Uralic language family. Ural Historical Encyclopedia - Ural language family. Population structure of Uralic-speaking populations

The total number of languages ​​in the world is estimated at about 5 thousand (it is impossible to establish the exact figure due to the conventionality of the difference between different languages ​​and dialects of one language). In the overwhelming majority of cases, the names of the people and language coincide.

The linguistic classification of peoples differs significantly from the national one, since the distribution of languages ​​does not coincide with ethnic boundaries. For example, in the former colonies of Spain, Great Britain, France in Africa, Asia, Latin America, they speak the languages ​​of the metropolitan countries.

There are, however, cases where several peoples speak the same language. So, English (with slight local differences) is spoken by the British, US Americans, Australians, New Zealanders, Anglo-Canadians and some others. Spanish is native not only for Spaniards, but also for most of the peoples of Latin America. German is spoken by Germans, Austrians and Swiss Germans. Usually, each nation speaks the same language (sometimes dialect differences are so great that communication between separate groups of people without knowledge of the generally accepted literary language is impossible).

Increasingly, however, cases of bilingualism are spreading, when dep. Parts of a people or even entire peoples use two languages ​​in everyday life. Bilingualism is a fairly common occurrence in multinationals. countries where national minorities, in addition to their native language, usually also use the language of the most numerous or dominant nation. Bilingualism is also characteristic of the countries of mass settlement of immigrants. The number of speakers of individual languages ​​does not always coincide with the number of peoples for whom these languages ​​are native. This is especially true for the languages ​​of large nations that serve as languages ​​of interethnic communication.

language family- the largest unit of classification of peoples (ethnic groups) on the basis of their linguistic kinship - the common origin of their languages ​​​​from the alleged base language. Language families are divided into language groups (Tables 8-9).

The largest in number is the Indo-European language family, which includes language groups:

Romanesque: French, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Moldavians, Romanians, etc.;

Germanic: Germans, British, Scandinavians, etc.;

Slavic: Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, etc.

The second largest is the Sino-Tibetan language family, with the largest Chinese language group.

The Altaic language family includes a large Turkic language group: Turks, Azerbaijanis, Tatars, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Uzbeks, Kirghiz, Yakuts, etc.

The Uralic language family includes the Finno-Ugric group: Finns, Estonians, Hungarians, Komi, etc.

The Semitic group belongs to the Semitic-Hamitic language family: Arabs, Jews, Ethiopians, etc.

The Belarusian language belongs to the Slavic group of the Indo-European language family.

Table 12– Largest language families

	Number of living languages		Number of media		Main countries of use
		Share of the total number of languages, %	Number, million	Share of population, %
Altai					Azerbaijan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Iran, China, Russia, Mongolia, Turkey
Afro-Asian					Algeria, Afghanistan, Egypt, Israel, Somalia, UAE, Chad
Austronesian					Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaysia, New Zealand, Samoa, USA
Dravidian					India, Nepal, Pakistan
Indo-European					Austria, Armenia, Belgium, Belarus, Great Britain, Venezuela, Germany, India, Peru, Russia, USA, Ukraine, France, South Africa
Niger-Congolese
Sino-Tibetan					Bangladesh, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia
Non-Austronesian languages ​​of New Guinea					Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea

Table 13– Division into language families and groups

		Subgroup
Indo-European	Slavic	East Slavic	Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians
		West Slavic	Poles, Lusatians, Czechs, Slovaks
		South Slavic	Slovenes, Croats, Muslim Slavs (Bosniaks), Serbs, Montenegrins, Macedonians, Bulgarians
	Baltic		Lithuanians, Latvians
	german		Germans, Austrians, Swiss Germans, Liechtensteiners, Alsatians, Luxembourgers, Flemings, Dutch, Frisians, Afrikaners, Jews of Europe and America, English, Scots, Jutlando-Irlappers, Anglo-Africans, Anglo-Australians, Anglo-New Zealanders, Anglo-Canadians, US Americans, Bahamians, Saints, Jamaicans, Grenadians, Barbadians, Trinidadians, Belizeans, Guyanese Creoles, Surinamese Creoles, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Faroese, Danes.
	Celtic		Irish, Gaelic, Welsh, Breton
	Romanskaya		Italians, Sardinians, Sanmarines, Italo-Swedes, Corsicans, Romansh, French, Monegasques (Monacans), Normans, Franco-Swiss, Walloons, French Canadians, Guadalupes, Martiniques, Guyanese, Haitians, Reunion Creoles, Mauritian-Creoles, Seychellois, Spaniards, Gibraltarians , Cubans, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Hondurans, Salvadorans, Nicaraguans, Costa Ricans, Panamanians, Venezuelans, Colombians, Ecuadorians, Peruvians, Bolivians, Chileans, Argentines, Paraguayans, Uruguayans, Catalans, Andorrans, Portuguese, Anti-Brazilians , Romanians, Moldavians, Aromanians, Istro-Romanians.
	Albanian
	Greek		Greeks, Greek Cypriots, Karakachans
	Armenian
	Iranian		Talysh, Gilyans, Mazendarans, Kurds, Balochs, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Persians, Tats, Khazars, Charaimaks, Tajiks, Pamir peoples, Pashtuns (Afghans), Ossetians.
	Nuristan		Nuristani
	Indo-Aryan		Bengalis, Assamese, Oriya, Biharis, Tharu, Hindustanis, Rajasthani, Gujaratis, Parsis, Bhils, Marathas, Konkanis, Punjabis, Dogras, Sindhis, Western Paharis, Kumaoni, Garkhwali, Gujars, Nepalis, Kashmiris, Sheena, Kohistani, Kho, Pashais , Thirahs, Indo-Mauritians, Indo-Pakistani Surinamese, Indopakistani Trinidadians, Fijian Indians, Gypsies, Sinhalese, Veddas, Maldivians.
Ural-Yukaghir family	Finno-Ugric		Finns, Karelians, Vepsians, Izhors, Estonians, Livs, Sami, Mari, Mordovians, Udmurts, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Hungarians, Khanty, Mansi
	samoyed		Nenets, Enets, Nganasans, Selkups
	Yukagir
Altai	Turkic		Turks, Turkish Cypriots, Gagauz, Azerbaijanis, Karadags, Shahsevens, Karapapahis, Afshars, Qajars, Qashqais, Khorasan Turks, Khalajs, Turkmens, Salars, Tatars, Crimean Tatars, Karaites, Bashkirs, Karachays, Balkars, Kumyks, Nogais, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks , Kyrgyz, Uzbeks, Uighurs, Altaians, Shors, Khakasses, Tuvans, Tofalars, Uriankhais, Yugu, Dolgan Yakuts
	Mongolian		Khalkha Mongols, PRC Mongols, Oirats, Darhats, Kalmyks, Buryats, Daurs, Tu (Mongors), Dongxiang, Baoan, Mughals
	Tungus-Manchu		Evenks, Negidals, Evens, Orochs, Udeges, Nanais, Ulchis, Oroks
Kartvelian
Dravidian			Tamil, Irula, Malayali, Erawa, Erukala, Kaykadi, Kannara, Badaga, Kurumba, Toda, Kodagu, Tulu, Telugu
	Central		Kolami, parji, gadaba, gond, khond (kui, kuvi), konda
	northeastern		Oraon (kuruh), malto
	Northwestern
Korean
Japanese
Eskimo-Aleutian			Eskimos (including Greenlanders), Aleuts
Sino-Tibetan	Chinese		Chinese, Hui (Dungan), Bai
	Tibeto-Burmese		Tibetans, Bhotia, Sherpa, Bhutanese, La Dakhi, Balti, Magar, Qiang, Myanmar (Burmese), Izu, Tuja, Naxi, Hani, Lisu, Lahu, Chin, Kuki, Mizo (Lush), Manipur (Meithei), Naga , mikir, karens, kaya
	Kachinskaya		Kachin (jingpo), sak, etc.
	Bodo-garo		Garo, bodo, tripura
			Digaro, midu
			Adi (abor), Miri
	East Himalayan		Rai (Kirati), Limbu
			Gurung, tamang (murumi), limbu
Afroasian (Semitic-Hamitic)	Semitsk		Arabs of Southwest Asia and North Africa, Maltese, Jews of Israel, Assyrians, Amhara, Argobba, Harari, Gurage, Tigray, Tigre
	Berber		Kabils, Shauya, Reefs, Tamazight, Shilh (Shleh), Tuareg
			Hausa, angas, sura, ankwe, bade, boleva, bura, mandara (vandala), kotoko, masa, mubi
	Cushitic		Beja, agau, afar (danakil), saho, oromo (galla), somali, konso, sidamo, ometo, kaffa, gimira, maji
Niger-Kordofanian (Congo-Kardafanian)			Malinke, Bambara, Gyula, Soninke, Susu, Mende, Kpel-le, Dan
	niger-congo	West Atlantic	Fulbe, Tukuler, Wolof, Serer, Diola, Bolante, Temne, Kisei, Limba
		Central Niger-Congo	Gur: mine, gourma, somba, bobo, pears, tem, cabre, loby, bariba, kulango, senufo, dogon, etc. Kru peoples: kru, here, grebo, bahwe, bete, etc. Western peoples: akan, anyi, Baule, Guang, Ga, Adangme, Ewe, Fon, etc. Eastern peoples: Yoruba, Gegala, Nule, Gwari, Igbira, Idamo, Bini, Igbo, Jukun, Ibibio, Kambari, Katab, Tiv, Ekoi, Bamileke, Tikar, Duala , fang, makaa, teke, bobangi, ngombe, bua, mongo, tetela, konzo, rwanda (nyaruanada), rundi, ha, nyoro, nyankole, kiga, ganda, soga, haya, ziba, luhya, gishu, geese, kikuyu, meru, kamba, chaga, mijikenda, fipa, nyamwesi, gogo, shamballa, zaramo, swahili, comoros, hehe, bena, kinga, congo, ambundu, chokwe, liona, luba, lunda, conde, tonga, matengo, bemba, malavi, Yao, Makonde, Makua, Lomwe, Ovim-Bundu, Ovambo, Shona, Venda, Tswana, Pedi, Suto, Lozi, Xhosa, Zulu, Swazi, Ndebele, Matebele, Ngoni, Tsonga (Shangaan), Santomy, Pygmies, etc. Adamua - Ubangi peoples: Chamba, Mumuye, Mbum, Gbaya, Ngbandi, Mundu, Sere, Banda, Za Nde (Azande), Mba, Binga Pygmies
