The Uralic-Yukaghiric connection revisited: Sound Correspondences of Geminate Clusters

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses regular correspondences between Uralic geminate items and Yukaghiric with proposed sound change laws and new and some modified older cognate suggestions (twenty-four nouns and eight verbs). Geminate items were found to contain surprisingly stable, relatively unchanging vowels in Yukaghiric in regard to the Proto-Uralic form. The results suggest that degemination – taking place in all cases except in a few forms that can otherwise be explained – was an early process in Yukaghiric and occurred after or while many vowel changes had already taken place in the Yukaghiric vocabulary. The data shows that the relationship between Uralic and Yukaghiric is more extensive than previously believed. Some very early possible sound changes are discussed. Furthermore, a correspondence to Proto-Uralic *-ü- has been found in Late Proto-Yukaghiric *-ö-. Also, it is shown that the early suffixation in Yukaghir to Uralic-like stems has produced several modern words through grammaticalization.