Altaic

Altaic is a historical label for a proposed macro-family of languages in Eurasia. In its broadest forms it included Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages, and in some versions also Koreanic and Japonic. The term derives from the Altai region, and early proponents pointed to typological similarities—such as agglutinative morphology, vowel harmony, and similar syntactic patterns—as evidence of a common ancestor.

Classification and debate have long surrounded the idea. By the late 20th century the mainstream consensus rejected a single Altaic progenitor for all included groups. The comparative method has failed to produce robust, systematic correspondences across core phonology, core lexicon, and grammar that would establish a deep genealogical link for Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic. Many linguists regard their similarities as the result of a Sprachbund, a long-term area of intensive language contact, rather than descent from a single ancestor. The inclusion of Koreanic and Japonic has been especially controversial, and is generally rejected by most specialists; a minority tradition has continued to advocate broader Altaic connections, but such claims remain outside mainstream linguistics.

Today the term Altaic is largely avoided in formal classification. Most reference works treat Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic as independent language families, sometimes noting typological parallels arising from contact rather than shared ancestry. Koreanic and Japonic are typically regarded as separate families or isolates with no widely accepted proven genetic link to the Turkic–Mongolic–Tungusic cluster. The concept remains of historical interest for the study of the history of comparative linguistics rather than as a current, validated language family.