The history of the formation of the Finno-Ugric languages:
key stages

The Finno-Ugric languages are a large group of related languages that belong to the Uralic language family and are widespread in Northern Eurasia. These languages are characterized by a number of common features in grammar, phonetics, and vocabulary, which indicates their origin from a common ancestor - the Proto-Finno-Ugric language.

The Finno-Ugric languages include: Baltic-Finnic (Finnish, Estonian, Karelian, Veps, Votic, Izhorian, Livonian), Sami (group of Sami languages), Volga (Mordvin languages - Erzya and Moksha, Mari), Permian (Komi, Komi-Permyak, Udmurt) and Ugric (Hungarian, Khanty, Mansi) languages.

The Finno-Ugric languages are distinguished by an agglutinative structure, a rich case system, the absence of grammatical gender, the presence of vowel harmony in many languages of the group, as well as a special system of numerals.

Controversial issues of origin

Traditionally, it was believed that the Uralic proto-language split into two branches - Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic. The basis for this division was the significant difference between the Samoyedic vocabulary and the vocabulary of other Uralic languages.

However, in modern linguistics, the existence of the Finno-Ugric proto-language as a separate stage in the development of the Uralic languages is questioned. Many researchers note the absence of innovations in phonology, morphology and vocabulary common to all Finno-Ugric languages.

Among modern Uralists, the idea of the existence of the Finno-Ugric stage is supported by such scientists as Juha Janhunen and Vladimir Napolskikh. Their opponents are Tapani Salminen, Ante Aikio, Janne Saarikivi, Jaakko Häkkinen, Juho Pystynen, Petri Kallio and Mikhail Zhivlov.

Some researchers believe that the lexical uniqueness of the Samoyed language is the result of a faster rate of lexical replacement compared to the Finno-Ugric languages. Borrowings from unknown substrate or adstratal languages are considered a possible reason for this phenomenon.

Early history of research

The Uralic peoples were first mentioned in the works of the ancient Roman historian Publius Cornelius Tacitus. His work "Germania" mentions the Fenni people (presumably the ancient Sami) and two possibly Finno-Ugric tribes that lived in remote areas of Scandinavia.

At the end of the 15th century, European explorers noticed the similarity between the names "Khungaria" and "Yugria" (a region east of the Urals), which gave rise to speculation about a possible connection between them, although no linguistic evidence was found at that time.

In 1671, the Swedish scholar Georg Stjernjelm described the similarities between the Sami, Finnish, and Estonian languages, and also noted the similarity of some words in Finnish and Hungarian. At the same time, the German scholar Martin Vogel tried to find a connection between Finnish, Sami, and Hungarian, becoming one of the first to point out what were later called the "Finno-Ugric languages."

In 1717, Swedish professor Olof Rudbeck the Younger proposed about 100 etymological links between Finnish and Hungarian, of which about 40 are considered correct today. That same year, German scholar Johann Georg von Eckhart first suggested a link between the Finno-Ugric languages and the Samoyedic languages.

All languages that make up the Finno-Ugric branch were known by 1770, that is, 20 years before the start of research in the field of Indo-European studies. However, the results of these studies were not accepted immediately. For example, among the Hungarian intelligentsia, the theory of the Turkic origin of the Hungarian language was widespread.

Despite resistance from the scientific community of the time, the Hungarian Jesuit János Šainovičs proposed a hypothesis about the connection between Hungarian and the Sami languages in 1770. In 1799, the Hungarian researcher Samuel Gyarmati published the results of the most comprehensive study of the Finno-Ugric languages to date.

Proto-Finno-Ugric language: reconstruction

Proto-Finno-Ugric is a hypothetical ancestral language of all modern Finno-Ugric languages, reconstructed using methods of comparative-historical linguistics. According to the traditional theory, it arose as a result of the disintegration of the Proto-Uralic language community.

According to linguistic and archaeological research, the ancient Finno-Ugrians occupied the southern and western parts of the Ural homeland - the territory in the basins of the Pechora and Kama rivers - until the 3rd millennium BC.

According to reconstructions, the Proto-Finno-Ugric language had the following features:

Phonetic system

The phonetic system of the Proto-Finno-Ugric language included various vowels and consonants, which subsequently underwent changes in the daughter languages.

