This feature allows to generate a graphic representation of the supposed genetic relationships between the language set included in the database, in the form of a genealogical tree (it is also implemented in the StarLing software). The tree picture also includes separation dates for various languages, calculated through standardized glottochronological techniques; additionally, a lexicostatistical matrix of cognate percentages can be produced if asked for.
The tree can be generated by a variety of methods, and you can modify some of the parameters to test various strategies of language classification. The pictures can be saved in different graphic formats and used for presentation or any other purposes.
This option displays the full description for the selected database, including: (a) the complete list of primary and secondary bibliographical sources for the included languages, including brief descriptions of all titles; (b) general notes on said languages, e. g. sociolinguistic information, degree of reliability of sources, notes on grammatical and lexical peculiarities of the languages that may be relevant for the compilation of the lists, etc.; (c) details on the transcription system that was used in the original data sources and its differences from the UTS (Unified Transcription System) transliteration.
This option, when checked, uses a set of different color markers to highlight groups of phonetically similar words in different languages with the same Swadesh meaning.
Phonetic similarity between two different forms is defined in the GLD as a situation in which the aligned consonants of the compared forms (usually the first two) are deemed «similar» to each other. In order for two consonants to be «similar», they have to belong to the same «consonantal class», i.e. a group of sounds that share the same place and a similar manner of articulation. The current grouping of sounds into sound classes can be found here.
Accordingly, the aligned forms undergo a process of «vowel extraction» (all vowels are formally assumed to belong to «class H», together with «weak» laryngeal phonemes), and the individual consonants are then converted to classes, e. g. dog → TK, drink → TRNK (in comparisons, only the first two consonants will be used, so, actually TR), eat → HT (word-initial vowel is equated with lack of consonant or «weak» consonant), fly → PR (l and r belong to the same class) and so on.
If both of the first two consonants of the compared forms are found to correlate, i.e. belong to the same class, the words are deemed similar (e. g. English fly and German fliegen both have the consonantal skeleton PR). If at least one differs, the words are not deemed similar (e. g. English tooth → TT and Old Norse tɔnn → TN, although they are etymological cognates, will not pass the similarity tense because of the second position).
In most cases, checking this option will highlight phonetically similar forms that are also etymological cognates and share the same numeric cognation indexes. Occasionally, however, the checking will also yield «false positives» (accidentally phonetically similar forms that do not share a common origin) and «false negatives» (phonetically dissimilar forms, not highlighted, but actually cognate). It should be noted that one should never expect this method to yield a 100% accurate picture of etymological cognacy. Rather, the method is useful for the following goals: (a) assess the amount of phonetic change that took place between related languages; (b) give a general idea of the degree of closeness of relationship for those languages where phonetic correspondences have not yet been properly established; (c) assess the average number of «chance similarities» that may arise between different languages.
The last task is particularly instructive if the «Highlight...» option is used between two different languages from different databases, i.e. not related to each other or distantly related: in most cases, it will yield around 2-3 accidental color highlights, but occasionally, the count may go as high up as 5 or 6.
This option unfolds all of the notes that accompany the individual forms in the database. Sometimes these notes only consist of a basic reference to the bibliographical source, but at other times, they can be quite expansive, which makes browsing through the wordlist quite cumbersome. By default, the notes stay hidden (each note can also be opened separately by clicking on the sign next to the word).
Kadagidze 1984: 256; Desheriyev 1953: 319 (transcribed as wamaʔ). Formally a derivative from wum 'something' [Kadagidze 1984: 256].
Proto-Nakh:*=arr-ikʼ1
NED # 1. Distribution: The original root =arr- is only preserved in Vainakh; no parallels in Batsbi. Replacements: Batsbi wum-aʔ is easily etymologized on internal grounds as a morphological derivative from the word 'something'. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular and trivial. Semantics and structure: The stem is morphologically structured like a standard adjectival stem with the widespread Vainakh suffix *-ig(a) = Batsbi -ikʼ.
Matsiyev 1961: 531; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 190. Oblique stem: owqʼ-ar- {овкъар-}. This is the default word for 'wood ashes' ('lye', Russian зола). It is distinct from čim [Matsiyev 1961: 492; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 387] '(fine) ashes' (Russian пепел).
Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 86; Ozdoyev 1980: 224. Oblique stem: owqʼ-ar- {овкъар-}. This is the default word for 'wood ashes' ('lye', Russian зола). It is distinct from čil [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 188] '(fine) ashes' (Russian пепел).
