The Samoyed languages and the prehistory of Western Siberia (notes on the dissertation of A. Y. Urmanchieva)

Abstract

The author examines the problems of the ancient ethnic history of Western Siberia, focusing on the history of internal and external relations of Samoyed languages considered in the dissertation “Reconstruction of the linguistic landscape of Western Siberia (based on the materials of Samoyed languages)” recently defended by A. Y. Urmanchieva. The study of the languages and prehistory of Western Siberia requires a new generalization of the materials accumulated over the last 20–30 years and therefore the dissertation looks timely. The linguistic argumentation and conclusions of the dissertation are very thorough, as a rule acceptable, and can provide a basis for such a generalization. However, numerous etymologies proposed in the dissertation should be critically assessed, with corrections, new interpretations, and approaches to be offered. In particular, more attention should be paid to the external relations of Samoyed languages with Ugrian and Yenisei languages. The prehistorical interpretation of linguistic data in the dissertation seems questionable, raising concerns about the actual meaning of the Stammbaum scheme, the need to take into account divergent, convergent, and contact language processes, the role of groups without living daughter languages in prehistory, the importance of geographical and typological coverage, and the inclusion of data from early written sources, archaeology, and other disciplines for better understanding ancient ethno-linguistic processes.