Re: [tied] Sino-Caucasian and Nostratic

--- In cybalist@yahoogroups.com, enlil@... wrote:

> Miguel:
> > I don't know anything about Na-Dene, except that its
> > existence (Haida, Tlingit) is disputed.
>
> Not really, just how Haida and Tlingit are related. There must be
> something there that we can call "Na-Dene" or "Athabascan" to
> explain the common features, vocabulary and grammar.

Like I said, the existence of Athabascan is not in doubt. The issue
is its relation to Haida. The relationship to Eyak is accepted by
pretty much everyone, and many scholars (more than I had originally
thought) seem to consider Tlingit to be related too. Many of the
common features could easily be due to areal influence.

>So what else is Haida supposed to be? Salish?

An isolate, perhaps? Or the remnant of another unrelated family that
was obliterated by the advance of Tlingit from the north and Salish
from the south?

Jedediah