Morphology

The Proto-Finno-Ugric language had no prefixes. The noun had eight cases:

• Nominative (without indicator)
• Genitive: *-n
• Accusative: *-m
• Locative I: *-na/-nä
• Locative II: *-t/-tt
• Ablative: *-ta/-tä
• Lativ I: *-k
• Lativ II: *-ń

Some researchers also reconstruct the late III with the indicator *-i̯.

In many modern Finno-Ugric languages, the number of cases has increased significantly. Thus, in Hungarian their number has reached twenty, but in the Ob-Ugric languages only three cases have been preserved.

All nouns changed according to a single declension. In the Proto-Finno-Ugric language there were three numbers: singular, dual and plural. The dual number has disappeared in most modern Finno-Ugric languages, remaining only in the Sami and Ob-Ugric languages.

Numerals

The following numerals are reconstructed for the Proto-Finno-Ugric language:

• * ikte / * ükte - “one”
• * käkte — "two"
• * kolme̮ — "three"
• * neljä — "four"
• * witte — "five"
• * kutte̮ — "six"
• * śäjćem — "seven"
• * luke — "ten"
• * kojćɜ / * kuśɜ — "twenty"

The numerals "eight" and "nine" were probably expressed as "two-ten-without" and "one-ten-without" respectively. The numeral * śata - "one hundred" was borrowed from the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages.**

Pronouns

Pronouns in the Proto-Finno-Ugric language were divided into personal, demonstrative and interrogative.

Verb

Verbs were inflected in two tenses: present (indicators -k-* and zero) and past (indicators * -j- and -ś-*). Negative forms were formed with the help of a special auxiliary verb.

Syntax

The syntax of the Proto-Finno-Ugric language was characterized by an abundance of participial constructions and independent adverbial participial phrases. Conjunctions had not yet appeared at that time, and the combination of homogeneous members and sentences was carried out without connecting words.

Simple sentences consisting of one or two members were common. In two-member sentences, the predicate agreed in number with the subject.

A feature of the Proto-Finno-Ugric common sentence was that both subjects and secondary members could remain without case formation: direct object, attribute, various types of circumstances. The correct understanding of such constructions was ensured by a strict word order: the subject preceded the predicate, the subordinate word preceded the subordinator. This rule also applied to complex phrases with multi-stage sequential subordination.

The division of the Proto-Finno-Ugric community

According to most scholars, the Proto-Finno-Ugric and Proto-Samoyed branches separated from the Uralic proto-language in the 6th-4th millennia BC.

The Proto-Finno-Ugric language initially split into Ugric and Finno-Permic. Subsequently, Finno-Permic split into Permic and Finno-Volgaic, which later split into Finno-Sami and Volgaic; eventually, Sami and Baltic-Finnic emerged.

The following estimates are given for the date of the collapse of the Proto-Finno-Ugric language: 3000-2500 BC, the end of the 3rd millennium BC, or approximately 3500-3000 BC.

Subsequently, in the 2nd millennium BC, the Finno-Permian branch split into the Permian and Finno-Volga languages.

The Proto-Finno-Ugric language was probably divided into territorial dialects from the very beginning. As they settled across the vast territory of Eastern Europe and Western Siberia, the speakers of individual dialects gradually began to separate from the main mass of Finno-Ugrians, losing contact with them, which predetermined the evolution of dialects into independent languages.

At present, there are significant differences between the Finno-Ugric languages of different branches, almost the same as between the languages of individual branches of the Indo-European family, for example, French and German. On the other hand, the closeness of languages belonging to one branch to each other is similar.

History of the formation of the main language groups

Ugric group

The Ugric language group includes Hungarian, Khanty and Mansi. The ancestors of the Ugrians separated from the general Finno-Ugric community around 3000-2500 BC.

The Hungarian language separated from other Ugric languages around the first millennium BC, when the ancestors of the Hungarians began migrating west. In 896, the Hungarians (Magyars) led by Arpad came to the territory of modern Hungary, where the modern Hungarian language was formed.

The Hungarian language has the longest written tradition of all the Finno-Ugric languages, with the first texts in it dating back to the 12th century.

