Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate
| Languages of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate | |
|---|---|
| Region | Northern Europe |
| Extinct | 1st millennium AD |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | None(mis) |
| Glottolog | None |
 Languages of northern Europe in the early Iron Age | |
Pre-Finno-Ugric substraterefers tosubstratumloanwordsfrom unidentified non-Indo-Europeanand non-Uralic languagesthat are found in variousFinno-Ugric languages,most notablySami.The presence of Pre-Finno-Ugric substrate in Sami languages was demonstrated byAnte Aikio.[1]Janne Saarikivipoints out that similar substrate words are present inFinnic languagesas well, but in much smaller numbers.[2]
The number of substrate words inSámilikely exceeds one thousand words.[3]
Borrowing to Saami fromPaleo-Laplandicprobably still took place after the completion ofthe Great Saami Vowel Shift.Paleo-Laplandic likely became extinct about 1500 years ago.[3]
TheNganasan languagealso has many substrate words from unknown extinct languages in theTaimyr peninsula.[4]
Theories[edit]
According to Aikio, the speakers of theProto-Samic languagearrived inLaplandaround 650 BC and fully assimilated the localPaleo-Europeanpopulations by the middle of 1st millennium AD. In his opinion, the detailed reconstruction of these languages is impossible.[1]
The languages of more eastern post-Swiderian culturesmight have influenced Finno-Ugric languages as well. According toPeter Schrijver,some of these substrate languages probably had manygeminatedconsonants.[5][6]A lexical comparison with the hypotheticalPre-Germanic substratumyields no results.[7]
Some examples ofKildin Samiwords and corresponding Northern Sami cognates without convincingUralic/Finno-Ugric (or any other) etymologies:[8]
| Kildin Sami | Northern Sami | English |
|---|---|---|
| kut’t’k | heart | |
| vuntas | sand | |
| poav’n | hummock | |
| k’ed’d’k | geađgi | stone |
| piŋŋk | biegga | wind |
| ket’t’k’ | geatki | wolverine |
| nigkeš | pike (fish) | |
| murr | muorra | tree |
| cigk | mist | |
| mun | frost | |
| pin’ne | to herd, to look after | |
| čujke | čuoigat | to ski |
| luhpel’ | 1 y.o. reindeer | |
| kipp’tε | to cook | |
| kuras | guoros | empty |
| modžes | beautiful | |
| n’učke | njuiket | to jump |
| čacke | čiekčat | to throw |
| tuллtε | duoldit | to boil |
| kuarktε | to boast | |
| лujx’ke | to cry | |
| nissε | to kiss | |
| madt | trouble |
| North Saami | English |
|---|---|
| beahcet | fish tail |
| cuohppa | fish meat |
| šákša | capelin |
| ája | spring |
| skuoggir | ethmoid bone |
| šuorja | giant shark |
| buovjag | beluga |
| ruomas | wolf |
| bákti | cliff, rock |
| gieva | boghole |
| váiši | wild animal |
| itku | shady place |
| roggi | hole |
| sátku | landing place |
| skuolfi | owl |
| čuovga | light |
| soavli | slush |
| gákšu | she wolf |
Most of these words havecognatesin all Sami languages. A more extensive list of such words can be found inG. M. Kert's 2009 work on Sami toponymics.[9]Semantically, pre-Sami substrate consists mostly of basic vocabulary terms (i.e. human body parts) and nature/animal names, and lacks terms of kinship and societal organization, which suggests a rather low level of socioeconomic development in pre-Sami cultures.[10]
Some possible substrate words can also be found inFinnish.[11]
| Finnish | English |
|---|---|
| saari | island |
| niemi | cape |
| oja | ditch |
| nummi | moor |
| ilves | lynx |
| koipi | leg (of a bird) |
| nenä | nose |
| jänis | hare |
| salakka | bleak (fish) |
| liha | meat |
Pre-Finno-Volgaic substrate[edit]
There are also some examples of possible substrate words inFinno-Volgaic languagesthat differ from the Pre-Sami substrate, i.e. Proto-Finno-Volgaic*täštä"star", or*kümmin"ten".[12][13]
Some words in Finno-Volgaic languages contain rare consonant clusters, which suggests loanwords from unknown languages.
