Finno-Samic languages
Finno-Samic | |
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(controversial) | |
Geographic distribution | Northern Fennoscandia, Baltic states |
Linguistic classification | Uralic
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Subdivisions |
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Glottolog | None |
Approximate distribution of Finno-Samic languages, across Northern Europe. |
The Finno-Samic languages
Related hypotheses
The Mordvinic languages appear to also align closely with both Finnic and Samic. Some innovations in the consonant system are shared by Finnic and Mordvinic specifically,[3] while a number of innovations in the vowel system are shared by Samic and Mordvinic specifically.[4]
The Mari language shows a smaller number of similarities with all three of these, and a larger grouping encompassing Finnic, Samic, Mordvinic and Mari is sometimes posited (the Finno-Volgaic languages).
Helimski (2006) proposes a "Northwest" group of Finno-Ugric languages, encompassing not only Finnic and Sami, but also extinct languages once spoken in the north of European Russia, traceable only as substrata, especially in toponymy.[5]
Arguments for and against genetical unity
The
There are a number of noticeable traits common to most Finno-Samic languages, however none of them unquestionably in favor of a family unity. The first of these is the presence of
The contrastive presence of
The loss of initial *w before a short rounded vowel has also been proposed as a common innovation, but with counterexamples such as Estonian võtta- "to take" (with *w preserved as its regular reflex /ʋ/ due to the development *o > /ɤ/) suggesting a date postdating not only the split between Finnic and Samic, but also of northern and southern Finnic (cf. Finnish otta-).[3] (A complementary epenthesis of *w before initial long rounded vowels is accepted to not represent common inheritance, as it occurs also before long vowels resulting from the exclusively Samic development *a > *ō.[citation needed])
For morphological features common to Samic and Finnic formerly thought to represent Finno-Samic innovations, explanations have likewise been offered either of common Uralic inheritance or of independent innovation.[3]
Lexicon
Approximately 600 native word roots are shared by the Finnic and Samic languages,[6] of which approximately 100 lack cognates in the other Uralic languages. The high number of Finnic loanwords in Samic makes exact analysis however difficult, and old loanwords from Samic to Finnic may also be involved, especially in light of approximately a third of these words being absent also from the more southern Finnic languages (Estonian, Livonian and Votic). These numbers can be contrasted with ca. 40 word roots exclusive to Finnic and Mordvinic, 12 word roots exclusive to Samic and Mordvinic, and 22 word roots exclusive to all three.[3]
Additionally a large number of early loanwords from the Germanic languages, and a small number from the Baltic languages, are found in both Finnic and Samic.[3] Such words cannot however provide clear evidence for a Finno-Samic grouping, as the possibility remains that these have been acquired separately by early Finnic and early Samic, after their initial separation but prior to the development of their most distinctive features.[7]
Notes
- ^ Variants of the name include Finno-Saamic, Finno-Lappic, Fenno-Saamic, or Saamic–Fennic.
References
- ISBN 1-4020-1298-5.
- ^ Salminen, Tapani 2002: Problems in the taxonomy of the Uralic languages in the light of modern comparative studies. http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/kuzn.html
- ^ ISSN 0355-1253. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- ^ Zhivlov, Mikhail (2014). "Studies in Uralic vocalism III". Journal of Language Relationship.
- ISBN 978-952-10-2852-6.
- ^ ISBN 951-746-506-8.
- ISSN 0355-1253.