An areal-etymological approach to semantic reconstruction of Proto-Uralic kin terms

Languages vary in how they order their kin terms. Kin terms and systems in Uralic languages have changed considerably over time, which has caused challenges for the reconstruction of Proto-Uralic kin terms. There are terms that cannot be reconstructed altogether, terms that can be fairly reliably reconstructed both phonologically and semantically, and terms that, while being easily reconstructed phonologically, exhibit semantic variation that is difficult to interpret. In this paper, we focus on the last-mentioned group and aim to reconstruct the most accurate meanings of certain selected Proto-Uralic kin terms. In our view contact has been the most significant factor driving change – especially structural change – in Uralic kinship terminology. In this paper, we consider both the present and historical contact situations of different Uralic branches and peel away the secondary contact-induced changes in their kinship patterns before attempting to reconstruct the meaning of the terms in Proto-Uralic. Alongside this we have also carried out an etymological examination of the terms. We call our method the areal-etymological approach to semantic reconstruction. With our approach we found that the most parsimonious semantic reconstructions for PU *čečä, *ekä, and *koska are ‘parent’s younger brother’, ‘parent’s elder brother’, and ‘parent’s elder sister’, respectively. A thorough examination of the reconstructed Proto-Uralic kin terms as a whole also revealed that relative age distinction was a salient general feature already in Proto-Uralic kinship terminology. Our study showcases how by delving into an old question with a fresh approach, one can shed light on the distant past of the Uralic languages

Kinship · Next of kin · Salient · Linguistics and Cultural Studies · Linguistics and language evolution · Syntax, Semantics, Linguistic Variation

• Extreme events and the spread of Uralic languages

  Open Access•Sampsa Holopainen, Terhi Honkola et al.•Quaternary Environments and Humans•2026

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