Alpatho-Hirtic languages

Oronaic
Alpatho-Hirtic
Created by	–
Geographic distribution	Central and far East Europe
Linguistic classification	One of the world's primary language families Oronaic
Proto-language	Proto-Oronaic
Subdivisions	Alpian Carpathian Hirtian

The Alpatho-Hirtic languages, also known as Oronaic, are spoken in regions of the Alps and the Carpathians as well as in the northern part of the Ural Mountains in Russia. The Oronaic family consists of six languages, spoken by approximately 400,000 people.

The name "Alpatho-Hirtic" is made from names of two main branches the Alpathian languages and Hirtian. This term was more popular in the late XX century, but nowadays it is speculated, if the Alpathian languages had a common ancestor distinct from Hirtian, or Alpian, Carpathian and Hirtian are three separate branches; so a new term "Oronaic" became being used more. It derives from Classical Greek ὄρος “mountain” and ναίω “I inhabit” because all three groups are spoken in the mountainous regions. Sometimes "Oronaic" is used while mentioning only the Alpian and the Carpatian groups without including Hirtian.

The Alpatho-Hirtic languages derive from a common ancestral language called Proto-Oronaic Having separated perhaps in the IV millennium BC, they became a diverse group of languages, so their proto-language can not be reconstructed precisely.

Classification

According to the newest picture of this language family, the Oronaic languages are divided into three groups: Alpian, Carpathian and Hirtian. These languages also divide into various dialects creating a dialectal continuum.

Alpian

• Baaye
• Vaand
  • North Vaand, transitional dialect between Vaand and Baaye
  • †South Vaand
  • Central Vaand, or Vaand proper
  • †East Vaand, possibly close to Central Vaand

Carpatian

• West Carpatian
  • †Äzeränci Carpatian, a dialect of West Carpatian or a separate language.
  • Ränci Carpatian
  • Šilli Carpatian
  • Orava Carpatian
  • Prešov Carpatian
• East Carpatian
  • Halicia Carpathian
  • Jīri Carpathian
  • Puohō Carpatian
• †transitional East-South Carpatian
• South Carpatian

Hirtian

• Hirtya

More traditional genealogical classification treats Hirtian as a separate group which diverged first.

Hirtian

• Hirtya

Alpathian

• Alpian
  • Baaye
  • Vaand
• Carpatian
  • †Äzeränci
  • West Carpathian
  • East Carpatian
  • South Carpatian

History

Homeland and expansion

The Alpian and the Carpathian peoples were considered indigenous to Europe for a long period of time. Their homeland is usually placed in the region between Austria and Slovakia or between Slovakia and Ukraine. Archeological data as well as placenames and substrate words support this theory. The situation with the Oronian Urheimat is not so obvious. There are three main theories. According to the first one, Proto-Oronian was spoken in the north-western part of modern day Belarus, which is supported archeologically but genetic analysis disproves this theory. Other two theories place the homeland in the Valdai Hills territory and an area between the Republic of Karelia Arkhangelsk Oblast in Russia.

All three branches became separate probably in the III millennium BCE. Archeological data shows that people who spoke those early languages had sparcely populated North-East Europe before they were pushed south or assimilated by other cultures migrating from the east. The speakers of Proto-Hirtian slowly migrated to the north and east until they reached the Urals near the Komi-Zyrians and Nenets people. On the other hand, Alpian and Carpathian peoples moved further south and westwards until they settled in the Carpatians and slowly spread around Alps. Supposedly there were even more languages or even language groups in this family, that are now extinct due to the migration of Indo-European cultures.