Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut
Abstract The relationship between Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) and Eskimo was established in the early 19th century, and the 20th century especially saw a number of efforts on the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut (PEA). Reconstruction has supported assumptions of a largely genealogical relationship bet...
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John Benjamins Publishing Company
2018
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/jhl.17017.ber http://www.jbe-platform.com/deliver/fulltext/jhl.17017.ber.pdf |
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crjohnbenjaminsp:10.1075/jhl.17017.ber 2024-09-15T17:36:22+00:00 Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut Berge, Anna 2018 http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/jhl.17017.ber http://www.jbe-platform.com/deliver/fulltext/jhl.17017.ber.pdf en eng John Benjamins Publishing Company Journal of Historical Linguistics volume 8, issue 2, page 230-272 ISSN 2210-2116 2210-2124 journal-article 2018 crjohnbenjaminsp https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.17017.ber 2024-08-07T04:06:30Z Abstract The relationship between Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) and Eskimo was established in the early 19th century, and the 20th century especially saw a number of efforts on the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut (PEA). Reconstruction has supported assumptions of a largely genealogical relationship between the EA languages, assumptions which include a long history of independent development in isolation from other languages and language families. The reconstruction of PEA, however, is incomplete; many apparent cognates have irregular or imperfectly understood sound correspondences. Furthermore, advances in archaeology and genetics have called into question many assumptions about EA prehistory and about the isolation or lack thereof of Unangam Tunuu. In this study, I re-examine the proposed cognates and evaluate them based on the strength of their correspondences and their distribution within the lexicon, with reference to new findings regarding technological innovations and periods of cultural contact. Several patterns emerge, including a large group of proposed cognates with overly-specific semantic correlations relating to technologies or cultural practices post-dating the split of EA languages, a gender-based difference in the number of cognates relating to cultural activities, and a correlation between known borrowings and high levels of cognates in certain semantic domains. Results suggest extensive language contact, especially in the past millennium. Article in Journal/Newspaper aleut eskimo* Eskimo–Aleut Unangam-Tunuu John Benjamins Publishing Company Journal of Historical Linguistics 8 2 230 272 |
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Open Polar |
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John Benjamins Publishing Company |
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crjohnbenjaminsp |
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English |
description |
Abstract The relationship between Unangam Tunuu (Aleut) and Eskimo was established in the early 19th century, and the 20th century especially saw a number of efforts on the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut (PEA). Reconstruction has supported assumptions of a largely genealogical relationship between the EA languages, assumptions which include a long history of independent development in isolation from other languages and language families. The reconstruction of PEA, however, is incomplete; many apparent cognates have irregular or imperfectly understood sound correspondences. Furthermore, advances in archaeology and genetics have called into question many assumptions about EA prehistory and about the isolation or lack thereof of Unangam Tunuu. In this study, I re-examine the proposed cognates and evaluate them based on the strength of their correspondences and their distribution within the lexicon, with reference to new findings regarding technological innovations and periods of cultural contact. Several patterns emerge, including a large group of proposed cognates with overly-specific semantic correlations relating to technologies or cultural practices post-dating the split of EA languages, a gender-based difference in the number of cognates relating to cultural activities, and a correlation between known borrowings and high levels of cognates in certain semantic domains. Results suggest extensive language contact, especially in the past millennium. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Berge, Anna |
spellingShingle |
Berge, Anna Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
author_facet |
Berge, Anna |
author_sort |
Berge, Anna |
title |
Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
title_short |
Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
title_full |
Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
title_fullStr |
Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
title_full_unstemmed |
Re-evaluating the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo-Aleut |
title_sort |
re-evaluating the reconstruction of proto-eskimo-aleut |
publisher |
John Benjamins Publishing Company |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1075/jhl.17017.ber http://www.jbe-platform.com/deliver/fulltext/jhl.17017.ber.pdf |
genre |
aleut eskimo* Eskimo–Aleut Unangam-Tunuu |
genre_facet |
aleut eskimo* Eskimo–Aleut Unangam-Tunuu |
op_source |
Journal of Historical Linguistics volume 8, issue 2, page 230-272 ISSN 2210-2116 2210-2124 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1075/jhl.17017.ber |
container_title |
Journal of Historical Linguistics |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
230 |
op_container_end_page |
272 |
_version_ |
1810489061375213568 |