Finnish words such asjauho(Eng. flour),lehmä(cow),tähti(star),tammi(oak) andihminen(human) could be substrate words.[12]
Aikio (2021) lists some other substrate vocabulary as:[14]
| Proto-form | Gloss |
|---|---|
| *wakštVrV | maple |
| *wešnä | wheat/spelt |
| *päkšnä | lime tree |
| ?*riŋiši | dryingkiln |
| ?*räppä(-nä) | smoke hole |
| *tammi | oak |
| *särńä | ash |
| *ša/u(w)p(k)a | aspen |
| *le/i(j)p(p)ä | alder |
| *pVškV(nä) | hazel |
Irregular correspondences among Uralic languages are frequent among some words, such as 'to milk' and 'hazelnut'. These are presumed to be non-native loanwords by Aikio (2021):[14]
| Language | Form | Gloss | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish | lypsää | to milk | < *lüpsä- or *lüpćä- |
| Mordvin | lovso, lofca | milk | < *lupsV or *lipsa |
| Mari | lüštem, dial. lüśtem, lǝštem | to milk | < *lüstä-? < *lüps-tä- |
| Komi | li̮śt̮i- | to milk | < PNo *lüćtV- or *lućtV- (? < *lü/upć-tA-) |
| Language | Form | Gloss | Etymology |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish | pähkinä, pähkenä | (hazel)nut | < *päškinä (?) |
| Mordvin | päšťä, päščä (etc.) | (hazel)nut | < *päš? |
| Mari | pükš | hazelnut | <?*pekši |
| Udmurt | paš-, puš- | hazel(nut) | < *pVškV or *pVkšV |
Toponyms[edit]
SometoponymsinFinlandappear to be of non-Uralic origin; for example, a word "koita" regularly appears inhydronymsfor long and narrow bodies of water and is thus probably the continuation of the native word for "long, narrow".[15]
Many other toponyms inFinlandseem to come from a substrate language or from many substrate languages: among these areSaimaa,Imatra,PäijänneandInari.[16]
There are also toponyms from a substrate language inSápmi;for example, an ending -ir (< *-ērē) is commonly found in names of mountains and is probably the continuation of the substrate word for mountain.
Other such toponymic words are*skiečč'watershed',*čār-'uppermost (lake)', *jeak(k)- 'isolated mountain',*nus- 'mountain top on the edge of a mountain area',*sāl-'large island in the sea',*čiest- 'seashore cliff', and*inč-'outermost island'.[3][1]
Languages[edit]
There are irregularities in Sami substrate words which suggest they might have been borrowed from distinct, but related languages. In the west, the substrate languages probably had an s-type sibilant which corresponds to an š-type sibilant in the east.[3]
As we only have fragments of Lakelandic Sami which were preserved in Finnish placenames and dialectal vocabulary, the features of the Paleo-Lakelandic substrate in Lakelandic Sami cannot be studied. Many placenames in Finland come from Sami words of unknown origin which are likely substrate words, such asjokuufrom Proto-Sami*čuokōs‘track, way’.
The Sami substrate in Finnish dialects also reveals that Lakelandic Sami languages had a high number of words with an obscure origin, likely deriving from old languages of the region.[3]
See also[edit]
- List of Proto-Samic terms derived from substrate languages
- List of Proto-Samic terms with unknown etymologies
- Paleo-European languages
- Germanic substrate hypothesis
- Goidelic substrate hypothesis
- Old European hydronymy
- Comb Ceramic culture
References[edit]
- ^abcdAikio, Ante(2004)."An Essay on Substrate Studies and the Origin of Saami".In Hyvärinen, Irma; Kallio, Petri; Korhonenk, Jarmo (eds.).Etymologie, Entlehnungen und Entwicklungen: Festschrift für Jorma Koivulehto zum 70. Geburtstag[Etymology, borrowings and developments: Festschrift for Jorma Koivulehto's 70th birthday]. Vol. 63. Mémoires de la Société Neophilologique de Helsinki. pp. 5–34 – via Academia.edu.
- ^Saarikivi, Janne (2006).Substrata Uralica: Studies on Finno-Ugrian substrate in northern Russian dialects(PDF)(Ph.D. thesis). University of Helsinki. pp. 257–279.ISBN9949-11-474-8.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 30 August 2017.
