Toward the reconstruction of Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan. Part 2: Algonquian-Wakashan sound correspondences

Sergei Nikolaev (Institute of Slavic studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, sergenicko@mail.ru)

Journal of Language Relationship, № 13/3-4, 2015 - p.289-328

Abstract: The second part of the present study, continuing an earlier publication by the author in a previous number of JLR, includes: an inventory of Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan phonemes with a list of Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan phonemes with references to Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan roots (§2); a comparative Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan dictionary that includes more than 400 root reconstructions, with relevant examples from Proto-Wakashan, Proto-Nivkh and Proto-Algic data, also including Proto-Nivkh-Algic roots (§3); an index of lexical meanings for the Proto-Algonquian-Wakashan and Proto-Nivkh-Algic roots (§4). The main innovative aspect of the present article is the formal demonstration of genetic relationship between Nivkh, Algic, and Wakashan languages, conducted by means of the standard comparative method, i. e. establishing a system of regular sound correspondences between the vocabularies of the compared languages.

Keywords: Algonquian-Wakashan languages, Nivkh-Algonquian languages, Algic languages, Wakashan languages, Chimakuan-Wakashan languages, Nivkh language, historical phonology, comparative dictionary

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