Japhetic theory is a term used to describe a linguistic theory developed by the Soviet linguist Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr (1864–1934). In linguistics it is considered to be the equivalent of Lysenkoism in biology: a theory that was promoted and supported for ideological rather than scientific reasons, because it was thought to represent "proletarian science" as opposed to "bourgeois science." Soviet redirects here. ... Nikolay Yakovlevich Marr (1864-1934) was a controversial Soviet scholar whose monogenetic theory of language constituted the officially approved ideology of Soviet linguists until 1950, when Joseph Stalin personally slammed it as anti-scientific. ... 1864 (MDCCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is called a proletarian. ... Bourgeois at the end of the thirteenth century. ...

Marr adopted the term "Japhetic", from Japheth, the name of one of the sons of Noah, in order to characterise his theory that the Kartvelian languages of the Caucasus area were related to the Semitic languages of the Middle East (named after Shem, Japheth's brother). This initial theory pre-dated the October revolution. In 1917, Marr enthusiastically endorsed the revolution, and offered his services to the new Soviet regime. He was soon accepted as the country's leading linguist. Japheth (Hebrew. ... This T and O map, which abstracts that societys known world to a cross inscribed within an orb, remakes geography in the service of Christian iconography and identifies the three known continents as populated by descendents of Shem (Sem), Ham (Cham) and Japheth (Iafeth) The Table of Nations is... Georgian (also Kartvelian; Kartuli in Georgian) is the official language of Georgia, a republic in the Caucasus. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Caucasus Mountains. ... The Semitic languages are the northeastern subfamily of the Afro-Asiatic languages, and the only family of this group spoken in Asia. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ... Shem (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; Greek: Σημ, SÄ“m ; Arabic:  ; Geez: Sham ; renown; prosperity; name) was one of the sons of Noah in the Bible. ... For other uses, see October Revolution (disambiguation). ...

Under the Soviet government Marr developed his theory to claim that Japhetic languages had existed across Europe before the advent of the Indo-European languages. They could still be recognised as a substratum over which the Indo-European languages had imposed themselves. Using this model, Marr attempted to apply the Marxist theory of class struggle to linguistics, arguing that these different strata of language corresponded to different social classes. He even claimed that the same social classes in widely different countries spoke versions of their own languages that were linguistically closer to one another than to the speech of other classes who supposedly spoke "the same" language. This aspect of Marr's thinking was an attempt to extend the Marxist theory of international class consciousness far beyond its original meaning, by trying to apply it to language. Marr also insisted that the notion that a people are united by common language was nothing more than false consciousness created by "bourgeois nationalism". The Indo-European languages comprise a family of several hundred related languages and dialects [1], including most of the major languages of Europe, as well as many spoken in the Indian subcontinent (South Asia), the Iranian plateau (Southwest Asia), and Central Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Class struggle is the active expression of class conflict looked at from any kind of socialist perspective. ... Class consciousness is a category of Marxist theory, referring to the self-awareness of a social class, its capacity to act in its own rational interests, or measuring the extent to which an individual is conscious of the historical tasks their class (or class allegiance) sets for them. ... False consciousness is the Engelsist hypothesis that material and institutional processes in capitalist society mislead the proletariat — and perhaps the other classes — over the nature of capitalism. ... Bourgeois nationalism is a term from Marxist phraseology. ...

In 1950, after Marr's death, his claims were officially discredited as a misrepresentation of Marxist theory in an article written by Stalin. Since then, the Japhetic theory has been seen as deeply flawed, both inside and outside the Soviet Union. Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვი&#4314...

References

• J. V. Stalin, Marxism and Problems of Linguistics, first published in the June 20, July 4, and August 2, 1950 issues of Pravda; reprinted by Foreign Languages Publishing House, Moscow. online version (marxists.org)