Think pieces:
Estimating the degree of resemblance of assemblages of stone axes/adzes
Alexander Akulov
To estimate the index of resemblance of two collections of stone axes/adzes, it is necessary to compare the following characteristics: 1) the total numbers of items of the compared collections, 2) the distributions of the material of which the items were made, 3) the percentages of items that can be compared, 4) concrete parameters of items selected for comparison: material, the shape of the working edge, width, cross-section and so on. The last point can contain several points if more than one pair of items is compared. Each of these points gives a certain value laying in the diapason from 0 to 1, and then the degree of resemblance of two collections is the arithmetic mean of indexes of resemblance for each point.
Keywords: stone axes; stone adzes; chopping tools comparison; Neolithic chopping tools
On the etymology of the toponym Tiuri/Tiura
Alexander Akulov
In the North-East part of the Karelian Isthmus not far from Priozersk there are ruins of a fortified Novgorodian settlement that existed in the 13th – 15th centuries. The site is known as Tiversk. The place name initially had the form of Tivra/Tiuri. In the Medieval epoch the site was located on an island near rapids. There are several naïve explanations of the etymology of the place name through Finnic languages. Really the toponym has originated from the language of Neolithic inhabitants of Saint Petersburg and the Leningrad region, i.e.: from the language of Paja Ul Deˀŋ. In the word of Tiuri/Tiura can be singled out the component ur that correlates with Proto-Yeniseian *xur1 “water” and with Hattic ur or uri “spring”/“source”. The component ti correlates with Proto-Yeniseian *tiʔŋ “to spin”, “to roll”. Thus, Tivra/Tiuri/Tiur means “rolling water” or “spinning water”. This name very well conveys the features of the place.
Keywords: Leningrad region; Tiversk; Tiuri; Paja Ul Deˀŋ; substrate hydronyms
Substrate lexical items of Sami which correlate with words of Northeast Caucasian languages
Alexander Akulov
In Sami there are 30 words of unknown etymology; they could be borrowed from the language of Paja Ul Deˀŋ. Recently it was shown that Northwest and Northeast Caucasian are related, so the origin of these words of dim etymology can be searched for in Northeast Caucasian languages: Sami abbr’ – “rain” correlates with Chechen ʕowr-as; Sami cigk – “mist” correlates with Ingush deχko “fog”; Sami kuras – “empty” correlates with Proto-North Caucasian: *xāro “hollow”; Sami puaz – “reindeer” correlates with Proto-North Caucasian *wħɨ̄swe – “deer”, Sami murr – “tree” correlates with Proto-Nakh *murq̇a “alder tree”. Now we have a list of 12 words: about 58.3% of the list has Caucasian or Hattic etymology, about 33.3% of this list has Yeniseian etymology, about 8.3% has Yeniseian and Hattic etymology at the same time. The language of Paja Ul Deˀŋ seems to be closer to Caucasian languages and to Hattic rather than to Yeniseian.
Keywords: Ainu-Minoan stock; Paja Ul Deˀŋ; substrate in Sami
Akulov_Northeast_Caucasian_in_Sami
The role of parents in the development of minority languages by children
Rodion Kosorukov
In the process of revitalizing the minority language, activists face many challenges. Most of the developments are aimed at increasing the ease of learning a language, creating entertaining content, developing methods of teaching a language from an early age and creating a language environment. Often experts come to the conclusion that for a successful revival of the language, new young speakers must appear. This task is the cornerstone of the whole issue of the revival of the minority language. Indeed, only in the communication of new native speakers will the language be able to revive and fully function. However, in all discussions, the important question of the role of parents in the acquisition of a minority language by children escapes. In this article, we will try to identify the role of parents in the development of minority language by children and outline the directions for further research.
Keywords: parents’ role; minority languages; language revitalization
A preliminary attempt to reconstruct the lexeme of “man” / “person” of the Ainu-Minoan proto-language
Tresi Nonno
The paper is devoted to a preliminary attempt to reconstruct the Proto-Ainu-Minoan lexeme “man” / “person”. The Ainu-Minoan stock is formed by the following languages and/or language families: Ainu, Great Andamanese, Sino-Tibetan family, Hattic, North Caucasian, and Minoan. And also Yeniseian family belongs to the same stock. Using Sino-Caucasian reconstructions made by the group led by S. A. Starostin: Proto-Yeniseian *keʔt, Proto-North Caucasian *kwV̆nVṭV (*ḳwV̆nVtV), Proto-Sino-Tibetan *wăH, Proto-Sino-Caucasian *[k]wV̆́n[ṭ]V, and also Ainu kur, and Great Andamanese lao it is possible to reconstruct Proto-Ainu-Minoan form *[k]wVd[V]. I suppose that a reconstructed proto-form should not be just mechanical compounding of different local proto-forms.
Keywords: Ainu-Minoan stock; Proto-Ainu-Minoan lexicon; linguistic reconstruction
Cultural Anthropology and Ethnosemiotics 