Poppe Nicholas. Introduction to Altaic linguistics

Wiesbaden, Otto Harrassowitz, 1965. — 221 p. — (Ural-altaische Bibliothek, Vol. XIV).This text is designed as a manual for university students to provide general information on Altaic linguistics, as well as bibliographical information otherwise difficult to obtain in American universities. In part 1, the author classifies the Altaic languages-Mongolian, Manchu-tungus, Chuvash-turkic, (with the possible inclusion of Korean)-and presents the classifications of languages within each of these families. A short bibliography is appended to the discussion of each language. Part 2, an outline of the history of investigation of the Altaic languages, lists biographical data on scholars of particular relevance, and their bibliographical references. Part 3 presents a history of the Altaic theory-the hypothesis on the affinity of Turkic, Mongolian, and Manchu-tungus, including or excluding Korean (concerning which, the author says, sufficient evidence is as yet not available). Following sections deal with-(1) mutual influences within the Altaic group, (2) contacts of Altaic languages with other languages, (3) Altaic influences upon other languages, (4) characteristic features of the Altaic languages, and (5) a comparative survey of Altaic languages. Languages, dialects, scripts, and authors are indexed in the appendix.