	Kordofanskaya		Ebang, tegali, talodi, katla, kadugli
Nilo-Saharan	East Sudanese		Nubians, Highland Nubians, Murle, Tama, Daju, Dinka, Kumam, Nuer, Shilluk, Acholi, Lango, Alur, Luo (Joluo), Kalenjin, Bari, Lotuko, Maasai, Teso, Turkana, Karamojong
	Central Sudanese		Kresh, Bongo, Sarah, Bagirmi, Moru, Mangbetu, Efe Pygmies and Asua
	Saharan		Kanuri, tubu, zagawa
			Songhai, shit, dandy
			Coma, running
Khoisan	South African Khoisan		Hottentots, Mountain Damara, Kung Bushmen, Kham Bushmen
North Caucasian	Abkhaz-Adyghe		Abkhazians, Abazins, Adyghes, Kabardians, Circassians
	Nakh-Dagestan		Avars (including Ando-Tsezes), Laks, Dargins, Lezgins, Udins, Aguls, Rutuls, Tsakhurs, Tabasarans, Chechens, Ingush
	Western Himalayan		kanauri, lahuli
Austroasiatic	Mon-Khmer		Viet (throw), muong, tho, khmer, sui, sedang, kui, khre (tamre), bahnar, mnong, stieng, koho (cf), moi, wa, palaung (benlun), puteng, bulan, lamet, khmu. Ashley group. Peoples: Senoi, Semangs
	Nicobar		Nicobars
			Santals, munda, ho, bhumij, kurku, kharia
			Miao, she, yao
			Siamese (Khontai), Fuan, Li (Lu), Shan, Danu, Khun, Dai, Lao (Laotian), Thai, Phutai, Tai, Nung, Santai, Zhuang
	Kamsuyskaya		Dong (kam), shui (sui)
			Gelao (galo), mulao (mulem), maonan
Austronesian	West Austronesian		Cham (Tyam), Raglai, Ede (Rade), Zarai, Indonesian Malays, Malaysian Malays, Malays, Minangkabau, Kerinchi, Rejang, Middle Sumatran Malays (Pasemah, Seravei), Lembak, Banjars, Iban, Kedayan, Kubu, Aceh, Madurese, Gayo, Batak, Alas, Simalurians, Nias, Abung (Lampungians), Sunds, Javanese, Tengger, Balinese, Sasak, Sumbavians, Barito-Dayaks (Maanyan, etc.), Ngaju, Otdanum, Sushi Dayaks (Clementan), Murut, Kadazan (Dusun), Kelabit, Melanau, Kayan, Punan, Kenyah, Bajao (Oranglaut), Bugis (Boogie), Makassar, Mandar, Butung, Toraja, Tomini, Mori, Lalaki, Bunglu, Loinang, Banggay, Gorontalo, Bolaang-Mongondow, Minahasa, Sangirese, Malagasy, Talaudian, Tagaly, Kapam-Pagan, Sambal, Pangasinan, Iloki, Ibanang, Bikol, Bisaya (Visaya), Tausoug, Mara-Nao, Maguindanao, Yakan, Samal, Inibaloi, Kankanai, Bontok, Ifugao, Itneg , Kalinga, Itavi, Palavegno, Davavegno, Tagakaulu, Subanon, Bukidnon, Manobo, Thirurai, Tboli, Blaan, Bogobo, Aeta, Chamorro, Belau, Yap
	Central Austronesian		Bima, Sumbans, Manggarai, Ende, Lio, Khavu, Sikka, Lamaholot, Rotians, Ema (Kemak), Atoni, Tetum, Mambai, Kei people
	East Austronesian		Melanesian peoples: South Halmaherans, Biaknumforians, Takia, Adzera, Motu, Sinagoro, Keapara, Kilivila and other Melanesians of Papua New Guinea, Areare and other Melanesians of the Solomon Islands, Erats and other Melanesians of Vanuatu, Kanaks (Melanesians of New Caledonia), Fijians, Rotuma. Micronesian peoples: Truk, Pokhipei, Kosrae, Kiribati, Nauru, etc. Polynesian peoples: Tonga, Niue, Tuvalu, Futuna, Uvea, Samoa, Tokelau, Pukapuka, Rarotonga, Tahitians, Tubuai, Paumotu (Tuamotu), Marquesans, Mangareva, Maori, Hawaiians, Rapanui, etc.
Andaman
Trans-New Guinean			Enga, Khuli, Angal, Keva, Hagen, Wahgi, Chimbu, Kamano, Dani, Ekachi, Yagalik, Asmat, Kapau, Bunak
Sepik frame			Abelam, boyikin
Torricelli			Olo, arapesh
West Papuan			Ternatians, Tidorians, Galelas, Tobelos
East Papuan			Nation, buin
North American	Continental na-den		Athabaskans, Apaches, Navajos
	Almosan Quereciu		Algonquians (including Cree, Montagne, Nasca Pi, Ojibwe, etc.), Wakash, Salish, Keres, Dakota (Sioux), Caddo, Iroquois, Cherokee
			Tsimshian, Sahaptin, California Penuti, Muscogee, Totonaki, Miche, Huastec, Chol, Choctaw, Tzotzil, Canhobal, Mam, Maya, Quiche, Kakchi-Kel, etc. Hawk group. Peoples: Tequizlatec, Tlapanec
Central American	Uto-Aztec		Shoshone, Papago-Pima, Tepehuan, Yaqui, Mayo, Tarahumara, Nahuatl (Aztec), Pipil
			Teva, Kiowa
	Oto manga		Otomi, Masawa, Mazatec, Mixtec, Zapotec
			Mapuche (Araucans), Puelche, Tehuelche, Selknam (She), Kawaskar (Alakaluf), Yamana
Equatorial Tucanoan	macro tucano		Tukano, maku, katukina, nambiquara
	equatorial		Arawaki, Guaivo, Jivaro, Tupi (including Guarani), Samuko
chibcha paez			Tarasca, Lenca, Miskito, Guaimi, Kuna, Yanomam, etc. Paes group. Peoples: Embera, Warao
Zepano-Caribbean	caribbean		caribbean, uitoto
			Pano, matako, toba, same, kaingang, botokudo, bororo
Australian			Mabunag, dhuwal, jangu, gugu-yimidhirr, aranda, alya varra, varl-g piri, pintupi, pitjantjajara, ngaanyatjara, valmajari, nyangumarda, images- with barndi, murrinh-patha, tiwi, gunvingu, enindhilyagwa
Chukchi-Kamchatka			Chukchi, Koryaks, Itelmens

