# Pumpokol language

Pumpokol (Pumpokol: gebeŋ-aj) is one of the Yeniseian languages, formerly spoken by the Pumpokol people (Gebéŋ). It has been extinct since the 18th century. It shares many features with the ancient Xiongnu and Jie languages, and according to Alexander Vovin, Edward Vajda, and Étienne de la Vaissière, is closely related to them. It is poorly attested, the only available lexicon amounting to about 65 words, and some of them have been identified as being Yugh, not Pumpokol.

## Classification

It has traditionally been viewed as being grouped with Arin in an Arin-Pumpokol subfamily of Southern Yeniseian, but Vajda 2024 challenges this, stating that "Arin, Pumpokol and Kott-Assan display no shared innovations to suport them as an opposite "'Southern Yeniseian' branch" of Yeniseian, reflecting only their geographical position rather than a genealogical grouping. According to O. Tailleur, it should be considered a dialect of the Ket language, as most materials labeled 'Pumpokol' are in reality of Ketic affiliation, not Pumpokol. Furthermore, the term 'Pumpokol' was originally geographic, referring to the name of a town and a former district (volost), originating from Khanty: pum-poxəl "grassy village". Pumpokols and Yughs frequently mixed with each other in the Pumpokol volost. This may be the reason for the mislabeling of these words.

## Phonology

Pumpokol is notable among the Yeniseian languages in that the phoneme /s/ is often replaced by /t/. This idiosyncrasy of Pumpokol seems to be shared with the language of the Jie, suggesting that Jie is more closely related to Pumpokol than other Yeniseian languages. For example the Jie word kot 'catch' seems to be a cognate with the Ket word qos, having the same sound change.
Moreover, this aforementioned characteristic of Pumpokol has been used by Vajda to demonstrate that Yeniseian-derived hydronyms in northern Mongolia (the southernmost known extent of Yeniseian influence), -tat, -dat, -tet, -det, -tom, -dɨt are exclusively Pumpokolic. Since the Jie, as a tribe of the Xiongnu, are likely to have come from the same area, rather than further north, this finding lends credence to the possibility that Jie is a Pumpokolic language.

### Vowels

The reconstructed vowels of Pumpokol are as follows, based on G. F. Müller's materials:
| | Front | Central | Back |
| Close | i [i] | ɨ [ɨ] | u [u] |
| Close-mid | e [e] | | o [o] |
| Open-mid | ɛ [ɛ] | | ɔ [ɔ] |
| Open | | a [a] | |

### Consonants

According to G. F. Müller's notes, the consonants of Pumpokol are as follows:
| | | Labial | Dental | Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Laryngeal/ Pharyngeal |
| Plosive | voiceless | p [p] | t [t] | (tʼ [tʲ]) | k [k] | q [q] | (ʔ [ʔ])$^1$ |
| Plosive | voiced | b [b] | d [d] | (dʼ [dʲ]) | g [g] (gʼ [gʲ]) | | |
| Fricative | voiceless | f [f] | s [s] | | | x [χ], xʼ [χʲ] | -h- [h]?$^2$ |
| Fricative | voiced | (v [v]) | (z [z]) | (ž [ʒ]) | | | |
| Affricate | Affricate | (pf [pf] pʰ [pʰ]) | c [t͡s] | č [t͡ʃ] (dž [d͡ʒ]) | | | |
| Nasal | Nasal | m [m] | n [n] | (nʼ [nʲ]) | ŋ [ŋ] | | |
| Lateral | Lateral | | l [l] | (lʼ [lʲ]) | | | |
| Approximant | Approximant | | | j [j] | | | |
| Trill | Trill | | r [r] | | | | |
* [ʔ] only occurs as a prosodic device of tone, as in other Yeniseian languages.
* Pumpokol word-initial [h] only sometimes corresponds to Arin [k], and is not present in other Yeniseian languages.
The phonemes ⟨č⟩, ⟨dʼ⟩, and ⟨dž⟩ are allophones of ⟨č⟩, ⟨k⟩ and ⟨g⟩ are allophones of ⟨k⟩, and ⟨x⟩, ⟨q⟩ and ⟨xʼ⟩ are allophones of ⟨χ⟩. Thus, the phonemes in brackets are not really phonologically relevant.
Sibilant phonemes are absent in words of native Yeniseian origin.

## Vocabulary

Selected Pumpokol words are presented here, sourced from Werner 2005.
| Word | Meaning | Comment |
| ab | father | |
| am | mother | |
| ak | to lie down | |
| hóxon | forest, tree | |
| oksɨ | tree | |
| efig | leaf | glossed as 'leaves' |
| eg | egg | cf. Ket ɛˀj |
| fala | son | |
| falla | boy, son | |
| hixem | Sun | |
| xaj | mountain | |
| xečet | growth | |
| kus | horse | |
| libit bojarget | love | literally 'he loves me', cf. Yugh ľúbitboaʰːrgeť id. |
| meža | measure | Russian loan |
| píkola | daughter, girl | Kott lítʼuli |
| hukút | house, village | Ket, Yugh hus |
Pumpokol words in Pallas 1789 :
| Russian gloss | бог | небо | вечер | лес | дерево | земля | поле | снег | вода | дух | вино | свинья | труд | здоров | они |
| English translation | God | sky, heaven | evening | forest | tree | earth | field | snow | water | spirit | wine | pig | work | healthy | they |
| Pumpokol translation | еч | еч | бичиди, бись | акь | оксы | бинг | ембагь | тыгь, бечь | уль | бей | бино | фохириць | ирдлег | етыкеть | буегь |

### Numerals

Pumpokol numerals :
| No. | Numerals (Werner 2005) | Numerals (Pallas 1789) |
| 1 | xúta | ху́та |
| 2 | hínɛaŋ ~ hínɛa | нинеангь |
| 3 | dóŋa | донга |
| 4 | ciaŋ | ци́ангь |
| 5 | héjlaŋ | Хе́илангь |
| 6 | aɡɡiaŋ ~ áɡiang | Аггьянгь |
| 7 | ónʼaŋ | Оньянгь |
| 8 | hinbasiaŋ | Г̧инба́ссїангь |
| 9 | xúta-xamóssa-xaíaŋ | Ху́та-ямосса-хайянгь |
| 10 | xaiáŋ (xajáŋ) | Хайянгь |
| 11 | xúta-iga-xaiáŋ | |
| 12 | hínɛa-xaiáŋ | |
| 20 | hédiaŋ | |
| 30 | doŋbaksɨn | |
| 40 | situdi | |
| 50 | xeiltudi | |
| 60 | altudi | |
| 70 | óntudi | |
| 80 | hinbassitudi | |
| 90 | xatósaxa | |
| 100 | útamsa | Утамса |
| 200 | hin-útamsa | |
| 300 | doŋ-útamsa | |
| 400 | ci-útamsa | |
| 500 | xeil-útamsa | |
| 600 | ag-útamsa | |
| 700 | on-útamsa | |
| 800 | hintassi-útamsa | |
| 900 | xatóssa-xága-útamsa | |
| 1000 | xa-útamsa | Ха-утамса |