Samoyed languages
| Samoyedic | |
|---|---|
| Samoyed | |
| Geographic distribution: |
Northern Eurasia |
| Linguistic classification: |
Uralic
|
| Proto-language: | Proto-Samoyed |
| Subdivisions: | |
| ISO 639-5: | |
| Glottolog: | samo1298 |
Geographical distribution of Samoyedic languages in the 17th (hatching) and 20th (continuous) centuries.
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The Samoyedic (/ˌsæməˈjɛdɪk, -mɔɪ-/) or Samoyed languages (/ˈsæməˌjɛd, -mɔɪ-/) are spoken on both sides of the Ural mountains, in northernmost Eurasia, by approximately 25,000 people altogether. They derive from a common ancestral language called Proto-Samoyedic, and form a branch of the Uralic languages. Having separated perhaps in the last centuries BC, they are not a diverse group of languages, and are traditionally considered to be an outgroup, branching off first from the other Uralic languages.
The term Samoyedic is derived from the Russian term samoyed (Russian: самоед) for some indigenous peoples of Siberia. The term has come to be considered derogatory because it has been interpreted by some ethnologists as originating from Russian samo-yed meaning 'self-eater', i.e. 'cannibal'. Samoyedic etymologists, however, reject this etymology and instead trace the term's origin to the expression saam-edne, meaning the Land of the Sami peoples. The word Samodeic has been proposed as an alternative by some ethnologists.
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