NCED: 681. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: The cluster -bqʼ is reconstructed based on Batsbi -pʼqʼ and the oblique stem: Chechen owqʼ-ara-n = Ingush owqʼ-ar-o = Batsbi apʼqʼ-ayr-i < Proto-Nakh *ʔabqʼu-r- (probably from an earlier *yabqʼu-r-). Vowel gradation in this root complies with the same model as 'earth' q.v.
Matsiyev 1961: 214; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 229. The form is listed as the only equivalent for 'bark' in the latter source, but is clearly a diminutive derivate of kowst {ковст} [Matsiyev 1961: 220] with vocalic assimilation (= Ingush kɔst-ilg 'little (piece of) bark').
Kadagidze 1984: 611. Borrowed from Georgian kerk-i.
Proto-Nakh:*kaːbst1
NCED: 770. Distribution: Preserved in the Vainakh branch. Replacements: Replaced by a Georgian borrowing in Batsbi. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular. Vowel length is reconstructed based on Ingush ɔ (phonetically ɔː). The final coronal cluster could alternately be reconstructed as *-stʼ (diagnostic data from Batsbi are absent).
Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 188; Ozdoyev 1980: 182. Vowel length is not indicated in either of these dictionaries (carried over from the notation in NCED). The former source gives the meaning as 'bosom' (Russian пазуха), but anslysis of various texts shows that 'belly' is a more accurate translation. The latter source also quotes, as potential synonyms: (a) giyg (written as čiyg, clearly a misprint under the influence of the preceding če), actually "stomach" [Ozdoyev 1980: 47]; (b) čuraš, actually "chitterlings" [Ozdoyev 1980: 190].
NCED: 430. Distribution: Preserved in all the languages except for Ingush, where the semantic transition {'inside > belly'} seems to have operated on a more active scale than in Chechen. Replacements: The original root *gag-, polysemous in the meanings 'belly' and 'stomach', has, in some dialects, begun to be replaced by *čVwV ([NCED: 339]; vocalization is most likely *čuw-e or *čuw-a) 'internal organs', a derivative from the simple root *čuw 'inside'. At least in some varieties of Ingush the original giyg has only been retained in the meaning 'stomach'. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular (*-g- is always lost or lenited in Chechen), but the second vowel is hard to reconstruct (*gagi-? *gaga-?). Semantics and structure: The stem is occasionally encountered in "pure" form as well as with suffixal extensions, e. g. *gag-ikʼ > Ingush giy-g, or cf. the variation between Batsbi gaga and gaga-ʔŏ.
NCED: 610. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular. Traces of stem-final -n are still seen in the nasalization of the final vowel in Batsbi.
Kadagidze 1984: 912; Desheriyev 1953: 313. The meaning is glossed as '(small) bird' in the former source and as 'sparrow / bird' in the latter.
Proto-Nakh:*ʔaːlxaʒur1
NED # 8. Distribution: Preserved in all Vainakh languages, but replaced or at least significantly pushed aside in Batsbi. Replacements: The word *ʔaːlxaʒur is found in older Batsbi dictionaries: Matsiyev, in a 1932 edition, lists the form alxaʒur meaning 'bird', and A. Schiefner ("Versuch über die Thusch-Sprache", St. Petersburg, 1856) gives alxaʒur with the meaning 'eagle' ('Adler'). This implies reconstructibility of *ʔaːlxaʒur as 'bird' or, at least, as 'large bird' on the Proto-Nakh level. Batsbi ħacʼukʼ 'bird', 'small bird', 'sparrow', on the other hand, is cognate with Chechen ħoːza 'sparrow' [Matsiyev 1961: 469], Ingush ħaz-ilg 'sparrow' (with a common diminutive suffix) [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 170] = Proto-Nakh *ħaːcʼu [NCED: 525]. This presupposes one of two semantic scenarios: (a) a Proto-Nakh opposition between *ʔaːlxaʒur 'big bird' and *ħaːcʼu 'small bird'; (b) Proto-Nakh *ʔaːlxaʒur as a generic term for (any) 'bird' vs. *ħaːcʼu 'sparrow'. In either case, modern Batsbi comes out as semantically innovative, having either merged the opposition in (a) in favour of the former 'small bird', or generalized the older term for 'sparrow'. For typological reasons, the development {'sparrow' > 'bird'} is marginally preferable. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are mostly regular, although vocalic reconstruction in such a complex trisyllabic form is somewhat ambiguous. One important exception is the lack of the expected regular development *-lx- > -tx- in Batsbi (cf. 'meat', 'sun' etc.). This could either suggest that the word is not really a Proto-Nakh item, but was independently borrowed into both branches already after this phonetic tendency ceased to operate in Batsbi; or, more likely (since the source of borrowing is nowhere to be found), that the original shape was even longer, e. g., *ʔolaxaʒur, with subsequent compression in both branches (and, perhaps, compensatory vowel lengthening in Vainakh?). Semantics and structure: The word formally looks like a derived nominal stem, but the primary stem has not yet been recovered in either Proto-Nakh or through external comparison with Daghestanian languages.
