List of proposed language families

The following is a list of proposed language families, which connect established families into larger genetic groups (macro-families). Support for these proposals vary from case to case. For example, the Dené–Yeniseian languages are a recent proposal which has been generally well received, whereas reconstructions of the Proto-World language are often viewed as fringe science. Proposals which are themselves based on other proposals have the likelihood of their parts noted in parentheses.

Under considerations

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Proposed name Proposal Agree Disagree Doubt Ref.
Alarodian
Alarodian
Austric Wilhelm Schmidt (initiator), La Vaughn H., Lawrence Reid, G. Diffloth, Paul Sidwell, Paul K. Benedict (later rejected), Sergei Starostin, John Bengtson, ASJP Robert Blust, Paul K. Benedict [1][2][3]
Wilhelm Schmidt (initiator)
Paul K. Benedict (initiator, later rejected), Sergei Starostin, John Bengtson
John Bengtson (initiator)
Austro-Tai Paul Benedict (initiator, also including Japanese), Ostapirat, Smith Thurgood Sagart [4]
Aztec–Tanoan
Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric
Dené–Yeniseian Alfredo Trombetti (initiator), Merritt Ruhlen, Edward Vajda, Michael Krauss, Jeff Leer, James Kari, Heinrich Werner, Bernard Comrie, Johanna Nichols, Victor Golla, Michael Fortescue, Eric Hamp, Bill Poser, and Paul Kiparsky George Starostin (Vajda's proposal) [5]
Gulf
Hokan
Ibero-Caucasian
Indo-Uralic Holger Pedersen (initiator), Kortlandt, Hannes Sköld, Alwin Kloekhorst, and Nikolai Dmitrievich Andreev Christian Carpelan, Asko Parpola, Petteri Koskikallio, Angela Marcantonio, and Johan Schalin [6]
Kortlandt (initiator) [7]
Je–Tupi–Carib
Karasuk
Macro-Chibchan
Macro-Jê
Macro-Pama–Nyungan
Macro-Panoan
Macro-Siouan
Mataco–Guaicuru
Miao–Dai Ryuichi Kosaka (initiator) [8]
Niger–Congo
Nilo-Saharan
North Caucasian
Pontic Émile Benveniste, Winfred P. Lehmann, Aert Kuipers, and John Colarusso [9]
Quechumaran
Serbi–Mongolic
Sino-Austronesian Laurent Sagart (initiator), Stanley Starosta Weera Ostapirat, Alexander Vovin, George van Driem Paul Jen-kuei Li and Robert Blust [10][11]
Totozoquean
Uralic–Yukaghir
Uralo-Siberian Michael Fortescue (initiator), Frederik Kortlandt [12]
Frederik Kortlandt (initiator) [13]
Yok-Utian Geoffrey Gamble(initiator), Catherine Callaghan
Yuki–Wappo

Widely rejected

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Below are language families that are already rejected by most linguists. As they are widely rejected, only linguists who agree are shown.

