Towards a new comparison of the pre-Proto-Tocharian and pre-Proto-Samoyed vowel systems

Bibliographic Data

ID23166239
AuthorsAbel Radu Warries (0000-0001-6116-6096, Leiden University, corresponding author)
Year2022
Volume10
Issue1
Pages169-213
Publication date2022-12-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueIndo-European Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2212-5884 • E-ISSN: 2212-5892
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/22125892-bja10022
OpenAlexW4312219084
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited13

During their migration from the Eastern European steppes to the Tarim Basin, the ancestors of the Tocharians must have come into contact with speakers of different languages, which may have influenced the early Tocharian language. Early Uralic has been identified as possibly having been the source of such influence, especially in the domain of phonology and nominal morphology. In a 2019 article, Michaël Peyrot focused specifically on pre-Proto-Samoyed influence on Tocharian, proposing among other things a comparison of the vowel systems. I will discuss this comparison and give an alternative interpretation. Three difficulties remained with Peyrot’s comparison regarding details of 1) the relative chronology of Tocharian sound changes, 2) the mechanism of change, and 3) the relative chronology of sound changes in Samoyed. After addressing these problems in more detail, I conclude that a different vowel comparison is possible, so that the hypothesis that pre-Proto-Tocharians were in contact with pre-Proto-Samoyed substrate is still plausible.

Archaeology · Chronology · Interpretation (philosophy) · Linguistics · Phonology · Sound change · Steppe · Tarim basin · Vowel · Geology · Historical Linguistics and Language Studies · History · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Linguistics and language evolution · Paleontology · Philosophy