# Paleo-Siberian languages

The Paleo-Siberian languages are several language isolates and small language families spoken in parts of Siberia. They are not known to have any genetic relationship to each other; their only common link is that they are held to have antedated the more dominant languages, particularly Tungusic and latterly Turkic languages, that have largely displaced them. Even more recently, Turkic (at least in Siberia) and especially Tungusic have been displaced in their turn by Russian.

## Classifications

Four small language families and isolates are usually considered to be Paleo-Siberian languages:
* The Chukotko-Kamchatkan family, sometimes known as Luoravetlan, includes Chukchi and its close relatives, Koryak, Alutor and Kerek. Itelmen, also known as Kamchadal, is also distantly related. Chukchi, Koryak and Alutor are spoken in easternmost Siberia by communities numbering in the thousands (Chukchi) or hundreds (Koryak and Alutor). Kerek is extinct, and Itelmen is now spoken by fewer than 5 people, mostly elderly, on the west coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula.
* Nivkh (Gilyak, Amuric) consists of two or three languages spoken in the lower Amur basin and on the northern half of Sakhalin island. It has a recent modern literature.
* The Yeniseian languages were a small family formerly spoken on the middle Yenisei River and its tributaries, but are now represented only by Ket, spoken in the Turukhansk district of Krasnoyarsk Krai by no more than 200 people.
* Yukaghir is spoken in two mutually unintelligible varieties in the lower Kolyma and Indigirka valleys. Other languages, including Chuvan, spoken further inland and further east, are now extinct. Yukaghir is held by some to be related to the Uralic languages.
On the basis of morphological, typological, and lexical evidence, Michael Fortescue suggests that Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Nivkh (Amuric) are related, forming a larger Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric language family. Fortescue does not consider Yeniseian and Yukaghir to be genetically related to Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric.

## Relationships

The purpose of the existence of Paleo-Siberian itself lies in its practicability and remains a grouping of convenience for a variety of unclassifiable language isolates located in Northeast Eurasia.
Ket, or more precisely the now largely extinct Yeniseian family, has been linked to the Na-Dené languages of North America. Dené–Yeniseian has been called "the first demonstration of a genealogical link between Old World and New World language families that meets the standards of traditional comparative-historical linguistics". Attempts to connect it to Sino-Tibetan, North Caucasian and Burushaski have also been made.
Kim Bang-han proposed that placename glosses in the Samguk sagi reflect the original language of the Korean peninsula and a component in the formation of both Korean and Japanese. It is suggested that this language was related to Nivkh in some form. Juha Janhunen suggests the possibility that similar consonant stop systems in Koreanic and Nivkh may be due to ancient contact. Martine Robbeets suggests that Proto-Korean had a Nivkh substrate influence. Further parallel developments in their sound inventory (Old to Middle Korean and Proto-Nivkh to Nivkh) as well as commonalities in the syntax between Koreanic and Nivkh specifically have been observed. Alexander Vovin, in a criticism of the Altaic language grouping, has suggested that Korean shares similarities with other Pale-Siberian languages in several important respects (i.e. phonotactics, verb incorporation v. compounding, adjectives as verbs and not nominals).
The Ob-Ugric and Samoyedic languages predate the spread of Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic languages, but are part of the well established larger Uralic family, thus not Paleo-Siberian. Yukaghir has often been suggested as a more distant relative of Uralic as part of the Uralic-Yukaghir languages, as well as Eskimo-Aleut as part of the Uralo-Siberian languages. However, these hypotheses are controversial and not universally accepted.

