altaic language

noun phrase

Meaning

A proposed language family consisting of several groups of languages spoken across Central and Northern Asia, including Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic branches.

Examples

  • The classification of Turkish as an Altaic language remains a subject of intense academic scrutiny.
  • Many scholars now view the Altaic language hypothesis as a collection of linguistic areas rather than a single genetic family.

Synonyms: language family, linguistic group, language phylum, macro-family