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

Dados Bibliográficos

ID23166239
AutoresAbel Radu Warries (0000-0001-6116-6096, Leiden University, autor correspondente)
Ano2022
Volume10
Fascículo1
Páginas169-213
Data de publicação2022-12-22
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoIndo-European Linguistics (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 2212-5884 • E-ISSN: 2212-5892
EditoraWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/22125892-bja10022
OpenAlexW4312219084
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas4
Referências citadas13

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