| Algonquian–Wakashan | |
|---|---|
| Almosan | |
| (hypothetical) | |
| Geographic distribution | North America,Sakhalin Island, and SouthernSiberia |
| Linguistic classification | proposed language family |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| Glottolog | None |
 Not shown: Yurok, Wiyot | |
Algonquian–Wakashan (alsoAlmosan,Algonkian–Mosan,Algonkin–Wakashan) is a hypotheticallanguage family that would connect together several North American, and possibly Siberian according to an interpretation, established language families.
The original 1929 proposal, made byEdward Sapir, consists of the following families:
Kutenai may possibly be distantly related to theSalishan family, but this link has not been demonstrated. The Mosan family proposal is also hypothetical and is currently considered undemonstrated, rather appearing to be aSprachbund.
A more recent hypothesis, first formulated in 2015 bySergei Nikolaev, includes
Joseph Greenberg renamed Sapir's proposalAlmosan and grouped it in an even more inclusiveAlmosan–Keresiouan phylum with theCaddoan,Iroquoian,Keresan, andSiouan families. This proposal has been rejected by linguists specializing in Native American languages.[1]
Murray Gell-Mann,Ilia Peiros, andGeorgiy Starostin groupChukotko-Kamchatkan andNivkh with Almosan.[2]
Sergei Nikolaev in the two papers where he was arguing for a relationship between theNivkh language, theAlgic languages and theWakashan languages, also proposed a more remote relationship between these three together and theSalishan languages .[3][4]