Graeco-Phrygian (/ˌɡriːkoʊˈfrɪdʒiən/) is a proposed subgroup of the Indo-European language family which comprises Hellenic and Phrygian languages.
Evidence
The linguist Claude Brixhe points to the following features Greek and Phrygian are known to have in common and in common with no other language:
- a certain class of masculine nouns in the nominative singular ending in -s
- a certain class of denominal verbs
- the pronoun auto-
- the participial suffix -meno-
- the stem kako-
- and the conjunction ai
Obrador-Cursach (2019) has presented further phonological, morphological and lexical evidence for a close relation between Greek and Phrygian.
Other proposals
Greek has also been variously grouped with Armenian and Indo-Iranian (Graeco-Armenian; Graeco-Aryan), Ancient Macedonian (Graeco-Macedonian) and, more recently, Messapian. Greek and Ancient Macedonian are often classified under Hellenic; at other times, Hellenic is posited to consist of only Greek dialects. The linguist Václav Blažek states that, in regard to the classification of these languages, “the lexical corpora do not allow any quantification” (see corpus and quantitative comparative linguistics).