| Proto-Eskaleut | |
|---|---|
| Proto-Eskimo–Aleut Proto-Inuit-Yupik-Unangan | |
| Reconstruction of | Eskaleut languages |
| Era | 4000 BC - 2200 BC |
| Lower-order reconstructions | |
Proto-Eskaleut or Proto-Eskimo–Aleut (sometimes Proto-Inuit-Yupik-Unangan)[1] is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Eskaleut languages, the family containing Eskimo and Aleut. Its existence is known through similarities in Eskimo and Aleut. The existence of Proto-Eskaleut is generally accepted among linguists. It was for a long time true that no linguistic reconstruction of Proto-Eskaleut had yet been produced, as stated by Bomhard.[2] Such a reconstruction was offered by Knut Bergsland in 1986. Michael Fortescue offered another version of Proto-Eskaleut,[3] largely based on the reconstruction of Proto-Eskimo in the Comparative Eskimo Dictionary he co-authored with Steven Jacobson and Lawrence Kaplan.[4]
Phonology
Fortescue reconstructs the phoneme inventory of Proto-Eskaleut as follows:[3]
| Labial | Alveolar | Velar | Uvular | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | palatalized | |||||
| Nasal | m | n | (nʲ)[1] | ŋ | ||
| Plosive | p | t | tʲ | k | q | |
| Affricate | c[2] | cʲ[2] | ||||
| Fricative | voiceless | |||||
| voiced | v | ð | ɣ | ʁ | ||
| Lateral fricative | (ɬ)[3] | |||||
| Approximant | l | j[4] | ||||
| Front | Central | Back | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close | i | u | |
| Mid | ə | ||
| Open | a |
Notes:
-
- /nʲ/ may not have been distinct from */n/; Fortescue reconstructs it for the correspondence of "Sirenikski Eskimo initial /j/, elsewhere /n/".
- It is not clear from Fortescue's description whether the sounds denoted by */c/ and */cʲ/ were affricates [ts tsʲ] or fricatives [s sʲ].
-
- /ɬ/ may have been a later development from clusters of */l/ with a plosive.
-
- /j/ was most likely a fully palatal approximant, but it is grouped with the palatalized alveolars for convenience.
Possible relation to other language families
There are no generally accepted relations between Proto-Eskaleut and other language families. A substantial case for a genetic relationship between Proto-Eskaleut, Yukaghir and Uralic was published by Michael Fortescue in 1998 in Language Relations across Bering Strait (see Uralo-Siberian languages).
References
- Dagostino, Carmen; Mithun, Marianne; Rice, Keren (2023-12-18). The Languages and Linguistics of Indigenous North America: A Comprehensive Guide. Vol. 2. Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. p. 843. ISBN 978-3-11-071274-2.
- Bomhard 2008, p. 209.
- Fortescue 1998, pp. 124–5.
- Fortescue, Jacobson & Kaplan 1994, p. xi.
Bibliography
- Bergsland, Knut. 1986. "Comparative Eskimo–Aleut phonology and lexicon". Journal de la Société finno-ougrienne 80:63–137.
- Bomhard, Allan R. (2008). Reconstructing Proto-Nostratic. ISBN 978-90-04-16853-4.
- Fortescue, Michael D.; Jacobson, Steven A.; Kaplan, Lawrence D. (1994). Comparative Eskimo Dictionary. Alaska Native Language Center. ISBN 1-55500-051-7.
- Fortescue, Michael D. (1998-11-30). Language Relations Across The Bering Strait. London; New York: Continuum. ISBN 0-304-70330-3.