Yenissei

Characteristics

  • Change of Old Turkic *d to /z/, e.g. Western Yugur azaq 'foot', Khakas xuzurux 'tail'.
  • Preservation of word-final and preconsonantal */G/, e.g. Western Yugur tʰaɣ 'mountain', Ös aɣrïɣ 'pain'.

Notes

  • A Swadesh-list based classification of the Yenissei languages:
    KhakasMrass ShorÖsFu-yü GïrgïsWestern Yugur
    Western Yugur116/160
    =72.50%
    60/80
    =75.00%
    79/123
    =64.23%
    93/128
    =72.66%
    100%
    Fu-yü Gïrgïs109/138
    =78.99%
    53/68
    =77.94%
    83/100
    =75.45%
    100%
    Ös109/138
    =78.99%
    57/72
    =79.17%
    100%
    Mrass Shor78/88
    =88.64%
    100%
    Khakas100%
  • Western Yugur is sufficiently distinct that it may represent yet another primary branch of Common Turkic. The history of the Western Yugurs suggests that they separated from other Turkic peoples at a very early date.

Tree

Yenissei
    • †Yenisei Kirghiz
    • Khakas, with several divergent dialects:
      • Kachin
      • Sagay
      • Xyzyl
      • Shor
    • The varieties of the Middle Chulym-Mrass-Upper Tom area:
      • Ös, also known as Middle Chulym
      • The so-called Mrass dialect of Shor
    • Fu-yü Gïrgïs
    • Western Yugur
  • References

    Ceylan, Emine. 1995. “Orta Çulım, Mrass-Yukarı Tom Ağızları.” Çağdaş Türk Dili 88: 6-13.

    Nugteren, Hans and Marti Roos. 2006. “Prolegomena to the Classification of Western Yugur.” In Exploring the Eastern Frontiers of Turkic (Turcologica 60), edited by Marcel Erdal and Irina Nevskaya, 99-130. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.

    Tekin, Talat. 2005. “A New Classification of the Turkic languages.” In Makaleler III: Çağdaş Türk Dilleri, edited by Nurettin Demir and Emine Yılmaz, 405-420. Ankara: Grafiker.

    Yenissei
    Alternate names:Khakas, (Old) Kyrgyz, z-Turkic
    Spoken in:Russia (Khakassia, Kemerovo and Tomsk Oblasts), China (Heilongjiang, Gansu)
    Glottolog