Proto-Yeniseian language

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July 13, 2026

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Proto-Yeniseian is the reconstructed ancestor of the Yeniseian languages, a small language family spoken in Siberia. The Yeniseian group includes languages such as Ket, Kott, Arin, and Assan, with Ket being the only one still spoken, though classified as moribund.12

Scholars have proposed a distant relationship between Yeniseian languages and the Na-Dené languages of North America, but this hypothesis is not widely accepted due to insufficient evidence. Proto-Yeniseian itself is thought to have lacked initial nasals, and the complexity of the Ket verb, with its extensive morphology, is a notable feature of the surviving language.12

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Ket language
Proto-Yeniseian, the language from which the Yeniseian languages descended, seems to have lacked nasals in the initial position. The lack of proven relatives and the absence of reliable written sources earlier than the middle of the 19th century make it uncertain whether the tone, or…
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Proto-Yeniseian, the language from which the Yeniseian languages descended, seems to have lacked nasals in the initial position. The lack of proven relatives and the absence of reliable written sources earlier than the middle of the 19th century make it uncertain whether the tone, or…
Read More