ABSTRACT
The mutual relations of the Mongolic languages can be summarized in terms of the similarities and dissimilarities that exist between them. Since all the Mongolic languages are, by definition, descendants of the same relatively uniform protolanguage, their similarities are mainly due to common genetic heritage, while their dissimilarities reflect the effect of secondary divergent developments. These divergent developments, in turn, are connected with innovations that have taken place in the individual Mongolic branches and languages after the breakup of the protolanguage. The internal taxonomy of the Mongolic language family can most reliably be based on the analysis of a maximally representative selection of innovations shared by specific groups of the Modern Mongolic languages.
