Altaic

The Altaic hypothesis suggests that several language families in Eurasia—mainly Turkic, Mongolic, and Tungusic languages—share a common ancient ancestor. If true, these languages would be related like branches of a family tree, indicating historical connections and similarities in structure and vocabulary. However, this idea remains debated among linguists, with some believing the similarities are due to contact and borrowing rather than shared origin. In essence, Altaic refers to a proposed grouping of these languages based on observed similarities, but its status as a true language family is not universally accepted.