Ural-Altaic languages
Abandoned language family proposal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ural-Altaic, Uralo-Altaic, Uraltaic, or Turanic is a linguistic convergence zone and abandoned language-family proposal uniting the Uralic and the Altaic (in the narrow sense) languages. It is now generally agreed that even the Altaic languages do not share a common descent: the similarities between Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic are better explained by diffusion and borrowing.[1][2][3][4] Just as in Altaic, the internal structure of the Uralic family has been debated since the family was first proposed.[5] Doubts about the validity of most or all of the proposed higher-order Uralic branchings (grouping the nine undisputed families) are becoming more common.[5][6][7][full citation needed] The term continues to be used for the central Eurasian typological, grammatical and lexical convergence zone.[8]
This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Wikipedia editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. (January 2024) |
Ural-Altaic | |
---|---|
Turanian | |
(obsolete as a genealogical proposal) | |
Geographic distribution | Eurasia |
Linguistic classification | convergence zone |
Subdivisions | |
Glottolog | None |
Distribution of Uralic, Altaic, and Yukaghir languages |
Indeed, "Ural-Altaic" may be preferable to "Altaic" in this sense. For example, J. Janhunen states that "speaking of 'Altaic' instead of 'Ural-Altaic' is a misconception, for there are no areal or typological features that are specific to 'Altaic' without Uralic."[9] Originally suggested in the 18th century, the genealogical and racial hypotheses remained debated into the mid-20th century, often with disagreements exacerbated by pan-nationalist agendas.[10]
The Ural-Altaic hypothesis had many proponents in Britain.[11] Since the 1960s, the proposed language family has been widely rejected.[12][13][14][15] A relationship between the Altaic, Indo-European and Uralic families was revived in the context of the Nostratic hypothesis, which was popular for a time,[16] with for example Allan Bomhard treating Uralic, Altaic and Indo-European as coordinate branches.[17] However, Nostratic too is now rejected.[9]