Is Mator Closer to Nenets or to Kamas?

Abstract

Introduction. A most challenging question in Samoyedic classifications is the position of Mator. Traditionally, it has been grouped with Kamas. However, in recent years, some scholars have argued that it is most closely related to Tundra Nenets, while others consider Mator to be an earliest branch to have separated from Proto-Samoyedic. Goals. The article attempts an analysis into the relationship of Mator to Kamas and Nenets from the perspectives of glottochronology, phonetic correspondences, and morphological similarities. Materials and methods. The LingvoDoc platform contains dictionaries of 16 Samoyedic languages and dialects, as well as 3 morphological dictionaries for Mator, Kamas, and Tundra Nenets. The dictionaries have been processed by original LingvoDoc-based programs designed to assess linguistic proximities based on glottochronology, phonetics, and morphology. Results. The glottochronological insights tend to confirm the traditional classification: Mator and Kamas do prove to share most of their basic vocabularies (76 %), while coomon basic lexems between Mator and Tundra Nenets are somewhat fewer (from 58 % to 67 % depending on a certain dictionary). However, as for phonetic correspondences, no sound evidence for any long-term existence of a Mator-Kamas branch has been traced. Almost all identified phonetic isoglosses are characteristic for Turkic languages of Siberia as well. In terms of morphology, most shared affixes in Mator, Tundra Nenets and Kamas appear to be essentially archaic. Conclusions. It can be assumed that the phonetic and lexical innovations shared by Mator and Kamas have arisen as a result of language contacts. Genetically, the Mator language exhibits no significant phonetic or morphological innovations shared with other Samoyedic languages.