Algonquian–Wakashan languages

Algonquian–Wakashan (also Almosan, Algonkian–Mosan, Algonkin–Wakashan) is a hypothetical language family that would connect together several North American, and possibly Siberian according to an interpretation, established language families.

Algonquian–Wakashan
Almosan
(hypothetical)
Geographic distribution	North America, Sakhalin Island, and Southern Siberia
Linguistic classification	proposed language family
Subdivisions	Algic Sapir, 1929: Kutenai Mosan or Nikolaev, 2015–2016: Nivkh Wakashan
Language codes
Glottolog	None
Not shown: Yurok, Wiyot

The original 1929 proposal, made by Edward Sapir, consists of the following families:

• Algonquian–Wakashan
  • Algic (Algonkin–Ritwan)
    • Algonquian (Algonkin)
    • Beothuk
    • Wiyot–Yurok (Ritwan)
  • Kutenai (also known as Kootenay; a language isolate)
  • Mosan
    • Wakashan
    • Chimakuan
    • Salishan

Kutenai may possibly be distantly related to the Salishan family, but this link has not been demonstrated. The Mosan family proposal is also hypothetical and is currently considered undemonstrated, rather appearing to be a Sprachbund.

A more recent hypotesis, first formulated in 2015 by Sergei Nikolaev, includes

• Algonquian-Wakashan
  • Nivkh-Algic
    • Nivkh
    • Algic
  • Wakashan

Proposed external relationships

Joseph Greenberg renamed Sapir's proposal Almosan and grouped it in an even more inclusive Almosan–Keresiouan phylum with the Caddoan, Iroquoian, Keresan, and Siouan families. This proposal has been rejected by linguists specializing in Native American languages.^[1]

Murray Gell-Mann, Ilia Peiros, and Georgiy Starostin group Chukotko-Kamchatkan and Nivkh with Almosan.^[2]

Sergei Nikolaev in the two papers where he was arguing for a relationship between the Nivkh language, the Algic languages and the Wakashan languages, also proposed a more remote relationship between these three together and the Salishan languages .^[3][4]

See also

• Chukotko-Kamchatkan–Amuric