Matsiyev 1961: 477; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 241. Complex form, literally 'to stick (in) the teeth'. Said of people; for animals, the verb leːca (originally 'to catch, seize') is used instead [Matsiyev 1961: 278].
Ozdoyev 1980: 291. Complex form, lit. 'to stick (in) the teeth'. Said of both people and animals. This compound is listed as the equivalent to Russian intransitive кусаться ('to bite' = 'to have a habit of biting'); the equivalent to Russian transitive кусать ('to bite /someone/') is listed as carg-aš etta, lit. 'to hit (with) the teeth'.
Kadagidze 1984: 721; Desheriyev 1953: 316. Literally 'to stick (in) the teeth'. The former source lists a synonymous, non-idiomatic form: qaħ-ar 'to bite' (terminative) [Kadagidze 1984: 831], which may be more archaic, but is not mentioned in [Desheriyev 1953] as the primary equivalent for 'to bite'.
Proto-Nakh:*qaħ- #2
NCED: 625. Distribution: Most modern forms of Nakh languages form the meaning 'to bite' idiomatically, as a combination of *ca-r-ikʼ 'tooth' q.v. + different verbal stems (*=oxk- 'to put in, stick in, insert' in Vainakh; =aɬ- 'to give' in Batsbi). Only in Batsbi one also finds a (seemingly) less frequently used verbal stem qaħ-, which Nikolayev and Starostin historically analyze as q=aħ- (q= may, indeed, be a fossilized preverb in Nakh) and for which they find external parallels in Daghestanian languages. Considering that (1) the Batsbi form is unmotivated and does not find an internal Nakh etymology; (2) the idiomatic constructions for 'bite', used in modern Nakh languages, are not easily traced to a common Proto-Nakh idiom; (3) the incentive for the derivation {'tooth' > 'bite'} may have been triggered by Kartvelian influence (cf. Georgian kʼb-ena 'to bite' vs. kʼb-il- 'tooth'), the optimal scenario is to posit *qaħ- (possibly < *q=aħ-) as the Proto-Nakh term for 'bite', only retained as an archaism in Batsbi. (A potential relic in Chechen may also be the derivative nominal stem qaħ-am 'a taste of (the quality of cornmeal)' [Matsiyev 1961: 237] < 'a bite'; etymology belongs to Oleg Mudrak). On the other hand, individual replacements in Vainakh and Batsbi, out of caution, are still counted together (in any way, the tradition itself of substituting the original 'bite' for 'tooth + vb.' may already date to the Common Nakh era). Semantics and structure: The stem *qaħ- must have been perceived as a monolithic root already in Proto-Nakh. But in Batsbi, cf. also laħ-ar 'to eat (smth.) together with (smth. else)' [Kadagidze 1984: 374], possibly reflecting the combination of the same root with a different preverb.
NCED: 556 (written as ʕaːrčʼi-). Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular and mostly trivial, with the exception of the root vowel (where length is reconstructed based on dialectal data). It should be noted that the reconstructional notation given in [NCED] is incorrect: according to the system of correspondences on pp. 91-92, the initial laryngeal should have been written as *ʡ (since it yields the reflexation ʕ- in all three languages). Here, we correct that obvious mistake. Semantics and structure: Derivatives usually preserve the monovocalic variant *ʕaːrčʼ-, e. g. Chechen ʕarž-dan 'to blacken', etc.
Kadagidze 1984: 760; Desheriyev 1953: 315 (transcribed as cʼig).
Proto-Nakh:*cʼeːgi1
NCED: 376. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are completely regular. Semantics and structure: The same stem also serves as the derivational basis for Proto-Nakh 'red' q.v.
