A study of the Uralic and Yukaghir protolanguages, and an account of the history of Uralo-Yukaghir research, seeking to determine whether Uralic and Yukaghir are genetically related entities. The authors examine more than 350 lexical comparisons of Yukaghir with at least two Uralic subbranches, and attempt to establish phonetic correspondences between the protolanguages. The similar typology, word order, relatively high number of common pronouns, some numerals, grammatical parallels, and very similar phonological systems, are all taken into account to support the existence of a hypothetical Proto-Uralo-Yukaghir language.
Preface .............................................................................................................. ix
Yukaghir languages in time and space ............................................................... xi
Purposes .................................................................................................... xi
Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... xiii
1. Geographic distribution .................................................................................. 1
2. Yukaghir language family and its internal classification.................................. 3
2.1. Tailleur ................................................................................................ 3
2.2. Nikolaeva ............................................................................................. 3
2.3. Mudrak ................................................................................................ 7
3. Genetic affiliation of the Yukaghir language family ........................................ 9
3.1 Von Schrenck and Mudrak .................................................................... 9
3.2. Jochelson ............................................................................................. 9
3.3. Yukaghir and Uralic ........................................................................... 10
3.3.1. Schiefner .................................................................................... 10
3.3.2. Budenz and Paasonen ................................................................. 10
3.3.3. Lewy .......................................................................................... 11
3.3.4. Bouda ........................................................................................ 12
3.3.5. Collinder .................................................................................... 12
3.3.6. Angere ....................................................................................... 13
3.3.7. Krejnovič ................................................................................... 13
3.3.8. Tailleur ...................................................................................... 14
3.3.9. Sauvageot .................................................................................. 14
3.3.10. Harms ...................................................................................... 14
3.4 Yukaghir family as a member of a broader genetic unity ..................... 15
3.4.1. Pedersen .................................................................................... 15
3.4.2. Illič-Svityč .................................................................................. 15
3.4.3. Dolgopolsky ............................................................................... 16
3.4.4. Collinder and Bouda................................................................... 16
3.4.5. Fortescue ................................................................................... 16
3.4.6. Greenberg .................................................................................. 16
3.4.7. Starostin (George) and Kassian ................................................... 17
3.5. Specialists in Yukaghir demonstrating the Yukaghir-Uralic relationship ... 18
3.5.1. Kurilov ....................................................................................... 19
3.5.2. Nikolaeva ................................................................................... 19
3.6. Specialists in the Uralic comparative linguistics skeptical to the Yukaghir-
Uralic relationship ............................................................................. 20
3.6.1. Rédei ......................................................................................... 20
3.6.2. Janhunen ................................................................................... 20
3.6.3. Häkkinen ................................................................................... 21
3.6.4. Aikio .......................................................................................... 21
3.6.5. Živlov ........................................................................................ 22
3.6.6. Starostin (George), Zhivlov and Kassian ..................................... 23
3.7. Linguists preferring the genealogical interpretation of the Yukaghir-
Uralic relations .................................................................................. 25
3.7.1. Napoľskix................................................................................... 25
3.7.2. Peiros ......................................................................................... 26
3.7.3. De Smit ...................................................................................... 27
3.7.4. Piispanen ................................................................................... 27
3.7.5. Blažek ........................................................................................ 27
3.8. Knüppel – the historian of language relations in North Eurasia ..... 28
4. Preliminary statistical results of the present study and their consequences ... 29
5. Classification of the Uralic language family .................................................. 31
5.1. Traditional qualitative model ............................................................. 31
5.2. Quantitative models ........................................................................... 32
5.2.1. Lehtiranta .................................................................................. 32
5.2.2. Starostin (Sergei) ....................................................................... 33
5.2.3. Blažek ........................................................................................ 34
6. Reconstruction of the Uralic protolanguage and its later stages .................... 37
7. Yukaghir – Uralic wordlist ............................................................................ 41
8. Lexical correspondences between Yukaghir and individual Uralic branches 185
8.1. Yukaghir-Balto-Fennic lexical correspondences ................................ 185
8.2. Yukaghir-Saamic lexical correspondences......................................... 186
8.3. Yukaghir-Mordvinic lexical correspondences .................................... 187
8.4. Yukaghir-Mari lexical correspondences ............................................ 188
8.5. Yukaghir-Permic lexical correspondences ......................................... 188
8.6. Yukaghir-Ugric lexical parallels........................................................ 190
8.7. Yukaghir-Samoyedic lexical parallels ............................................... 195
9. Yukaghir and Indo-European wordlist ........................................................ 201
10. Yukaghir – Uralic comparisons in semantic perspective ............................ 205
10.1. Human society ............................................................................... 205
10.2. Body parts ...................................................................................... 206
10.3. Plant parts, fruits ........................................................................... 207
10.4. Fauna ............................................................................................. 208
10.5. Flora .............................................................................................. 209
10.6. Earth, terrain, space orientation ..................................................... 209
10.7. Water, ice, snow, frost.................................................................... 210
10.8. Sky, light, fire, weather, time, dream ............................................. 211
10.9. Buildings, dress, tools and weapons ............................................... 212
10.10. Quantity....................................................................................... 212
10.11. Quality ......................................................................................... 212
10.12. Verbs ........................................................................................... 213
10.13. Pronouns and pronominal adverbs ............................................... 216
11. Yukaghir-Uralic phonetic correspondences ............................................... 217
Consonantal correspondences ................................................................. 217
Problematic cases.................................................................................... 223
Problematic correspondences with -t- ...................................................... 238
Problematic correspondences with -δ- ..................................................... 238
Vocalic correspondences ......................................................................... 240
Diphthongs ............................................................................................. 251
Monophthongisation ............................................................................... 252
Yukaghir trisyllabic stems vs. Uralic disyllabic stems: ............................. 252
12. Conclusion................................................................................................ 253
13. Abbreviations ........................................................................................... 255
Abbreviations of authors (they follow Nikolaeva 2006 = HDY) .............. 255
Abbreviations of languages ..................................................................... 255
Sources of reconstructions....................................................................... 255
14. Bibliography ............................................................................................. 257
Indices............................................................................................................ 275
