A comparative analysis of body-part terminology in Na-Dene and Yeniseian languages

Abstract

This study investigates what reconstructed proto-forms for body-part terminology can reveal about the potential genetic connection between Dene and Yeniseian languages. The research examines whether consistent phonological correspondences and cognate patterns across both families indicate a shared linguistic ancestry. Anatomical vocabulary was chosen because of its resistance to borrowing and semantic stability over time (Pattillo 2021; Snoek 2015). Using the comparative method, proto-forms are reconstructed through successive historical stages: from regional proto-languages such as Proto-Apachean, Proto-Pacific-Coast-Dene, and Proto-Alaska-Dene to higher levels including Proto-Dene, Proto-Dene-Eyak, Proto-Na-Dene, and ultimately Proto-Dene-Yeniseian. The study builds on Vajda’s (2010) Dene-Yeniseian hypothesis and the updated Dene classification by Snoek, Stang & Rice (2022), expanding previous comparative work to include Yeniseian data from Ket as well as Proto-Yeniseian forms proposed by Vajda and Werner (2022). The findings contribute to ongoing discussions of long-range linguistic relationship and human prehistory across Siberia and North America.