The Khanty and Mansi languages (Ob-Ugric) have retained more archaic features of the Ugric group and continue to be spoken in Western Siberia.

Perm group

Permian languages (Komi, Komi-Permyak, Udmurt) separated from the Finno-Permian community in the 2nd millennium BC.

The Komi language has an ancient written tradition - the first monuments of ancient Komi writing date back to the 14th century. The creator of the Komi writing is considered to be the missionary Stefan Permsky, who developed the ancient Perm alphabet (abur) based on the Cyrillic alphabet, the Greek alphabet and ancient Perm signs-pas.

The Udmurt language received writing much later - in the 18th century.

Volga group

The Volga group of languages includes the Mari language and the Mordvin languages (Erzya and Moksha). They separated from the Finno-Volga community in the middle to the end of the 2nd millennium BC.

The Mari language was written down in the 18th century. The Mordvin languages also began to be written down relatively late.

Baltic-Finnish group

The Baltic-Finnic languages (Finnish, Estonian, Karelian, Veps, Votic, Izhorian, Livonian) were formed in the 1st millennium BC – 1st millennium AD on the territory of modern Finland, Estonia and adjacent regions of Russia.

The written traditions of these languages were formed at different times. The first Karelian texts appeared in the 13th century. Finnish and Estonian languages received written forms in the 16th and 17th centuries, largely due to the work of Christian missionaries and the translation of religious texts.

The Finnish language was first written down in the 16th century, when the New Testament was translated into Finnish. Similarly, the Estonian language’s written tradition emerged during the Reformation in the 16th century.

Some Baltic-Finnic languages (Votic, Izhorian, Livonian) remained unwritten or received writing very late.

Sami group

The Sami languages were formed as a result of complex interactions between the ancient Finno-Ugric population of Northern Scandinavia and other ethnic groups. The Sami languages emerged from the Finno-Sami community in the first millennium BC.

The Sami (formerly called Lapps or Laplanders) are one of the oldest peoples of Northern Europe. They have retained some archaic features of the Finno-Ugric languages, including the dual number.

Influence of other language families

Throughout their history, the Finno-Ugric languages have been significantly influenced by neighboring languages and language families, which has affected their phonetics, grammar, and especially their vocabulary.

The most significant influence on the Finno-Ugric languages was exerted by:

1. Indo-European languages : – Baltic languages (especially Baltic-Finnic and Sami languages) – Slavic languages (all groups of Finno-Ugric languages, but especially Baltic-Finnic, Mordvin, Mari) – Germanic languages (Balto-Finnic, Sami and to a lesser extent Hungarian) – Iranian languages (ancient contacts reflected in the basic vocabulary of many Finno-Ugric languages)

2. Turkic languages (especially Hungarian, Mari, Udmurt)

3. Samoyedic languages (into Ob-Ugric languages)

Examples of the influence of other languages can be found even in the basic vocabulary of the Finno-Ugric languages. Thus, the numeral * śata — “one hundred” in Proto-Finno-Ugric was borrowed from the Iranian branch of the Indo-Iranian languages.**

Many cultural and technical terms in the Finno-Ugric languages are borrowed from Indo-European languages, which indicates long-term contacts between the speakers of these language families.

The Role of Christianization

Christianization had a profound impact on Finno-Ugric languages and cultures. As missionaries spread Christianity across northern Eurasia, they often introduced writing and literacy, which helped preserve and standardize these languages.

The Finnish language was first written down in the 16th century, when the New Testament was translated into Finnish. Similarly, the Estonian language’s written tradition emerged during the Reformation in the 16th century.

A special role in the creation of writing for the Komi language was played by the missionary Stefan Permsky, who in the 14th century created a special alphabet - the ancient Permian script (Abur).

The translation of religious texts into Finno-Ugric languages contributed to their standardization and the development of literary norms. This is especially noticeable in the example of Finnish, Estonian and Hungarian.

Formation of written traditions

Finno-Ugric languages have different histories of the formation of written traditions. The most ancient written monuments are those of the Hungarian language (12th century), followed by Karelian texts (13th century) and monuments of ancient Komi writing (14th century).

The Finnish and Estonian languages received writing in the 16th-17th centuries, the Udmurt and Mari languages - in the 18th century.

