speaker total, likely because giving one would imply endorsing the grouping as a real family.
What would resolve this Either broad scholarly acceptance of Altaic as a genetic family, which would make a combined total meaningful to publish, or a tertiary source willing to report a purely geographic or areal total across the proposed member languages without asserting genetic unity.
Historical and areal linguistics (Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic studies)Wikipedia: Altaic Languages
Dissenting Readings (1 dissenting reading)
Proto-Language Status
Pereltsvaig argues against treating Altaic as a genetic grouping on comparative-historical grounds: an analysis of the earliest written records of Mongolic and Turkic languages shows the opposite of what a shared genetic origin predicts, which she takes as evidence for the sprachbund (areal-contact) explanation of their resemblance rather than common descent.
A dissenting reading, from an independent laneWikipedia: Altaic Languages, Wikimedia Foundation
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Altaic a genuine language family, with a reconstructed Proto-Altaic ancestor?
Most specialists say no. The shared vocabulary a reconstructed Proto-Altaic would explain is better explained by borrowing and areal contact, though a minority of scholars still defend the genetic relationship.
A reconstructed Proto-Altaic language has been proposed, notably in Sergei Starostin's etymological dictionary, citing shared basic vocabulary such as the words for eye, ear, neck and bone across the branches usually grouped as Altaic. Most specialists attribute this shared material to borrowing and long-term areal convergence between neighboring language communities rather than to common ancestry. A minority of scholars continues to defend the genetic relationship.
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