Kadagidze 1984: 751; Desheriyev 1953: 337. Borrowed from Georgian ʒwal-i.
Proto-Nakh:*dʡexkʼ1
NCED: 528. Distribution: Preserved in the Vainakh branch, but replaced with a Georgian borrowing in Batsbi. Reconstruction shape: Due to lack of Batsbi data, the word-final cluster may be reconstructed either as *-xkʼ or *-xk. The former reconstruction, however, is preferable, since it helps explain the irregular glottalized reflexation tʼ- in Ingush. (Cf. a similar example, albeit without the laryngeal: Chechen döxka 'belt, girdle' = Ingush tʼexkar id. = Batsbi duxkʼã id. < Proto-Nakh *doxkʼV [NCED: 678]). Word-medial vocalism is somewhat uncertain; the reconstruction may be bisyllabic (*deʡexkʼ).
Matsiyev 1961: 311; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 116. Distinct from maːmag 'female breast' [Matsiyev 1961: 286], although naːqa is also frequently used to indicate the female breast (maːmag is probably a "Lallwort").
Desheriyev 1953: 311. Strangely absent from Kadagidze's dictionary, but supposedly distinct from tʼar 'female breast, nipples' [Kadagidze 1984: 557].
Proto-Nakh:*naːqa #1
NCED: 829. Distribution: Preserved only in Vainakh languages (if the selection is correct). Replacements: Obscure situation. Vainakh *naːqa '(male) breast' may formally correspond to Batsbi naq 'throat, larynx' [Kadagidze 1984: 474], but the semantic match would be unusual unless both meanings were descended from some non-trivial anatomical term; without additional confirmation, we do not dare advance the connection. This makes *naːqa a very good candidate for '(male) breast' in Proto-Nakh, but Batsbi aqʼar does not have an internal etymology either, and could also be archaic. The selection of *naːqa is, therefore, somewhat dubious. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences between Chechen and Ingush are regular and trivial.
Kadagidze 1984: 33. The corresponding intransitive stem is akʼ-ar [Kadagidze 1984: 32].
Proto-Nakh:*=aːkʼ-1
NCED: 633. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: All correspondences are regular. Semantics and structure: The etymon, already on the Proto-Nakh level, is reconstructible as a simple intransitive verbal base (*=akʼ-) and an extended transitive base (*=akʼ-d-).
Matsiyev 1961: 293, 310; Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 322. Polysemy: 'nail / claw / hook'. The latter source only quotes the variant mʕaːra, and its primacy is also confirmed by external data.
NCED: 814. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are completely regular. The oblique stem shows vowel gradation in the second syllable: *mʡaːre- > Chechen mʕeːra-, Ingush mʕara-, Batsbi mʕare-.
NCED: 795. Distribution: Preserved in the Vainakh branch only. Replacements: In Batsbi, replaced with doxkʼ = Chechen, Ingush doxk 'fog' < Proto-Nakh *doxkʼ 'fog' [NCED: 947]. The meaning shift is more likely to have been {'fog' > 'cloud'} in Batsbi than the opposite, because the meaning 'fog' in that language has merged with the meaning 'smoke' (see under *kʼur). Reconstruction shape: Correspondences in the Vainakh branch are fully regular.
Kadagidze 1984: 596; Desheriyev 1953: 319 (transcribed as pšeli).
Proto-Nakh:*pšeː-l-i(n)1
NCED: 393. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular, although the initial cluster *pš- is ultra-rare (Batsbi preserves the more complex archaic articulation in this case, as in many others). Semantics and structure: The adjective is a regular derivative of Proto-Nakh *pšeː-l 'cold (n.)' (Batsbi pše-l, also preserved in Chechen še-l-dan 'to cool', etc.), which, in turn, is derived from the oblique stem *pšeː- of Proto-Nakh *pšaː 'ice' (Chechen, Ingush ša; Batsbi pša). The derivation {'ice' > 'cold'} is typologically quite secure.
Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 37; Ozdoyev 1980: 558. The root is =a (cf. d=a 'to arrive (of an inanimate object)' with a different class marker). Also used in the complex form ha=w=a (with the preverb ha= 'to'). Ozdoyev [1980: 558] also lists the form ha=qač-a as synonymous, but its preverb-less equivalent qač-a is translated as 'to arrive' in [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 97] = Chechen qaːč-a id. [Matsiyev 1961: 237].
