Article

Name: Typological similarity of the Altaic languages on the basis of the bilabial consonant distribution in their sound chains

Authors: Juri A. Tambovtsev

Novosibirsk State Pedagogical University, Novosibirsk, Russian Federation

In the section Linguistics

Abstract: The article considers the Altaic taxon from the point of view of phono-statistics. It analyses if it is natural to unite Turkic, Mongolic and Manchu-Tungussic languages into one taxon on the basis of the frequency of occurrence of labial consonants with the help of some statistical criteria. In this case the coefficient of variation, chi-square and t-test are applied to consider the Altaic taxon. The statistical application results show that Altaic taxon is not compact enough. The Turkic, Mongolic and Manchu-Tungussic languages comprise three separate groups and should not be united into one taxon.

Keywords: altaic hypothesis, family, language unity, turkic, mongolic, manchu-tungussic, sound chains, typological similarity, language taxa, frequency of occurrence, labial consonants, statistical criteria and coefficients

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