Languages

LANGUAGES. The lan guages consist of two groups. The first is the Uralian group (Fin no-Ugrian languages [q.v.], and the Samoyedic languages), spoken round the Ural mountains; and the second, the Altaic (Turkish [q.v.], Mongolian [q.v.], and Tungus tongues) in derivation from the mountain range of that name.

The Phonetic System.

Almost without exception the Ural Altaic languages recognize a law of vocalic harmony. Exceptions exist but are explained consistently with the general principle : that in any single word only vowels of the same "timbre" may appear; thus, if the radical vowel of a word be o or u, the vowels in the other syllables must be o, 22 or a. In other words, vowels in the same word must harmonize in method of articulation. On the other hand, if the root-vowel is a or i, the vowels of other syllables of the same word must be pre-palatals or anterior-vowels (i.e., articulated in the forepart of the mouth like e and i).

We have thus in Finnish the word kesi "hand," kivi, "stone," metsii, "forest," opposed to kala, "fish," sulka, "feathers," etc. The same applies to Hungarian, repid, "to fly," lelek, "soul," segit, "to help," presenting vocalic contrast to hdrom, "three," olvad, "to smelt," savanyu, "bitter," etc. Turkish is even more observant of detail: deri, "skin," dudak, "lip," bajak, "leg, thigh," bojiik, "big, tall," etc. (These examples are from Osmanli.) In actual practice, there are numerous exceptions. Nevertheless, in Mongolian, Turkish, Hungarian and Finnish, vocalic harmony, without being general, tends to establish a balance between the divisions and dispositions of words, and is thus an important factor in the phonetic structure of Ural-Altaic languages.

Consonantal Alternation.

In any given word the consonant which ends the root syllable is subject to various mutations accord ing to the nature of the syllable following (open or closed). It is es pecially characteristic of certain Uralian tongues, like Lapp, Finn ish and the Samoyedic languages. In the other languages it has not developed beyond the merest trace. Thus, in Finnish, kukka,

"flower," but kukan (genitive), "of the flower"; kuto-, "to weave," but kudon, "I weave"; repo, "fox," but revon (gen.) "of a fox"; onki, "fish-hook," but ongen (gen.) "of a fish-hook"; lintu, "bird," but linnun (

This alternation theory (German Stufenwechsel) was formu lated by the Finnish linguist, E. N. Setala, who proposed to extend it to Altaic tongues, where Ramstedt had discovered it in part. It is unlikely that consonantal alternation can be demonstrated in Mongolian, Turkish and Tungus except at a very early stage.

Vocalic Alternation.—There exists also an alternation of vowels by which, according to the suffixes which a word may take, the vowel of the root syllable may be modified or changed. Thus, in Finnish, pa/a, to burn (intrans.), and poltra, "to burn" (trans.) ; in Ostyak, n'eilam, "tongue," and n'ilmam, "my tongue," etc. These instances are rare in modern Ural-Altaic speech, and the Uralian tongues have best preserved the traces, although examples are also found in Turkish and Mongolian.

The rules which determine the beginning and ending of words are that no word can begin with more than one consonant, and when a foreign word so beginning is borrowed it is simplified ac cordingly. The Swedish word stor, "big," becomes suuri in Finnish. Elsewhere a vowel is put before the double consonant to facilitate enunciation : the Slav word stolu is in Hungarian asztal (pron. ostol) and the English "steam" is, in Osmanli, istim, etc.