蒙古语族
Regarding the precise time period when Proto-Mongolic was spoken, Janhunen writes: "The absolute dating of Proto-Mongolic depends on when, exactly, the linguistic unity of its speakers ended", meaning Proto-Mongolic evolved into other Mongolic languages; this event took place "only after the geographical dispersal of the ancient Mongols under Chinggis Khan", which was "not earlier than the thirteenth century." As a result, "[t]his means that the present-day differences between the Mongolic languages are likely to be the result of less than 800 years of divergent evolution."