"
We have a color for ""Altaic"" just as we have a color for other non-genetic groups such as ""Papuan"" and ""American"" in order to keep the number of colors at a manageable level.  But most linguists have never been convinced of the validity of ""Altaic"" as a genetic group and the majority of linguistics simply view it as a Sprachbund.  I doubt that further research will reveal anything more convincing.  The notion of ""Altaic"" has been around for 60-something (or more) years and has failed to convince the majority of historical linguists in that time.  It's not like we're dealing with unknown languages and simply lack enough data.  ""Altaic"" is likely never to be demonstrated to be a valid genetic grouping.    "