Linguistic homeland
In historical linguistics, the homeland or Urheimat of a proto-language is the region in which it was spoken before splitting into different daughter languages. A proto-language is the reconstructed or historically attested parent language of a group of languages that are genetically related.
Depending on the age of the language family under consideration, its homeland may be known with near-certainty or it may be very uncertain. Next to internal linguistic evidence, the reconstruction of a prehistoric homeland makes use of a variety of disciplines, including archaeology and archaeogenetics.
Methods
There are several methods to determine the homeland of a given language family. One method is based on the vocabulary that can be reconstructed for the proto-language. This vocabulary – especially terms for flora and fauna – can provide clues for the geographical and ecological environment in which the proto-language was spoken. An estimate for the time-depth of the proto-language is necessary in order to account for prehistorical changes in climate and the distribution of flora and fauna.Another method is based on the linguistic migration theory, which states that the most likely candidate for the last homeland of a language family can be located in the area of its highest linguistic diversity. This presupposes an established view about the internal subgrouping of the language family. Different assumptions about high-order subgrouping can thus lead to very divergent proposals for a linguistic homeland. The linguistic migration theory has its limits because it only works when linguistic diversity evolves continuously without major disruptions. Its results can be distorted e.g. when this diversity is wiped out by more recent migrations.
Homelands of major language families
Western and central Eurasia
;Indo-European;Caucasian
;Turkic
;Uralic
Eastern Eurasia
;Japonic;Koreanic
;Sino-Tibetan
;Hmong–Mien
;Kra–Dai
;Austroasiatic
;Austronesian
North America
;Eskimo–Aleut;Na-Dené and Yeniseian
;Algic
;Uto-Aztecan
South America
;TupianAfrica and Middle East
;Afroasiatic;Niger–Congo
;Mande
;Nilo-Saharan
;Central Sudanic
;Khoe–Kwadi