Unclassified language
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An unclassified language is a language whose
A supposedly unclassified language may turn out not to be a language at all, or even a distinct dialect, but merely a family, tribal or village name, or an alternative name for a people or language that is classified.
If a language's genetic relationship has not been established after significant documentation of the language and comparison with other languages and families, as in the case of Basque in Europe, it is considered a language isolate – that is, it is classified as a language family of its own. An 'unclassified' language therefore is one which may still turn out to belong to an established family once better data is available or more thorough comparative research is done. Extinct unclassified languages for which little evidence has been preserved are likely to remain in limbo indefinitely, unless lost documents or a surviving speaking population are discovered.
Classification challenges
An example of a language that has caused multiple problems for classification is
It also happens that a language may be unclassified within an established family. That is, it may be obvious that it is, say, a
Examples by reason
There are hundreds of unclassified languages, most of them extinct, although there are some, albeit relatively few, that are still spoken; in the following list, the extinct languages are labeled with a dagger (†).
Absence of data
These languages are unclassifiable, not just unclassified, because while there may be record of a language existing there may not be enough materials in it to analyze and classify, especially with now-extinct languages. (See, for example, a list of unclassified languages of South America.)
- Sentinelese (Andaman Islands) – a living presumed language of an uncontacted people
- Weyto† (Ethiopia)
- Nam† (Chinese–Tibetan border) – data remains undeciphered
- Indus Valley civilisation 33rd–13th centuries BC)[note 1]– data remains undeciphered
- Cypro-Minoan† (Cyprus 15th–10th centuries BC) – data remains undeciphered
- Lullubi† (Iran)
- Hamba† (Tanzania)[note 2]
- Yamasee† (US)
- Himarimã (Brazil) – a living presumed language of an uncontacted people
- Nagarchal† (India) – assumed to have been Dravidian
Scarcity of data
Many of these languages are also considered unclassifiable, as the amount of data may not be enough to reveal close relatives if there were some. For others there may be enough data to show the language belongs to a particular family, but not where within it, or to show the language has no close relatives, but not enough to conclude that it is a language isolate.
- Solano† (Mexico)
- Cacán† (Argentina)
- Kujargé (Chad)
- Bung (Cameroon)
- Luo (Cameroon)
- Mawa† (Nigeria)
- Komta† (Nigeria)
- Wawu† (Ghana or Ivory Coast?)
- Okwa†? (West Africa)[note 3]
- Dima-Bottego† (Ethiopia)
- Kwadi† (Angola)
- Philistine language† (Palestine)
- Iberian language† (Spain and southern France)
- Lemnian† (Lemnos, Greece)
- Minoan† (ancient Crete)
- Eteocretan† (ancient Crete)
- Hattic† (Anatolia)
- Kaskian† (Anatolia, possibly related to Hattic)
- Kassite† (Iraq)
- Gutian† (Zagros borderlands)
- Hunnic† (Eastern Europe & Central Asia)
- Xiongnu† (Mongolia)
- Xianbei† (Mongolia)
- Tuoba† (China)
- Rouran† (Mongolia)
- Beothuk† (Newfoundland)
- Meroitic† (Sudan)
Languages of dubious existence
- Oropom (Uganda) (extinct, if it existed)
- Imeraguen(Mauritania)
- Nemadi (Mauritania)
- Rer Bare(Ethiopia) (extinct, if it existed)
- Wutana (Nigeria) (extinct, if it existed)
- Trojan (Anatolia) (as yet unattested, possibly a Luwian dialect)
Some 'languages' turn out to be fabricated, such as the Kukurá language of Brazil.
See also
- Category:Unclassified languages
- List of unclassified languages according to the Ethnologue
- List of unclassified languages of North America
- List of unclassified languages of South America
- Language isolate
- List of language families (including isolates and unclassified languages)
Notes
- Harappan 'script'that decipherers rely on for identification is indecipherable so far, and is likely not actually a script.
- Nachingwea south of the Mbemkuru River] was planned to be used for ground-nut-plantations. Though that project failed for climatical reasons, the Hamba vanished or were assimilated by neighbouring groups [such as the Matumbi and Yao in addition to those listed next]. Already before parts of them had been assimilated by invading Mwera, Ndonde, Ndendeule and Ngindo."[3]
- ^ 'Okwa' is attested by one word collected in the 18th century, tschabee 'God' (in German orthography), which is not known whether is a native word rather than a loan. The language is not so much unclassified as unidentified.[4]
References
- ISBN 9781443849982.
- ISBN 978-9027231000.
- ^ Gabriele Sommer, 'A Survey on Language Death in Africa', in Brenzinger (2012) Language Death, p. 351.
See Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Hamba". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.) - ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Okwa". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
External links
- Media related to Unclassified languages at Wikimedia Commons
- Ethnologue: Unclassified languages