Evenki

Source: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights - Russian Federation

Profile

Native Name
Evenki

Total Speakers

40,000

Usage By Country
Russia, Mongolia, and People's Republic of China.

Background
Evenki (also known as Ewenki, Ewenke, Owenke, Solon, Suolun) is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes the Even and Negidal languages. It is spoken by Evenks in Russia, Mongolia, and People's Republic of China.Contents.

In certain areas the influences of the Yakut and the Buryat languages are particularly strong. The influence of Russian in general is overwhelming (in 1979, 75.2 % of the Evenkis spoke Russian, rising to 92.7% in 2002). The Evenki language varies considerably among its dialects which are divided into three large groups:

•          the northern
•          the southern
•          the eastern dialects

 These are further divided into minor dialects.

 The written language for Evenkis in the former USSR, based on the Latin alphabet, was created in 1931, and since 1937 it has been based on Cyrillic alphabet. In China, Evenki is written in the Mongolian script. University of Chicago linguist Lenore Grenoble, who has spent years studying the language, states that Evenki is one of Siberia's endangered languages

Received 11/23/2009
Posted 11/30/2009
Checked 11/29/2009