Abstract
In this special collection, we address the origin and dispersal of the Transeurasian languages, i.e. Japonic, Koreanic, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic, from an interdisciplinary perspective. Our key objective is to effectively synthesize linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence in a single approach, for which we use the term 'triangulation'. The 10 articles collected in this volume contribute to the question of whether and to what extent the early spread of Transeurasian languages was driven by agriculture in general, and by economic reliance on millet cultivation in particular.
Highlights
Media summary: In this special collection, we address the origin and dispersal of the Transeurasian languages, by synthesizing linguistic, archaeological and genetic evidence in a single approach
One of the main questions that inspired the ‘millets and beans, words and genes’ in our title is whether and to what extent the early spread of Transeurasian languages was driven by agriculture in general, and by economic reliance on millet cultivation in particular
Elaborating on the conference theme, the purpose of the present special collection is to examine whether the Transeurasian languages owe their distribution, at least in part, to the demographic, 2 Martine Robbeets and Chuan‐Chao Wang cultural and linguistic processes which accompanied the dispersal of millet cultivation in North and East Asia
Summary
Traditionally referred to as ‘Altaic languages,’ Johanson and Robbeets (2010: 1‒2) coined the term ‘Transeurasian’ to refer to a large group of geographically adjacent languages, stretching from the Pacific in the east to the Baltic, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean in the west This grouping includes up to five uncontroversial linguistic families: Japonic, Koreanic, Tungusic, Mongolic and Turkic. The earliest clearly documented stage is the language of the Eastern Old Turkic inscriptions of the eighth century AD in Mongolia’s Orkhon valley In their contribution to this collection, Alexander Savelyev and Choongwon Jeong (2020) discuss nomadic groups associated with ancient varieties of Turkic that ruled over the Eurasian steppe several centuries before the early inscriptions, such as Xiongnu, Hun and Avar groups. Since farming can unquestionably support far greater population densities than hunting and gathering, the basic logic behind this hypothesis is that population growth steadily pushed early farmers and their language into wider territories
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