Some Baltic-Finnic languages remain unwritten today. Other Finno-Ugric languages were written only in the 19th and 20th centuries.

The written traditions of the Finno-Ugric languages were formed under the influence of different graphic systems:

1. Latin - used in Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian and some other languages
2. Cyrillic - used in Komi, Udmurt, Mari, Mordvin and other languages in Russia
3. Special writing systems - for example, the ancient Permian alphabet (Abur), created by Stefan Permsky for the Komi language in the 14th century

The creation of writing systems for Finno-Ugric languages was often associated with the activities of Christian missionaries who translated religious texts into local languages.

Language reforms and standardization

Throughout their history, the Finno-Ugric languages have undergone linguistic changes and reforms. These changes have been influenced by factors such as political shifts, language contacts, and changing societal needs.

Particularly significant changes occurred in the 19th and 20th centuries, when many Finno-Ugric languages went through a process of standardization and the creation of literary norms.

In Finland and Estonia, a national awakening took place in the 19th century, which was accompanied by the active development of literary languages and the creation of national literature. In Finland, an important role in the standardization of the Finnish language was played by Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Kalevala and the author of the Finnish-Swedish dictionary.

In Russia/USSR in the 1920s and 1930s, work was carried out to create and standardize scripts for many Finno-Ugric peoples. Initially, many languages received Latinized scripts, which were then replaced by Cyrillic in the 1930s and 1940s.

At the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st century, in a number of Finno-Ugric regions of Russia, the processes of revival and development of national languages intensified, which led to certain reforms in the field of spelling and vocabulary.

Extinct Finno-Ugric Languages

According to historical data, there were other Finno-Ugric languages that fell out of use in the Middle Ages. These include the Merya and Muroma languages, known from chronicle sources.

It is possible that in ancient times the composition of the Finno-Ugric languages was broader. This is evidenced, in particular, by numerous substrate elements in Russian dialects, toponymy, and the language of folklore.

In modern Finno-Ugric studies, the Meryan language has been fairly fully reconstructed, which is assumed to have been an intermediate link between the Baltic-Finnic and Mordvin languages.

The Meryan language was widespread in the territory of modern central Russia (Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Kostroma, Ivanovo regions), as evidenced by numerous toponyms of Finno-Ugric origin in these regions.

Extinct or endangered Finno-Ugric languages also include Livonian, Votian, Izhorian, Kamasinian and others.

Current status and research

According to many modern researchers, speakers of Finno-Ugric languages have lived in Europe for about 10 thousand years. There is a hypothesis that Finno-Ugric speech was predominant in Eastern and Central Europe before the Great Migration of Peoples.

However, the subsequent separation of the Finno-Ugric languages from each other without further support of connections lasted for several millennia. The search for and discovery of linguistically related peoples was resumed at the end of the 18th century, they were initiated by scientists, mainly linguists. Gradually, this process involved increasingly broader scientific and cultural circles: linguists and ethnographers, historians and writers.

Today, Finno-Ugric languages are experiencing both difficulties and efforts to revive. Languages with state status (Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian) have a strong position and are actively developing. Other Finno-Ugric languages are in a more vulnerable position, some of them (for example, Votic, Livonian, Ingrian) are on the verge of extinction.

In recent decades, efforts to preserve and revive Finno-Ugric languages have intensified. New teaching materials are being created, the teaching of these languages in schools and universities is being developed, literature is being published, and media resources in Finno-Ugric languages are being created.

Contemporary research into Finno-Ugric languages covers a wide range of topics, from historical phonetics and grammar to sociolinguistics and language policy.

Main theories about the ancestral homeland of the Finno-Ugrians

The question of the ancestral homeland of the Finno-Ugric peoples remains controversial in science. There are several main theories:

1. Uralic theory - according to it, the Uralic people (the ancestors of the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples) originated in the Ural Mountains, which separate modern Russia and Kazakhstan. It is believed that the Uralic language was spoken around 6000-4000 BC.

