{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.altaic","code":"thing-q37845","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q37845/","name":"Altaic","alternateNames":["Koreanic","Manchu-Tungus","Khitan","Jie","Turki","Pannonian Avar","Buyeo","Goguryeo","Koryo-mar","Middle Korean","Old Korean","Early Modern Korean"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A proposed language family grouping the Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic languages, sometimes extended to Koreanic and Japonic, historically popular but rejected by most historical linguists as a genetic family, with similarities often attributed to prolonged contact and areal convergence, while some researchers continue to argue for a Transeurasian family; the registry aliases include branches and languages associated with the proposal, such as Koreanic, Manchu-Tungus, the extinct Para-Mongolic Khitan language, the poorly attested Jie language, the historical term Turki for eastern Turkic literary languages and the language of the Pannonian Avars, whose affiliation is unknown.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the Altaic hypothesis, relay its history, arguments for and against and current scholarly consensus from historical linguistics sources with positions attributed, describe the named languages and uncertain affiliations, and distinguish Altaic from established families such as Turkic and Mongolic, the Uralic family, areal typology and Nostratic.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Contested hypothesis","Shared typology","Areal contact explanations","Includes poorly attested languages"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What Altaic is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is the Altaic hypothesis, and how does it differ from established families, Uralic, areal typology and Nostratic?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about classification, a specific language or history of linguistics?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"languages","name":"Languages","description":"Named languages.","findings":[{"id":"languages-finding","name":"Languages","description":"Languages.","questions":[{"text":"What are Koreanic, Manchu-Tungus, Khitan, Jie, Turki and Pannonian Avar, and what is known about their affiliations?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific language?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"debate","name":"Debate","description":"The debate.","layers":[{"id":"for","name":"For","description":"Arguments for.","findings":[{"id":"for-finding","name":"For","description":"For.","questions":[{"text":"What evidence do proponents of Altaic or Transeurasian cite?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"against","name":"Against","description":"Arguments against.","findings":[{"id":"against-finding","name":"Against","description":"Against.","questions":[{"text":"Why do most specialists attribute similarities to contact, with critics attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral and attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"methods","name":"Methods","description":"Methods.","layers":[{"id":"comparative","name":"Comparative method","description":"Comparative method.","findings":[{"id":"comparative-finding","name":"Comparative method","description":"Comparative method.","questions":[{"text":"What standards of sound correspondences are used to establish families?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"areal","name":"Areal","description":"Areal convergence.","findings":[{"id":"areal-finding","name":"Areal","description":"Areal.","questions":[{"text":"How can contact produce shared features such as vowel harmony and agglutination?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits sprachbund?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"History and extinct languages.","layers":[{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History of the idea.","findings":[{"id":"history-finding","name":"History","description":"History.","questions":[{"text":"How did Ramstedt and Poppe develop the Altaic idea?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Gustaf John Ramstedt?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"extinct","name":"Extinct","description":"Poorly attested languages.","findings":[{"id":"extinct-finding","name":"Extinct","description":"Extinct.","questions":[{"text":"What do inscriptions reveal about Khitan and why is Avar unknown?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Khitan script?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Describe the Altaic hypothesis and the main arguments for and against it, with attribution.","State that most historical linguists reject Altaic as a proven genetic family."],"mustNot":["Present Altaic as an established language family.","Dismiss the debate without saying who holds which view.","Use the hypothesis to support claims of ethnic or national superiority or common descent."],"requiresHuman":["Choosing how to classify languages in a reference work used by others."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Language family claims have been used in nationalist and pan-ethnic politics."],"affectedParties":["Speakers of Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic languages","Students and readers"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; it is a hypothesis debated by linguists.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q276314","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Q98791755","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"language family","type":"related","note":"proposed"},{"target":"Turkic languages","type":"related","note":"in the proposal"},{"target":"Uralic languages","type":"related"},{"target":"Nostratic languages","type":"related","note":"broader hypothesis"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.altaic","Wikidata: Q37845 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37845)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["proposal origins: 18th-19th century note","Transeurasian study: 2021 year - Robbeets and colleagues, Nature, debated","scholarly status: rejected by most specialists as a genetic family note"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Proposed Turkic-Mongolic-Tungusic family","Koreanic, Manchu-Tungus, Khitan, Jie, Turki, Pannonian Avar","Turkic and Mongolic are established families; Uralic is separate; areal typology explains shared features; Nostratic is a broader hypothesis","Not a visible object; a classification proposal."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain the hypothesis","relay arguments with attribution","describe named languages","distinguish established families"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting Altaic as an established family","Dismissing ongoing debate without attribution","Overstating knowledge of poorly attested languages"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["No regulation; classification databases such as Glottolog treat Altaic as not established"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a linguistic hypothesis.","core Altaic proposal of Turkic, Mongolic and Tungusic","macro-Altaic including Koreanic and Japonic","Transeurasian hypothesis","poorly attested historical languages"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q37845: Altaic","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q37845","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Altaic languages","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altaic_languages","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should the named historical languages be moved to their own entries?","How should Glottolog and scholarly debates be linked?","How should the Transeurasian hypothesis be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q37845/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q37845/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T21:42:12Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}