Maria Pupynina (Institute for linguistic studies) Multilingualism in the Northeastern Siberia

In this talk, I will present the results of the ongoing study of small-scale multilingualism in the Northeastern Siberia (2017-present). The study focuses on the languages that have been in contact for more than 1,5 century: Tundra Yukaghir, Yakut, Chukchi, Even, Naukan and Chaplino Yupik Eskimo. I will discuss small-scale multilingual areas in the north of Yakutia (Lower Kolyma) and Chukotka (Chukchi peninsula) and touch upon the linguistic outcomes of long-lasting multilingualism. Both multilingual areas involve unrelated languages, and Lower Kolyma individual language repertoires can consist of five unrelated lects. The possible ways to measure the level of language distance/similarity/convergence between the languages of these areas will be discussed.