New linguistic analysis by researchers including Dr Simon Fries , Researcher in Comparative Philology in the Faculty of Classics and Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics , University of Oxford, has provided compelling evidence that two powerful ancient nomadic groups - the European Huns and the Xiongnu of Inner Asia - spoke the same Paleo-Siberian language. The findings significantly bolster longstanding hypotheses about the shared origins of these peoples, offering a linguistic dimension to earlier archaeological and genetic links.
The Xiongnu, who established a steppe empire in the 3rd century BC, and the Huns, who threatened Roman Europe in the 4th and 5th centuries AD, have long fascinated scholars. But their precise linguistic and ethnic identities have remained elusive due to a paucity of written records.
Our study shows that alongside archaeology and genetics comparative philology plays an essential role in the exploration of human history. We hope that our findings will inspire further research into the history of lesser-known languages and thereby contribute further to our understanding of the linguistic evolution of mankind.
Dr Simon Fries, Faculty of Classics and Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics
From the seventh century AD, Turkic peoples expanded westwards; it was therefore assumed that the Xiongnu and the ethnic core of the Huns, whose own westward expansion dates back to the fourth century AD, also spoke a Turkic language.
However, Dr Fries, Researcher in Comparative Philology in the Faculty of Classics and Faculty of Linguistics, Philology and Phonetics, University of Oxford, alongside Dr Svenja Bonmann at the University of Cologne's Department of Linguistics, found various linguistic indications that these groups spoke an early form of Arin, a Yeniseian language, in Inner Asia around the turn of the millennium.
'This was long before the Turkic peoples migrated to Inner Asia and even before the splitting of Old Turkic into several daughter languages. This ancient Arin language even influenced the early Turkic languages and enjoyed a certain prestige in Inner Asia. This implies that Old Arin was probably the native language of the Xiongnu ruling dynasty', said Dr Bonmann.
The research analyses linguistic data from loanwords, glosses, personal names, and geographic names. Five ancient loanwords found in both Turkic and Mongolic languages appear to derive from Arin. These words, referring to core natural elements like 'lake', 'rain', and 'birch', show phonological features that point unmistakably to a Yeniseian source, specifically to Old Arin. The researchers suggest this reflects not just contact, but the political or cultural prestige of the Arin-speaking Xiongnu ruling elite.
Dr Simon FriesFurther evidence comes from the so-called 'Jie couplet', a rare linguistic relic recorded in a Chinese chronicle. The structure and vocabulary of this couplet, long assumed to be Turkic, are instead shown to align more closely with Arin grammar and morphology. Similarly, several personal names attributed to Hunnish rulers, including that of Attila, can plausibly be explained through Arin word formation patterns.
Adding weight to the linguistic findings, the team mapped hydronyms and toponyms across Eurasia, identifying consistent naming patterns that match Arin lexical items. These geographical markers trace a migration path from the Altai-Sayan region westward, aligning with the historical movements of the Huns from Inner Asia into Europe.
Dr Fries notes, 'Our study shows that alongside archaeology and genetics comparative philology plays an essential role in the exploration of human history. We hope that our findings will inspire further research into the history of lesser-known languages and thereby contribute further to our understanding of the linguistic evolution of mankind'.
The research lends strong support to the idea that the Huns were not an entirely separate group from the Xiongnu but rather their western descendants, preserving linguistic continuity over centuries. As Fries concludes, the convergence of linguistic, archaeological, and genetic data 'independently corroborate the implications of each other', making the case for a common Arin-speaking origin all the more persuasive.
This work underscores the potential of interdisciplinary approaches to resolve long-standing historical mysteries and sheds new light on the complex cultural landscapes of Eurasia's ancient steppes. The full study, ' Linguistic Evidence Suggests that Xiōng-nú and Huns Spoke the Same Paleo-Siberian Language ', has been published in Transactions of the Philological Society.