In addition to the listed languages ​​of the peoples of the world that are members of certain language families and groups, there are a number of languages ​​that are not assigned to any families. These include Basque, Burishk, Ket, Nivkh, Ainu and some other languages.

Classification of the Uralic languages ​​The Uralic languages ​​are a language family that includes two branches - Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic.
■
Finno-Ugric languages ​​are divided into the following
groups:
Baltic-Finnish - Finnish, Izhorian,
Karelian and Vepsian languages, which make up the northern
group; Estonian, Votic, Liv languages, forming
southern group;
widespread in the area around the Baltic
seas.
Volga - Mordovian languages ​​(Moksha, Erzya
with the Shoksha dialect), also the Mari language with
meadow, eastern, northwestern and mountainous
adverbs;
Perm - Udmurt, Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Perm and Komi-Yazva languages;
Ugric - Khanty and Mansi, as well as
Hungarian languages;
Sami is a group of languages ​​spoken by the Sami.
■ Samoyedic languages ​​are traditionally divided
into 2 groups:
northern - Nenets, Nganasan,
Enets languages;
southern - Selkup, and extinct
Kamasinsky, Matorsky, Soyotsky,
Taigi, Karagas, Koibal
languages.

language card

TYPOLOGY OF LANGUAGES
Typologically, the Uralic languages ​​are heterogeneous. Possibly Ural.
the proto-language was more homogeneous in this respect. Great typological
diversity is explained by the dispersion of the Uralic languages ​​over a large area,
their long isolation and partly the influence of the languages ​​of other peoples. Permian, Obsko-Ugric, and the languages ​​of the Volga group are agglutinative languages, in
Baltic-Finnish, Samoyedic and especially in the Sami there are noticeable
flexion elements.

The prevalence of languages ​​of the Uralic family:
(according to the 2010 census)
1) There are about 23 million speakers in the group of Finno-Ugric languages:
Hungarian - about 14 million people
Finnish - about 5 million people
Estonian - about 1.1 million people
many Finno-Ugric languages ​​are the languages ​​of national minorities and
are on the verge of extinction. Such languages ​​include, for example,
Izhorian language, which in our time is spoken by only 123 people.
2) There are about 25 thousand speakers in the group of Samoyedic languages:
Nenets (language of the Nenets) - about 22,000 speakers
Selkup (Selkup language) - 1023 speakers
Enets (Enets language) - 43 speakers
and there are also a number of extinct languages ​​​​(Matorsky, Taigi, etc.)

As they say…

Perm phrasebook:
Edrishki-bumps! Yok-makarek! Yoshkin light! - Ouch,
well, how so! well, what an attack!
Don't drizzle! - Don `t cry! Leave me alone!
Basco! Zybansko! - Great!
Yukagir:
Nyumudielme - during the installation of the plague after
migrations
Hodeichendeҥ - with laziness, without mood, sadly
endu nyilayaat - one by one, one by one
Nyorhochendeҥ - shriveled
What are you doing over me? - Why do you need
are you kidding me?
He's so bass! - He's cute, he's me
Like.
He's a total jerk. - He is a poor man.
She is generally Yegarma. - She has a very difficult
character.
Today I am like a zimogor. - I am too
dressed warmly.
Hungarian:
Hello - üdvözlöm (from one person) - we will take you
goodbye – Viszontlátásra - Viszontlátaasra
I speak Russian - Beszélek oroszul - Besiilek
orosul

The Saami languages ​​are a group of related languages ​​spoken by the Saami (the obsolete name is
Lapps) in the north of the Scandinavian Peninsula, in Finland and on the Kola Peninsula in Russia.
They are part of the Finno-Volga group of the Finno-Ugric branch of the Uralic language family. Total number
carriers - about 25 thousand people with an estimate of the Sami population within 80 thousand.

Sami writing
languages ​​in Russia
based on Cyrillic,
in other countries -
Latin. Author
first Sami
of the alphabet was Jaakko
(Jacob) Felman (1795-
1875), Finnish
priest and naturalist,
Saami collector
folklore.
The first alphabet was
developed in 1933 on
basis of Latin. AT
1936 transferred to
Russian graphic
basis. Modern
alphabet approved in
1892.

