Macrofamily

In historical linguistics, a macro-family, also called a superfamily or phylum, is defined as a proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families (also isolates) in a larger scale clasification.[1][2]However, Campbell[3] regards this term as superfluous, preferring language family for those clasifications for which there are consensus and distant genetic relationship for those that are not, or not yet, generally accepted, whether due to lack of documentation or scholarship of the constituent languages, or to an estimated time depth thought by many linguists to be too great for reconstruction.

Examples of proposed macro-families[4][1]range from relatively recent such as Macro-Jê, Macro-Waikurúan, Macro-Mayan, Macro-Siouan, Penutian, Na-Dene or Congo-Saharan (Niger-Saharan) to older ones such as Austric, Dené–Caucasian, Eurasiatic, Nostratic or Ural-Altaic.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Campbell, Lyle and Mixco, Mauricio J. (2007), A Glossary of Historical Linguistics, University of Utah Press/Edinburgh University Press.
  2. ^ Matthews, P.H. (2007), Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, Oxford University Press.
  3. ^ Campbell, Lyle (2004), Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, Edinburgh University Press.
  4. ^ Trask, R.L. (2000), The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics, Edinburgh University Press.