Caucasian languages
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The term Caucasian languages refers to the indigenous languages of the Caucasus, which are usually grouped into the following language families.
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[edit] Proposed higher-level classifications
A topic that has attracted much research since the 19th century is the classification of the three major Caucasian families into larger groups. Unfortunately this field is quite sensitive, given the complex ethnic and political situation of the region, both before and after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. As in many other regions of the globe, linguistic arguments are often used to back up or dismiss territorial disputes and separatist movements. Given the general paucity of linguistic and historical evidence for inter-family relationships, those political implications often dominate the debate.
[edit] North Caucasian languages
Some linguists see the Northwest (Abkhaz-Adyghe) and Northeast (Nahk-Dagestanian) families as related and propose uniting them in a single North Caucasian family (sometimes called Caucasic or simply Caucasian). This theory excludes the South Caucasian languages, thereby proposing two Caucasian language families. The genetic relationship proposed between the Northwest and Northeast families is generally thought to be probable, but not absolutely certain.[1]
[edit] Ibero-Caucasian languages
There are no known affinities between the South Caucasian and North Caucasian families. Nevertheless, some scholars have proposed the single name Ibero-Caucasian for all the Caucasian language families, North and South, in an attempt to unify the Caucasian languages under one family. A connection between the Caucasian languages and Basque is often proposed in this context, but such hypotheses are considered to lack sufficient evidence and are not widely accepted.[2]
[edit] Possible affinities with other languages
Since the birth of comparative linguistics in the 19th century, the riddle of the apparently isolated Caucasian language families has attracted the attention of many scholars, who have endeavored to relate them to other languages outside the Caucasus region. While these proposals are not generally accepted by linguists, there may be connections between the Northwest and Northeast Caucasian families and some extinct languages formerly spoken in Anatolia and northern Mesopotamia.
[edit] Hattic
Some linguists have claimed affinities between the Northwest Caucasian (Circassian) family and the extinct Hattic language. See the article on Northwest Caucasian languages for details.
[edit] Alarodian
Alarodian is a proposed connection between Northeast Caucasian and the extinct Hurro-Urartian languages of Armenia.
[edit] (Western) Iberian language
It has been speculated that the South Caucasian languages may be related to the extinct Iberian language, spoken until the 1st century BC in the Iberian peninsula (which is known as "Western Iberia" in the Caucasus, to distinguish it from the Caucasian Iberia). There seems to be no evidence for this relationship other than the coincidence of the names.
[edit] Dené-Caucasian macrofamily
Recently, linguists such as Sergei Starostin and John Bengtson have proposed a Dené-Caucasian macrofamily, which includes the North Caucasian languages together with Basque, Burushaski, Na-Dené, Sino-Tibetan, and Yeniseian.
[edit] Reference
- Encyclopedia Britannica, 15th edition (1986): Macropedia, "Languages of the World", see section titled "Caucasian languages".
[edit] Notes
[edit] See also
- Languages of the Caucasus for an account of all the languages spoken in the Caucasus region.