Speakers of different Sámi languages ​​do not always understand each other
6 out of 10 Sámi languages ​​today have their own script
Of the approximately 70,000-100,000 Sami, less than 20,000 speak Sami
languages.
Nowadays, in some regions of Northern Norway, children are growing up completely bilingual.
with Sami and Norwegian languages ​​(revitalization in progress)
Writing for foreign Saami based on the Latin alphabet was created in the 17th century in
Sweden
In the 1880s-1890s, books for the Kola Saami were published on a Cyrillic basis.
787 Saami out of 1991 living in Russia speak the Saami language

SAMI FOLKLORE
Saami folklore concentrates elements of history, economic concepts,
religious and ritual traditions, legal and moral norms and various forms
public entertainment.
The main types of folklore phenomena among the Saami of Russia should be considered:
epic, songs, ritual folklore. But since ritual folklore is almost equally
manifests itself both in the epic and in the song form, then the imposition of folklore genres can
be exhausted by two kinds: fairy tales and songs.
According to the content, Sami fairy tales can be classified
into the following sections:
1) heroic tales (bogatyr epic);
2) legends and mythological tales;
3) fairy tales and everyday stories (byvalshchina);
4) Russian fairy tales (of different content)

The main national symbols of the Sami - the flag
and an anthem. The national flag of the Sami was
approved in 1986 at the Conference
Northern Saami.
National anthem
Saami - laid on
music poem
Norwegian school
teacher and political
activist Isak Saba.

HYMN OF THE SAAM. 1 STROPE
Guhkkin davvin Davggaid
vuolde
sabma suolgaid
Samieatnan.
Duottar leabba duoddar
duohkin,
javri seabbá javrri lahka.
Čohkat čilggiin, čorut
cearuin
allanaddet almmi vuostai.
Šávvet jogat, šuvvet
vuovddit,
cahket ceakko
stallenjarggat
maraideaddji mearaide.
Under the Bear
Big
the edge is blue in the distance
Saami,
the mountain goes behind the mountain,
water flickers after water,
peaks and ridges
hills
aiming for the sky,
forests rustle, flow there
rivers,
steel capes
reach
exhilarating spaces
seas.

Caucasian languages

Caucasian languages ​​- the conventional name for the languages ​​​​of the Caucasus, which are not included in any of the known language families distributed outside the Caucasus (Indo-European, Altaic or Semitic).

Within the Caucasian languages, three groups are generally recognized:

Abkhaz-Adyghe(northwest); Nakh-Dagestan(northeast); Kartvelian(southern). Until recently, the view was widespread (especially in Soviet linguistics) about the relationship of all three groups and the existence of the so-called. Ibero-Caucasian family. However, the proximity of all three groups is explained more by typological proximity and the possible existence of a Caucasian language union, and not by genetic relationship. Another, more common view - about the relationship of the Abkhaz-Adyghe and Nakh-Dagestan languages ​​and the existence of the North Caucasian family - has recently been supported by the release of the North Caucasian etymological dictionary. However, many foreign Caucasian scholars are skeptical about this work, and the point of view about the existence of three independent Caucasian families remains the most generally accepted. In modern comparative studies, the North Caucasian family is included in the Sino-Caucasian macrofamily, and the Kartvelian family is included in the Nostratic macrofamily.

The Uralic family of languages ​​includes two branches - Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic. The kinship of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed languages ​​was proved by E. N. Setialya. A conclusion was made about the existence in the past of the Uralic language-base and the origin of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic languages ​​from it.

Most Uralists assume that the Uralic base language was spoken in a vast and sparsely populated region, generally falling within the vicinity of the Southern Urals. Of the modern Uralic languages, only about 150 common root morphemes dating back to the base language are restored with a sufficient degree of reliability. The collapse of the Uralic linguistic unity, apparently, occurred no later than 6 thousand years ago.

The Uralic languages ​​are spread over a large territory, but the modern distribution areas of the Uralic languages ​​do not form a single continuous space. There are three Finno-Ugric states - Finland, Hungary and Estonia. The rest of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples live in Russia. There are separate settlements of the Finno-Ugric peoples in Siberia, on the lower Volga and in the Caucasus. In the past, the distribution area of ​​the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples was even more extensive, as evidenced by toponymy and hydronymy.

Finno-Ugric languages are divided into the following groups:

Baltic-Finnish (northern)- Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian and Vepsian languages;

southern– Estonian, Votic, Liv languages;

Volga- Mordovian languages ​​(Moksha and Erzya), also the Mari language with meadow, eastern, northwestern and mountain dialects;

Permian- Udmurt, Komi-Zyryan, Komi-Permyak and Komi-Yazva languages;

Ugric- Khanty, Mansi, Hungarian languages.

Samoyedic languages traditionally divided into 2 groups: northern (Nenets, Nganasan, Enets languages) and southern (Selkup, and extinct Kamasin, Mator, Soyot, Taigi, Karagas, Koibal languages).

URAL LANGUAGES, macrofamily of Eurasian languages, which includes languages ​​belonging to two language families: Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic. The total number of Uralic speakers is approx. 25 mln. a strip stretching from Scandinavia in the west to the Taimyr Peninsula in the east. To the south of the outlined territory and in isolation from it - in the Carpathian region - live the Hungarians, whose language is also included in the Ural macrofamily; a certain number of emigrants from Hungary, who to one degree or another retain their language, are also found in America, Africa, Asia and Australia.

