Proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families
In historical linguistics, a macrofamily, also called a superfamily or phylum, is a proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families (also isolates) in a larger scale classification.[1][2] However, Campbell[3] regards this term as superfluous, preferring "language family" for those classifications for which there is consensus and "distant genetic relationship" for those for which there is no, or not yet, consensus, whether due to lack of documentation or scholarship of the constituent languages, or to an estimated time depth thought by many linguists to be too great for reconstruction.[citation needed]
More rarely, the term has also been applied to an exceptionally old, large and diverse language family, such as Afro-Asiatic.[4]
Examples of proposed macro-families[1][5] range from relatively recent such as East Asian, Macro-Jê, Macro-Waikurúan, Macro-Mayan, Macro-Siouan, Penutian, Dené–Yeniseian and Congo-Saharan (Niger-Saharan) to older ones such as Austric, Dené–Caucasian, Eurasiatic, Nostratic or Ural-Altaic.
^ abCampbell, Lyle and Mixco, Mauricio J. (2007), A Glossary of Historical Linguistics, University of Utah Press/Edinburgh University Press.
^Matthews, P.H. (2007), Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics, Oxford University Press.
^Campbell, Lyle (2004), Historical Linguistics: An Introduction, Edinburgh University Press.
^Diakonoff, Igor M. (1996), "Some reflections on the Afrasian linguistic macrofamily." Journal of Near Eastern Studies55, 293–294.
^Trask, R.L. (2000), The Dictionary of Historical and Comparative Linguistics, Edinburgh University Press.
In historical linguistics, a macrofamily, also called a superfamily or phylum, is a proposed genetic relationship grouping together language families...
and the Philippine Negrito languages Manide and Umiray Dumagat Several macrofamily schemes have been proposed for linking multiple language families of...
(also Boreal or Boralean) is a hypothetical (i.e. proposed) linguistic macrofamily that encompasses almost all language families worldwide except those...
Pontic is a proposed language family or macrofamily, comprising the Indo-European and Northwest Caucasian language families, with Proto-Pontic being its...
Nostratic is a hypothetical language macrofamily including many of the language families of northern Eurasia first proposed in 1903. Though a historically...
Anatolia. Linguists such as Sergei Starostin have proposed a Dené–Caucasian macrofamily, which includes the North Caucasian languages together with Basque, Burushaski...
limited degree of scholarly support, in contrast to some other early macrofamily proposals. Continued research on Altaic is still being undertaken by...
Eurasiatic is a hypothetical and controversial language macrofamily proposal that would include many language families historically spoken in northern...
(taxonomy), a taxonomic rank Superfamily (linguistics), also known as macrofamily Font superfamily, a large typographic family Superfamily (band), a Norwegian...
been sufficient evidence to conclude the existence of either of these macrofamilies. The shared characteristics between the languages are attributed presently...
in 2006, who also included the Japonic and Koreanic languages in the macrofamily. The proposal has since been adopted by linguists such as George van...
to each other than to that common ancestral proto-language. The term macrofamily or superfamily is sometimes applied to proposed groupings of language...
arguments as part of their general argument that the spread of linguistic macrofamilies (such as Indo-European, Bantu, and Austro-Asiatic) can be associated...
Guaviare) is a language of uncertain classification, perhaps part of the macrofamily Puinave-Maku. It is very closely related to Kakwa. There are six oral...
The East Asian languages are a language family (alternatively macrofamily or superphylum) proposed by Stanley Starosta in 2001. The proposal has since...
Additionally, long-range proposals have attempted to include Sumerian in broad macrofamilies. Such proposals enjoy virtually no support among modern linguists, Sumerologists...
Linguistic reconstruction Internal reconstruction Linguistic universal Macrofamily Mass comparison Origin of language Paleolinguistics Proto-language Swadesh...
together with Salishan and Chimakuan languages in a "Mosan" macrofamily. This proposed macrofamily is now generally rejected as a genealogical grouping. Structural...
linking Austronesians with other linguistic families into linguistic macrofamilies that are relevant to the identity of the pre-Austronesian populations...
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