- ^abcdeLuobbal, Sámmol Sámmol Ánte(2012)."An Essay on Saami Ethnolinguistic Prehistory"(PDF).Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne.266.Helsinki, Finland: 63–117.
- ^Janhunen, Juha; Gruzdeva, Ekaterina (2020)."Nganasan: A fresh focus on a little known Arctic language".Linguistic Typology.24(1): 181–186.doi:10.1515/lingty-2020-2036.hdl:10138/318080.ISSN1613-415X.S2CID216417093.
- ^Напольских, Владимир Владимирович; [Napolskikh, Vladimir Vladimirovich] (2007)."К реконструкции лингвистической карты Центра Европейской России в раннем железном веке"[On the reconstruction of the linguistic map of the Center of European Russia in the early Iron Age].Литературно-художественный журнал Республики Коми [Literary and Art Magazine of the Republic of Komi](in Russian) (4): 88–127. Archived fromthe originalon 27 September 2017.
- ^Schrijver, Peter (2001)."Lost Languages in Northern Europe".Mémoires de la Société Finno-Ougrienne.242:417–424 – via Academia.edu.
- ^Кузьменко, Ю. К.; [Kusmenko, Jurij] (2011).Ранние германцы и их соседи: Лингвистика, археология, генетика[The Early Germans and Their Neighbors: Linguistics, Archaeology, Genetics](PDF)(in Russian). Saint Petersburg, Russia: Нестор-История. p. 181.ISBN978-5-98187-870-1.OCLC918344002.
- ^Керт, Г. М.;[Kert, G. M.] (2003). "Этногенез саамов" [Ethnogenesis of the Sámi]. In Клементьев, Е. И.; Шлыгина, Н. В. (eds.).Прибалтийскофинские народы России[Balto–Finnish peoples of Russia] (in Russian). Moscow, Russia: Наука. pp. 43–48.
- ^Керт, Г. М.;[Kert, G. M.] (2009).Саамская топонимная лексика[Sámi Toponymic Vocabulary](PDF)(in Russian). Petrozavodsk, Republic of Karelia, Russia: Карельский научный центр РАН [Karelian Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences]. pp. 140–154.ISBN978-5-9274-0362-2.OCLC706000036.
- ^Керт, Г. М.;[Kert, G. M.] (1971).Саамский язык (кильдинский диалект). Фонетика, морфология, синтаксис[Sámi Language (Kildin Dialect): Phonetics, Morphology, Syntax] (in Russian). Lenningrad, Soviet Union: Наука. p. 9.
- ^Saarikivi, Janne (2006).Substrata Uralica: Studies on Finno-Ugrian Substrate in Northern Russian Dialects(Ph.D. thesis). Helsinki, Finland: Helsingin Yliopisto.ISBN978-952-10-4519-6.
- ^abЖивлов, М. А.; [Zhivlov, M. A.] (27 March 2015).Неиндоевропейский субстрат в финно-волжских языках[Non-Indo-European Substratum in the Finno-Volgaic Languages]. X традиционные чтения памяти С. А.Старостина [X Traditional Readings in Memory of S. A. Starostin] (in Russian).Russian State University for the Humanities,Moscow, Russia – via Academia.edu.
- ^Häkkinen, Jaakko (2009)."Kantauralin ajoitus ja paikannus: perustelut puntarissa"[Protolanguage Timing and Positioning: Weighing the Arguments](PDF).Suomalais-Ugrilaisen Seuran Aikakauskirja(in Finnish).2009(92): 9–56.doi:10.33340/susa.82020.
- ^abLuobbal, Sámmol Sámmol Ánte(2021).The layers of substrate vocabulary in Western Uralic.Sub-Indo-European Europe: Problems, Methods and Evidence. Leiden, Netherlands – via Academia.edu.
- ^Rahkonen, Pauli (2013).South-Eastern Contact Area of Finnic Languages in the Light of Onomastics(PDF)(Ph.D. thesis). University of Helsinki.ISBN978-952-5866-15-5.
- ^"Mistä tulee nimi Saimaa?"[Where Does the Name Saimaa Come From?].Nimien Alkuperästä [On the Origin of Names](in Finnish). Kotimaisten Kielten Keskus [Institute for the Languages of Finland].Retrieved10 October2022.