The question of the ancestral home of the Urals, localized in the period from the 5th to the 3rd (or in the 6th-4th) millennium BC. in the northern part of Western Siberia, in the area between the lower Ob and the Ural Mountains, is controversial. The hypothetical commonality of the Uralic base language (more precisely, the continuity of contact between various proto-Uralic dialects) ceased, apparently, as a result of the resettlement of the ancestors of the Samoyeds in the Sayan Mountains during this period, from where a new stage of their settlement to the north and then to the west began. , like the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric peoples.

In the existing classifications of modern Finno-Ugric languages, the following branches are distinguished:

1) Baltic-Finnish (it includes Finnish, Karelian, Estonian and languages ​​​​of small peoples - Veps, Vod, Izhora, Liv);

2) Finno-Volga, which includes the Mordovian (Moksha and Erzya) languages ​​and the Mari language, which exists in two versions, which in recent times are often considered two separate languages;

3) Permian (Udmurt, Komi-Zyryan and Komi-Permyak languages);

4) Ugric (it includes the Hungarian language and the Khanty and Mansi languages ​​\u200b\u200bunited under the name Ob-Ugric).

In addition, the Saami languages ​​occupy a special position in the Finno-Ugric family. Dead hypothetical languages ​​include the Meri, Murom and Meshcher languages.

Samoyedic languages ​​are usually divided into northern (Nenets, Enets, Nganasan) and southern (Selkup) branches. The dead Sayan-Samoyedic languages, which disappeared due to the transition of their speakers to the Turkic languages ​​or to the Russian language, include Mator-Taigian-Karagas, Kamasin and Koibal.

There is another classification according to which, within the Finno-Ugric languages, the Ugric branch is opposed to all other languages ​​(including the Sami) that are combined into the Finno-Permian branch, while the Uralic languages ​​as a whole are divided not into two families, but into three equal branches - Ugric , Finno-Perm and Samoyed.

The most ancient monuments of the Uralic languages ​​are written monuments of the Hungarian language (handwritten text Funeral speech and prayer end of the 12th century), a brief Novgorod birch bark in Karelian (spell from lightning, early 13th century), texts in the Komi language (14th century), recorded in the Old Permian alphabet of Stephen of Perm, and Finnish and Estonian monuments of the 16th century. Among the rest of the Finno-Ugric peoples, the earliest monuments of writing appear only at the end of the 17th century. or early 18th century. Among the Uralic languages ​​there are also early-written languages, for which writing was developed only in the 20th century; there are also languages ​​that have lost their written language (Izhora) or have never had it and are still unwritten (Vodian). For the Enets and Nganasan languages, draft alphabets are being developed, which are not approved, but are used in some schools and in the publication of folklore materials.

The Uralic languages ​​have both common and specific features at all linguistic levels; The specificity of individual languages ​​can be explained by their fragmentation and the abundance of contacts with the languages ​​of other families. All Uralic languages ​​are agglutinative, but in most of them, especially in the Baltic-Finnish, Samoyedic and Sami languages, there are also elements of an inflectional system (ambiguity of suffixes, fusion at the junctions of morphemes). Absolutely in all languages ​​there is no category of gender.

Phonological systems are very diverse in the field of vocalism: in some languages ​​(Baltic, with the exception of some dialects of the Vepsian language, Sami, Samoyedic, Ugric, with the exception of Khanty), there is an opposition of long and short vowels, in others it is not. Contrasting vowels of full formation with reduced vowels is typical for the Mari, Moksha, Mansi, Samoyedic languages. In many Baltic-Finnish languages, as well as in Sami, Udmurt, Nganasan, there are diphthongs and even triphthongs (Liv, Karelian, Sami) that are absent in the rest. Synharmonism (vowel harmony) is presented in many languages ​​inconsistently, in some it has disappeared completely (Perm languages) or exists in the form of relics (Mansi language, etc.). In most languages ​​with long vowels and diphthongs, vocalism prevails over consonantism, for example, in Liv or Selkup, where there are 25 vowels and only 16 consonants. In consonantal systems, the number of consonants ranges from 13 or 18, as in Finnish or Mansi, to 33 or more, as in Moksha, Sami, etc. As a rule, there cannot be a consonant cluster at the beginning and end of a word, which, however, found in Mordovian languages; primordially Mari, Nenets, Selkup words cannot begin with voiced noisy (except for labials). Stress in all languages ​​(except Erzya, where it is phrasal) is verbal, dynamic, sometimes complex, as in Moksha, Mari (longitudinal-dynamic), Liv and Estonian (longitudinal-tonal). In most languages, the stress falls on the first syllable. In Udmurt it falls on the last syllable, in Mountain Mari - on the second syllable from the end; various non-fixed and semantic stress is presented in the Permian, Nenets, Selkup, and Mari languages. Thus, the most common features at the level of phonetics are the setting of dynamic stress on the first syllable, the tendency to synharmonism, the absence of a confluence of consonants at the beginning of a word.