Kadagidze 1984: 72. Terminative stem; the corresponding durative is d=aɣ-ar [Kadagidze 1984: 51].
Proto-Nakh:*=aʔ-1
NCED: 1016. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Vowel length in Chechen may be compensatory, caused by the loss of word-medial laryngeal, or archaic, in which case the reconstruction should be changed to *=aːʔ-. Semantics and structure: A "class verb" (used only with class prefixes); the stem *=aʔ- is the original terminative stem, from which, with vowel gradation, already in Proto-Nakh the durative stem *=eʔ- (> Chechen =eʔ-, Batsbi =eʔ-) was formed.
Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 38; Ozdoyev 1980: 748 (listed with different class prefixes). Distinct from =al-a 'to finish, terminate' [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 38], a homophonous root (but with significantly differing morphological behaviour).
NCED: 662 (written as *=aŁ-). Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: In [NCED], the word-medial consonant is reconstructed as *-Ł- (its phonetic interpretation as a voiced lateral affricate is arbitrary) based on controversial data from Batsbi dialects: -l- in Kadagidze's dictionary vs. -ɬ- in Matsiyev's earlier dictionary from 1932. However, this distinction between two dictionaries of the same language is too dubious to serve as the basis for the reconstruction of a special phonological opposition (the authors of [NCED] themselves add that "our suggestion requires a field verification" on p. 93). Additionally, in this particular case ('die') both Desheriyev [1953] and Schiefner ("Versuch über die Thusch-Sprache", St. Petersburg, 1856) steadily note forms with -l- in Batsbi. We feel justified to change the reconstruction to a simpler *=al-.
NCED: 1074. Distribution: Preserved in the original meaning only in Batsbi. Replacements: Already in Proto-Vainakh, the original meaning of *pħu was narrowed: {'dog' > 'male dog'} > Chechen pħu, oblique stem pħära- [Matsiyev 1961: 354], Ingush pħu, oblique stem pħaro- [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 137]. In the general meaning 'dog', Proto-Vainakh innovated the stem *ǯʡali, of unclear origin (possibly a borrowing from Kartvelian, cf. Georgian ʒaɣl-, Megrel ǯoɣor- 'dog', but the correspondences are somewhat unclear, so that we currently refrain from counting the word as a borrowing). Traces of the original semantics are still seen in such archaic derivatives as Chechen pħar-cerg 'fang' [Matsiyev 1961: 353], literally 'dog-tooth'. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular and trivial. The oblique stem is reconstructed as *pħare- (cf. the Batsbi pl. form and the Chechen and Ingush oblique stems quoted above).
Matsiyev 1961: 300. Durative stem; in [Karasayev & Matsiyev 1978: 403] for the meaning 'drink' (Russian durative пить) the authors quote the terminative stem mala 'to drink to the end' (Russian terminative выпить), which is not quite correct. Nevertheless, both forms obviously represent the same root.
Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 117; Ozdoyev 1980: 488. Both sources list as primary the terminative stem mal-a 'to drink to the end'; durative mel-a 'to drink, be drinking' is only found in [Ozdoyev et al. 1962: 119], without any specific indication of the semantic difference.
Kadagidze 1984: 433. Durative stem; the corresponding terminative stem is maɬ-ar [Kadagidze 1984: 401].
Proto-Nakh:*maɬ-1
NED # 26. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are fully regular. Semantics and structure: The original verbal base is terminative: *maɬ- 'to drink (to the end)'. The terminative stem in Proto-Nakh, reflecting regular vowel gradation, was *meːɬ-; however, Chechen miyl- (= miːl-) is better explained as a development from the (dialectal) infixed grammatical variant *meː[b]ɬ-.
Kadagidze 1984: 52. This primary source for Batsbi only lists the verbal stem d=aqʼ-d-ar 'to dry (tr.)'; the adjectival form d=aqʼ-ĩ is listed in [Nikolayev & Starostin 1994: 631], where it must have been reproduced from one of the older Batsbi dictionaries (e. g. Matsiyev's from 1932), although this has not been verified.
Proto-Nakh:*=aqʼ-i(n)1
NCED: 631. Distribution: Preserved in all daughter languages. Reconstruction shape: Correspondences are regular. In Vainakh, *a > e due to the influence of suffixal *-i-; the original vocalism is still preserved in the "pure" verbal stem *=aqʼ- 'to dry'. Semantics and structure: The stem is originally verbal (*=aqʼ- 'to dry').
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