29 March 2010

Vasco-Caucasian loanwords in Proto-Uralic

There's a number of Proto-Uralic words with Vasco-Caucasian parallels:

*δ'yxmi 'birdcherry' ~ PNC *dʒɦumV 'bush, grass; a k. of fruit'
*joke / *juka 'river'  ~ PNC *jimχχwA 'river'
*lamte 'low, lowland' ~ PNC *lhemdɮɮwɨ 'earth'
*pe(n)tʃa 'pine, conifer' ~ PNC *pintsʼsʼwA 'resin, juice'

I think these loanwords reflect the contact between Vasco-Caucasian-speaking farmers and Proto-Uralic-speaking hunter-gatherers.

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