## Vocabulary comparison

Below are selected basic vocabulary items in proto-languages reconstructed for Paleo-Siberian languages and language families. Proto-Eskimo, Proto-Uralic, Proto-Ainu, Ainu, Proto-Korean and Proto-Japanese are also given for comparison.
| gloss | Proto-Yeniseian | Proto-Uralic | Proto-Eskimo | Proto-Yukaghir | Proto-Chukotko-Kamchatkan | Proto-Nivkh | Proto-Korean | Proto-Ainu | Ainu | Proto-Japanese |
| head | *cɨʔɢ-; *kəŕga- | *ojwa | *nay(ə)quʀ | *joː | C *læwət | *d’oŋkr | *matuy | *pa; *sa | pa | *tumu-; *kàsìrà |
| hair | *cəŋe | *apte | *nuyaʀ | *manilə/*monilə | C *kəðwir | *ŋamrki | *kar(ák); tǝrǝk | *numa | | *ká-Ci |
| eye | *de-s | *śilmä | *əðə | *waŋ-/*woŋ-; *jöː- | *ləlæ | *n’(ə)ŋaɣ | *nún | *sik; *nuu | shik | *mà-n |
| ear | *ʔɔqtʌ ~ *ʔɔgde | *peljä | *ciɣun | *unemə | *vilu | *mla; *nor | *kúj | *kisAr | kisar | *mìmì |
| nose | *ʔolk-; *xaŋ | *nere (*nēre) | *qəqaʀ | *jöː- | *qiN(qiN); C *jeqa | *wiɣ | *kóh | *Etu | etu | *páná |
| tooth | | *piŋe | *kəɣun | *toð-; *sal’qəriː | C *wannə | *ŋaɣzər | *ni(s) | *nii; *ima(=)k | nimaki | *pà |
| tongue | *ʔej | *kele (*kēle) | I *uqaq(-) | *wonor | *jilə(jil) ? | *hilɣ | *hyet/*hita | *agu | parumbe | *sìtà |
| mouth | *χowe | *śuwe | *qanəʀ(-) | *aŋa | *rəkərNə(n) | *amɣ | *ip/*kút | *prAA= | par | *kútú-Ci |
| hand | *pʌg- | *käte | *aðɣa(ʀ), *aðɣaɣ | *ńuŋkən/*ńuŋen | *kæɣ(ə) | *damk | *són/tar | *tE(=)k | tek | *tà-Ci |
| foot | *kiʔs; *bul | *jalka | *itəɣaʀ | *noj-; *ar- | *kətka | *ŋazl | *pál | *urE; *kEma; *tikir | ure | *pànkì |
| breast | *təga | *poŋe | *əvyaŋ(ŋ)iʀ | *sis-; *mel- | *loloʀ(ə) | *məc(ɣ) | *cǝc | *tOO[C] | | *ti/*titi |
| meat | *ʔise | *pećä; *siwɜ-ĺɜ | *kəməɣ; *uvinəɣ | *čuː- | C *kinuNi; C *tərɣətər | *dur | *kòkí | *kam | kam | shishi |
| blood | *sur | *wire | *aðuɣ, *kanuɣ | *lep(k)-; *čeːmə | *mullə(mul) | cʰoχ; ŋær̥ | *pVhi | *kEm | kem | *tí |
| bone | *ʔaʔd | *luwe | I *caunəq | *am- | *qətʀəm | ŋɨɲf | *sùpyé | *ponE | pone | *pone |
| person | *keʔt; *pixe | *inše | (*inguɣ; *taʁu 'shamanic') | *köntə; *soromə | *qəlavol ?; *qəlik 'male'; C *ʀoraNvərr(at)əlʀən | *n’iɣvŋ | *sarʌm | *kur | (ainu) | *pítò̱ |
| name | *ʔiɢ | *nime | *atəʀ; *acciʀ- | *ńuː; *kirijə | C *nənnə | *qa(-) | *ìlh(kòt)tá/*na | *dEE | rei | *ná |
| dog | *čip ~ *čib | *pene | *qikmiʀ | *laːmə | *qətʀə(n) | *ɢanŋ | *kahi | *gita | seta | *ìnù |
| fish | | *kala | *iqałuɣ | *an-/*wan-; *anjə ? | *ənnə | *co | *mǝlkòkí | *tiqEp | chep | *(d)íwó |
| louse | *jog- ~ *jok 'nit' | *täje | *kumaɣ | *peme/*pime | *mə(l)məl | *dar, *hirk; *amrak | *ni | *ki | ki | *sìrámí |
| tree | | *puwɜ | *uqviɣ; *napa(ʀ)aqtuʀ | *saː- | *ut(tə) | *d’iɣar | *nàmò̱k(ó) | *nii; *tiku= | ni | *kò̱- < *ko̱no̱r |
| leaf | *jə̄pe | *lešte; *lȣ̈pɜ (*lepɜ) | *pəłu | *pöɣ- | *wətwət | *blaŋ(q), *d’omr | *nip | *hrA= | ham | *pá |
| flower | | *ćȣrɜ (Mansi) | | *polčičə | | ɤŋvk | *kòcʌ́ | *Epuy | epuige | *páná |
| water | *xur | *wete | *imaqtəq- | *law- | *(m)iməl ? | *caʀ | *mǝí | *hdak=ka | wakka | *mí |
| fire | *boʔk | *tule | *ək(ə)nəʀ | *loč- | *jən ?; *milɣə(mil) | *tuɣ(u)r | *pɨr | *apE | abe | *pò-Ci |
| stone | *čɨʔs | *kiwe | *qaluʀ; *uyaʀaɣ | *söj-/*sej- | *ɣəv(ɣəv) | *baʀ | *tərək | *suma; *pOqina | shuma | *(d)ísò |
| earth | *baʔŋ | *maγe | *nuna, *nunałit- | *luk-; *öninč’ə | *nutæ ? 'land' | *miv | *nu(r)i | *tOy | toi | *tùtì 'land' |
| salt | *čəʔ | *salɜ (*sala) | *taʀ(ə)yuʀ | | | *davc(iŋ) | *sokom | *sippO | shippo | |
| road | *qoʔt | *teje | | *čuɣö; *jaw- | *rəʀet; *təlanvə 'way' | *d’iv | *kil | *truu | ru | *mítí < honorific prefix mi- + ti 'road' |
| eat | *siɢ- | *sewe- (*seγe-) | | *leɣ- | *nu- | *n’i- | *mǝk- | *EE | ibe | *kup- |
| die | *qɔ- | *kola- | *tuqu(-) | *am-/*wam- | C *viʀ- | *mu | *cuk- | *day | rai | *sín- |
| I | *ʔadᶻ | *mȣ̈ | *uvaŋa; (*vi) | *mət | *kəm | *n’i | *na/uri | *ku= | kuani | *bàn[u] |
| you | *ʔaw ~ ʔu; *kʌ- ~ *ʔʌk- | *tȣ̈ | *əlpət, *əłvət | *tit | *kəð; *tur(i) | *ci | *ne | *E= | eani | *si/*so̱-; *na |
Notes: C = Proto-Chukotian; I = Proto-Inuit