In Uralic morphology, the following features are typologically common for most languages: a significant number of cases (sometimes more than 20, with an average of 13), although tripartite systems are also possible (Khanty language); the presence of 2 types of declension - impersonal and personal-possessive (in Nenets there is also a personal-purposeful, otherwise destinative declension, partially represented also in the Enets and Nganasan languages); the category of singular and plural (if there is also a dual in the Samoyedic, Ob-Ugric languages ​​and in some dialects of the Sami languages) with the characteristic use of the singular for paired objects and body parts and the presence of a common meaning for nouns in the singular; the absence of articles, which are available only in Hungarian and poorly developed in the Mansi languages ​​(in Mordovian and some other languages, the verb functions as an article); the widespread use along with cases of postpositions, and in the Baltic-Finnish and Sami languages ​​and prepositions. A feature of nominal inflection is the existence of the category of predicativity in the name (in the Samoyedic and Mordovian languages). The verbal paradigms of the Uralic languages ​​are even more diverse, and it is more difficult to distinguish typologically similar verbal features than in names: voice oppositions are absent in most Uralic languages. There is no unity in the number and semantics of times and moods. All languages ​​have 3 moods (indicative, imperative and subjunctive/conditional, but there can be up to 10 moods). The present tense is usually not marked (the Ob-Ugric languages ​​are an exception) and is also used in the meaning of the future tense. Along with the affirmative, there is a negative conjugation (Baltic-Finnish, Sami, Mari, Perm languages), as well as object and non-objective types of conjugation in Ugric ( cm. OB-UGRIAN LANGUAGES), Mordovian and Samoyedic languages. The arrangement of suffixes in the structure of the word is also different: in the singular in some languages, the case indicator follows the indicator of possessiveness, in others - vice versa, while both in one and the other group in separate cases (most often in the accusative) the order can be other than in other cases of the given language. The plural suffix everywhere goes immediately after the root before the case and possessiveness indicators, the order of which varies from language to language. For example: base + plural. h. + case + possessive. (Baltic-Finnish languages), base + pl. hours + possessive. + case (Hungarian and Mansi, Komi language), and in Komi the usual plural suffix is ​​used, and in the rest - the possessive plural suffix. Prefixes are a rare phenomenon for the Uralic languages, but there are preverbs (Samoyedic, Ugric languages).

There are also many differences in the syntax of different Uralic languages. The order of members in the SOV sentence (“subject - object - predicate”) is considered more typical, although the arrangement of the SVO type (Finnish, Sami, Perm, less often Mordovian and Hungarian) is often dominant. The agreement of the predicate with the subject occurs in number and person, but agreement in meaning is often found when the collective noun in the singular agrees with the verb in the plural form. As a rule, the definition does not agree with the defined, since in many languages ​​adjectives and numerals in the definition function do not change in number and case (the exception is the Baltic-Finnish languages). In all languages, with rare exceptions, the possession of something is expressed according to the model: the verb of being + beings. in genitive or dative + possessive suffix, i.e. literally "I/I have something of mine". There is a so-called izafet construction, in which the expression of possessiveness occurs not in the form of a word denoting the owner, but in the form of a word denoting the object of possession. Non-finite (infinite) verbal forms (infinitive, participles, verbal nouns) can take personal verbal suffixes, possessive and even case, and thus be transformed into finite forms, creating the possibility of forming such polypredicative constructions, which correspond to subordinate clauses in other languages. Uralic languages ​​as a whole are synthetic, but they also contain many elements of analyticism: the presence of a negative conjugation with an auxiliary verb, postpositional constructions, etc.

URAL LANGUAGES - a language family that includes 2 branches: Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic. Finno-Ugric kinship. and Samoyedic languages ​​​​proved by E.N. Setialya. It was concluded that the Urals existed in the past. base language and the origin of the Finno-Ugric from it. and Samoyedic languages.

It is assumed that the Urals. the base language was widespread in the vast and sparsely populated. region, as a whole falling on the vicinity of Yuzh. Ural. In modern U.I. with sufficient degree of reliability are restored only approx. 150 common root morphemes dating back to the host language. The collapse of the Urals. linguistic unity, apparently, occurred no later than 6 thousand years ago.

U.I. common among the population living in separate islands between 54 and 72 degrees north. latitude as a strip stretching from northern Norway in the west to the Taimyr Peninsula in the east; to the south - in the region of the Carpathians, Romania, north. parts of the former Yugoslavia, in Wednesday. Volga region. From the time of. areas of distribution U.ya. do not form a single continuum. space. There are 3 states, the majority of the population of which speaks Finno-Ugric. languages ​​- Finland, Hungary and Estonia, the rest are Finno-Ugric. and Samoyedic languages ​​are represented in the territory of Ross. Fed. In the past, the territory of distribution of U. Ya. was more extensive, as evidenced by hydronymy and toponymy.

The question of the ancestral home of the Urals. peoples, localized in the period from 5 to 3 (or 6-4) thousand BC. to the north. parts of the West. Siberia, in the area between the lower Ob and the Urals. mountains, is debatable. In this territory at that time were favorable. climatic terms. After the collapse of the Urals. linguistic community of the Finno-Ugric peoples moved to W and approx. 3 thousand BC settled in the basin of the Pechora, Kama and in the territories to the west of the Urals. According to P. Haidu, the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples occupied the south. and west. (to the west of the Ural Mountains) part of the territory of the Urals. ancestral home. During this period, the ancestors of the Samoyeds moved to the region of the Sayan Mountains, from where a new stage of their settlement to the north and then to the west began.

