Revisiting Tungusic classification from the bottom up: A comparison of Evenki and Oroqen

Efforts to determine the genetic relations among Tungusic languages have be en dominated by a methodology that categorizes the entire family on the bas is of a small number of sound correspondences and some shared inflectional morphology, despite the fact that this evidence can be interpreted in contr adictory ways. The approach, styled after traditional classification, which uses a tree model, is even less successful in indicating the relationships among languages at a finer level of detail. This article demonstrates that two Tungusic languages, Evenki and Oroqen, which have long been treated as a single language for classification purposes, are better treated as disti nct linguistic varieties. The article raises fundamental questions about th e current classification of Tungusic languages and suggests a renewed exami nation of the role of dialect continua and contact languages in understandi ng the composition of the family. Finally, we question whether a tree-based model is appropriate for classifying languages that have had a high degree of contact and are found in families or branches of a shallow time depth.*