Samoyedic language
1
9.9
- noun
- Specialized
- The Samoyedic languages are a branch of the Uralic language family.
Examples
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Only a few thousand people speak any Samoyedic language today.
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She is studying a dialect of a Samoyedic language spoken in Siberia.
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The Samoyedic language family includes several distinct dialects.
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Many linguists study the Samoyedic languages for their unique features.
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Only a few thousand people speak any Samoyedic language today.
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She is studying a dialect of a Samoyedic language spoken in Siberia.
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The Samoyedic languages are a branch of the Uralic language family.
Synonyms
1
9.5
A language people speak mainly in northern Europe and Asia, like Finnish or Hungarian
A language that Samoyed people speak in northern Siberia
A group of related languages spoken by native people in northwestern Siberia
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is a straightforward adjective + noun composition: 'Samoyedic' names the Samoyedic language group and 'language' denotes a spoken system, so 'Samoyedic language' means a language belonging to the Samoyedic group. This is a common, compositional pattern found across languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can derive the meaning.
Etymology
Samoyedic language comes from an old Russian name, Samoyed, used for some northern people. One popular story says the word meant 'self-eater', though it probably comes from the people's own name, and that's why Samoyedic language refers to the languages they speak in northwestern Siberia.