Finno-Ugric. languages ​​are divided into the following groups: Baltic-Sko-Finnish - Finnish, Izhorian, Karelian. and Vepsian, which make up the north. group; Estonian, Votic, Liv languages, forming the south. group; Volga - (Mokshan. and Erzya.), also (meadow, east, northwest and mountain dialects); Perm - , (Komi-Zyryan., Komi-Perm. and Komi-Yazvin.); Ugric - Khanty-sky and Mansi (Ob-Ugric) languages, as well as ; Sami - a group of languages ​​spoken by the Sami. It is impossible to determine exactly which group the disappeared tribal languages ​​belonged to. , and .

Samoyedic languages ​​are traditionally divided into 2 groups: northern - Nenets., Nganasan., Enets languages; southern - Selkup and extinct (Sayan-Samoyed) Kamasin, Mator, So-Yot, Taigi, Karagas., Koibal. languages. Some researchers believe that the languages ​​of the south. groups are independent. branches U.I. The existence of extinct languages ​​and peoples is known from the records of the 18th century. and partly early. 19th century The Sayano-Samoyedic languages ​​disappeared due to the transition of their speakers to the Turkic or Russian languages.

Regarding the entry of the Urals. families of languages ​​into larger genetic associations, there are different hypotheses, none of which is recognized by specialists in U. Ya. According to the Nostratic hypothesis (cf. ) Uya, along with other language families and macrofamilies, are part of a larger formation - the Nostratic macrofamily, and there they converge with the Yukaghir languages, forming the Ural-Yukaghir group. In the 19th century and to about ser. 1950s the Ural-Altai hypothesis was popular, uniting the Urals into one macrofamily. and . She was recognized , , , , O. Bötlingk, O. Donner, G. Winkler, , and others. Most modern. linguists it is not supported.

Typologically, U. Ya. heterogeneous. Possibly Ural. the proto-language was more homogeneous. Significant. the typological discrepancy that manifests itself at different levels is explained by the absent-mindedness of U. Ya. over a large area, their duration. isolation and partly the influence of the languages ​​of other peoples. Perm., Obsko-Ugric., Mordovians. and Mari languages ​​are agglutinative. languages, in the Baltic-Finnish, Samoyedic, and especially in the Sami languages, there are noticeable elements of inflections.

Phonological systems U. Ya. also very heterogeneous. In some there is an opposition of long and short vowels, vowels of a complete formation to reduced ones, in others - no. Perm. languages, the number of consonant phonemes reaches 26, while in Finnish there are only 13. In some U.Ya. the stress falls on the first syllable (in the Baltic-Finnish), in others it is different (meadow Mari, Nenets, Komi-Perm), in Udmurt. language, with few exceptions, it falls on the last syllable of a word. There are U.Ya., who have preserved synharmonism (for example, the Finnish language); in others, it has completely disappeared (eg, Permian languages).

In morphology, the common features of U. Ya. can be called significant. the number of cases (although there are 3 cases in the Middle Ob dialect of the Khanty language, while there are more than 20 in Hungarian); lack of grammar categories of gender and article; the use, along with cases, of postpositions; 2 types of declension - impersonal and personal-possessive. Denial in many W.I. expressed in negative forms. verb, however, in Estonian. and eel. languages, this phenomenon has disappeared; All languages ​​have 3 moods (indicative, imperative and conditional). Along with languages ​​that have a trinomial. system of past tenses - simple past, perfect and pluperfect - there are languages ​​and dialects with one past tense. Syntax system of Samoyedic, Ob-Ugrian. (to a certain extent also the Udmurt and Mari languages) resembles the syntax of the Altaic languages, while the syntax of the Baltic-Finnish, Sami and Mords. languages ​​can be called Indo-European syntax. type. Impersonal forms of the verb (participles, gerunds, verbal nouns) make it possible to form polypredicatives. constructions, to-Crym in other languages ​​correspond to the appendage. suggestions. U.I. generally refer to synthetic. languages, but they contain many elements of analyticism.

Throughout its history, U. Ya. were influenced by the languages ​​of other peoples, to-rye left noticeable traces in their vocabulary, and partly in grammar. order. On the territory of Ross. Fed. on W.I. significant influence of Russian. language, often leading to complete assimilation and loss of the native language.

To the most ancient monuments of the letter U.Ya. include: first writing. Hungarian monument. language in Latin, created ca. 1200 (“Tomb Speech and Prayer”, before that the Hungarians used Hungarian runes), 2 short inscriptions in Karelian. language into Novgorod. birch bark letters (dating from the beginning of the 18th century), the first monuments in ancient. Komi language (18th century, written in the alphabet of Stefan of Perm), the most ancient. Finnish and Estonian. monuments date back to the 16th century. Monuments of writing other Finno-Ugric. peoples belong to con. 17 and early 18th century In modern ural. peoples writing developed quite unevenly. Along with languages ​​with longstanding literatures. tradition (Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian), there are languages ​​\u200b\u200bwith poorly developed writing (Nenets, Khanty, Mansi) and non-written or writing to-rykh is being developed (Vod-sky, Veps, etc.).

Lit .: Languages ​​of the peoples of the USSR. T. 3. Finno-Ugric and Samoyed languages. M., 1966; Fundamentals of Finno-Ugric linguistics (issues of the origin and development of the Finno-Ugric languages). M., 1974; Helimsky E. A. The most ancient Hungarian-Samoyed parallels. Linguistic and ethnogenetic interpretation. M., 1982; Haidu P. Ural languages ​​and peoples. M., 1985; Languages ​​of the world: Uralic languages. M., 1993; Language relatives. Budapest, 2000.