2. The Volga-Kama theory places the ancestral home of the Finno-Ugric peoples in the Volga-Kama region, where archaeological evidence has been found of ancient cultures that could have belonged to the Finno-Ugric tribes

3. Baltic theory - some researchers believe that the Finno-Ugrians could have formed in the Baltic Sea region and adjacent territories

Linguistic and archaeological data indicate that the ancient Finno-Ugrians occupied the southern and western parts of the Ural homeland - the territory in the basins of the Pechora and Kama rivers - until the 3rd millennium BC.

The reconstruction of Proto-Uralic and Proto-Finno-Ugric languages is a complex and ongoing process, based on comparative linguistics, common vocabulary and analysis of linguistic features common to the Uralic languages.

Periodization of the history of Finno-Ugric languages

The history of the Finno-Ugric languages can be divided into several key periods:

1. The Proto-Uralic period (6000-4000 BC) was the time of the existence of a single proto-language, from which the Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic languages originated.

2. The Proto-Finno-Ugric period (4000-3000 BC) is the time of the existence of a single Finno-Ugric language after its separation from the Samoyedic branch

3. The period of formation of the main branches (3000-1000 BC) - the division of the Finno-Ugric community into the Ugric and Finno-Permian branches, further division of the Finno-Permian branch into the Permian and Finno-Volga

4. The period of formation of individual language groups (1000 BC - 1000 AD) - the formation of modern language groups: Baltic-Finnic, Sami, Mordvin, Mari, Permian, Ugric

5. The period of formation of written traditions (12th-18th centuries) - the appearance of the first written monuments in the Finno-Ugric languages, starting with Hungarian (12th century), Karelian (13th century), Komi (14th century), Finnish and Estonian (16th-17th centuries)

6. The period of national awakening and standardization (19th-20th centuries) — the formation of literary norms, the creation of national literatures, the standardization of writing systems

7. Modern period (late 20th – early 21st centuries) – efforts to preserve and revive Finno-Ugric languages, new research in the field of Finno-Ugric studies, development of international cooperation in the field of studying and preserving these languages

Sociolinguistic aspects

The situation of the Finno-Ugric languages varies considerably in different countries. Hungarian, Finnish and Estonian have the status of state languages in their respective countries and are in a relatively favorable position.

Many other Finno-Ugric languages have regional or minority status and face various problems: a decline in the number of speakers, limited functioning in education, media and other areas, competition with dominant languages.

Factors influencing the current state of the Finno-Ugric languages:

1. Demographic processes - urbanization, population migration, mixed marriages - lead to a reduction in the number of speakers of many Finno-Ugric languages

2. Educational policy - accessibility of education in Finno-Ugric languages, availability of teaching materials, training of teaching staff

3. Language policy of states - legislation in the field of protection and support of languages, funding of language programs

4. Globalization processes - the influence of English and other world languages, changes in communication practices in the digital age

5. Activities of language activists - initiatives to revive languages, create modern content, promote languages in the media and on the Internet

Development Prospects

The future of the Finno-Ugric languages is linked to a complex of factors, including the effectiveness of measures to preserve and develop them, the language policies of the states where they are spoken, and the activity of the native speakers themselves.

Positive trends:

1. Growing interest in national languages and cultures among young people
2. Development of media in Finno-Ugric languages, including Internet resources
3. International cooperation in the field of supporting linguistic diversity
4. New methods of teaching languages

Negative trends:

1. The continuing decline in the number of speakers of many Finno-Ugric languages
2. Limited opportunities to use languages in education and public life
3. Insufficient funding for language preservation programs
4. Assimilation processes

The preservation and development of Finno-Ugric languages is not only of cultural and scientific importance, but is also important for maintaining the linguistic diversity of the world, which is part of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity.

The Finno-Ugric languages, with their agglutinative grammar, vowel harmony and unique characteristics, represent a rich linguistic complex covering a vast area of Northern Eurasia.

Although the exact origins of these languages remain a matter of scholarly debate, their historical significance and cultural importance are beyond doubt. Due to the diversity of languages within the Finno-Ugric family, they continue to contribute to the linguistic diversity of the world and provide unique material for studying the complexity of human communication.

The history of the formation of the Finno-Ugric languages is a history of migrations, cultural contacts, adaptation to changing conditions and the preservation of linguistic identity over thousands of years. This history continues today, when the Finno-Ugric languages face new challenges and new opportunities.