Relationship To Other Language Families
A number of factors make the reconstruction of the Northwest Caucasian proto-language problematic:
- most roots in Northwest Caucasian languages are monosyllabic, and many are single consonants;
- the sound changes are often intricate, and a large number of consonants and sibilant contrasts provides further complexity;
- ablaut was extensive and still plays some part in the modern languages;
- borrowings between languages of the family were frequent;
- extensive homophony occurs in the modern languages.
For these reasons, Proto–Northwest Caucasian is widely accepted as being one of the most difficult proto-languages to deal with, and it is therefore more difficult than most to relate to other families.
Read more about this topic: Northwest Caucasian Languages
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