Proposed name Description Status Agree Ref.
Almosan Algic, Kutenai and Mosan Widely rejected
Amerind All languages in the Americas which do not belong to the Eskimo–Aleut or Na–Dene families Widely rejected
Altaic Turkic, Mongolic, Tungusic, Koreanic and Japonic (and possibly Ainu) Widely rejected; generally considered a Sprachbund
Austronesian–Ongan Ongan and Austronesian Widely rejected Juliette Blevins (initiator) [14]
Borean All families except in sub-Saharan Africa, New Guinea, Australia, and the Andaman Islands Widely rejected
Coahuiltecan Native languages of modern Texas Sprachbund
Dene–Caucasian Na-Dené, North Caucasian, Sino-Tibetan, Yeniseian, and others. Widely rejected
Dravido-Korean Dravidian and Koreanic Obsolete
Elamo-Dravidian Elamite and Dravidian Widely rejected
Eurasiatic Indo-European, Uralic and Altaic Widely rejected
Indo-Pacific Several Pacific families. Widely rejected
Indo-Semitic Indo-European languages and Semitic languages or Afroasiatic languages Widely rejected
Khoisan African click-consonant languages that do not belong to any other macrophyla Widely rejected
Macro-Mayan Mayan with Totonacan, Mixe–Zoque, and Huave Widely rejected
Mosan Salishan, Wakashan, and Chimakuan languages of Pacific Northwest North America Sprachbund
Nostratic Afroasiatic, Kartvelian, Dravidian and Eurasiatic Widely rejected
Proto-World Reconstructed common ancestor of all living languages Widely rejected Alfredo Trombetti (initiator)
Ural–Altaic Uralic and Altaic Obsolete; considered a linguistic convergence zone
Sino-Uralic Uralic, Sinitic ? Jingyi Gao (initiator)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Grierson, G. A. (January 1907). "Die Mon-Khmer-Völker, Ein Bindeglied Zwischen Völkern Zentralasiens und Austronesiens. By P. W. Schmidt, S.V.D. Reprinted from Archiv für Anthropologie, Neue Folge, Band v, Heft 1 u. 2. (Brunswick, 1906.)". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 39 (1): 187–191. doi:10.1017/s0035869x00035711. ISSN 0035-869X. S2CID 163114228.
  2. ^ "Alphabetisches Verzeichnis der vorkommenden Sprachen und Dialekte", Die westlichen Sudansprachen und ihre Beziehungen zum Bantu, Berlin, Boston: DE GRUYTER, 1927, doi:10.1515/9783111390192-003, ISBN 9783111390192, retrieved 9 January 2023
  3. ^ Benedict, Paul K. (12 October 1942). "Thai, Kadai, and Indonesian: A New Alignment in Southeastern Asia". American Anthropologist. 44 (4): 576–601. doi:10.1525/aa.1942.44.4.02a00040.
  4. ^ Smith, Alexander (2022-01-28). Alves, Mark; Sidwell, Paul (eds.). "More Austro-Tai Comparisons and Observations on Vowel Correspondences". Journal of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society: Papers from the 30th Conference of the Southeast Asian Linguistics Society (2021). 15 (3): 112–134. doi:10.5281/zenodo.5781307. ISSN 1836-6821. Retrieved 2022-02-14.
  5. ^ Starostin, George (2012). "Dene-Yeniseian: a critical assessment". p. 137
  6. ^ Aikio, Ante (January 2022). "Proto-Uralic". In Bakró-Nagy, Marianne; Laakso, Johanna; Skribnik, Elena (eds.). Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.
  7. ^ Kortlandt, Frederik (2004). "NIVKH AS A URALO-SIBERIAN LANGUAGE". researchgate.net.
  8. ^ Kosaka, Ryuichi (2002). "On the affiliation of Miao-Yao and Kadai: Can we posit the Miao-Dai family?" (PDF). Mon-Khmer Studies. 32: 71–100.
  9. ^ Colarusso, John (1997). "Proto-Pontic: Phyletic links between Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Northwest Caucasian". Journal of Indo-European Studies. 25: 119–51.
  10. ^ Sagart, L. (1990) "Chinese and Austronesian are genetically related". Paper presented at the 23rd International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, October 1990, Arlington, Texas.
  11. ^ Sagart, Laurent (2016). "The wider connections of Austronesian: A response to Blust (2009)". Diachronica. 33 (2): 255–281. doi:10.1075/dia.33.2.04sag.
  12. ^ Fortescue, Michael (2011). "The relationship of Nivkh to Chukotko-Kamchatkan revisited". Lingua. 121 (8): 1359–1376. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2011.03.001.I would no longer wish to relate CK directly to [Uralo-Siberian], although I believe that some of the lexical evidence [...] will hold up in terms of borrowing/diffusion.
  13. ^ Kortlandt, Frederik (2004). "NIVKH AS A URALO-SIBERIAN LANGUAGE". researchgate.net.
  14. ^ van Driem, George (2011). "Rice and the Austroasiatic and Hmong-Mien homelands". In N.J Enfield (ed.). Dynamics of human diversity: the case of mainland Southeast Asia. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics. Retrieved 13 November 2021.