Comparative Perspective
There are two points of view about where Itelmen belongs genetically. According to the first hypothesis, Itelmen and other Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages are derived from one proto-language; the sharp differences of Itelmen, noticed at all levels, are explained by the intense influence of other languages; it is suggested that Itelmen absorbed a different non-Chukotko-Kamchatkan language (V. G. Bogoraz, V. I. Jochelson, P. Y. Skorik). According to the second theory, Itelmen is not related to other Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages; common elements are seen as the effects of convergent evolution (D. Wort, A. P. Volodin, A. S. Asinovsky); thus, there is a basis to consider Itelmen genetically isolated, contrasted with the group of languages Chukotko-Koryak definitely related to Chukotko-Kamchatkan languages. There is also no genetic link between Itelmen and the language of the Ainu (the Southern neighbors of the Itelmen).
Initial comparisons of the Itelmen lexicon to Chukotko-Koryak in terms of the basic lexical stock show that instances of lexical commonality of Itelmen and Chukotko-Koryak languages make up approximately one third, with two thirds of the lexicons sharply distinct. The interpretation of these data are preliminary due to the incompleteness of Chukotko-Kamchatkan comparative phonetics.
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