Tungusic languages

Tungusic
Geographic distribution	Siberia, Manchuria
Linguistic classification	possibly Altaic (controversial) Tungusic
Subdivisions	Northern Southern
Language codes
ISO 639-5	tuw
Geographic distribution

The Tungusic languages (also known as Manchu-Tungus, Tungus) are spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria. Some linguists consider them to be part of the Altaic languages but many others do not think so.

Many Tungusic languages are in danger, and the long-term future of the family is uncertain.

Classification

Linguists working on Tungusic have proposed a number of different classifications based on different criteria, including morphological, lexical, and phonological characteristics.

Northern Tungusic

• Evenki (obsolete: Tungus), spoken by Ewenkis in central Siberia and northeastern China and
• Even (Lamut) of eastern Siberia

These languages can be considered dialects or related languages of Evenki:

• Oroqen
• Negidal
• Solon
• Manegir

Southern Tungusic

• Southeast Tungusic
  • Nanai (Gold, Goldi, Hezhen)
  • Akani
  • Birar
  • Kile
  • Samagir
  • Orok
  • Ulch
  • Oroch
  • Udege
• Southwest Tungusic (or the Jurchen-Manchu group)
  • Manchu of Manchuria, the language of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Dynasty of China.
  • Sibe - spoken in Xinjiang autonomous region by descendants of a Manchurian tribe dispatched by the Qing Dynasty to Xinjiang as a military garrison.
  • Jurchen - an extinct language of the Jin Dynasty of China.

Jurchen-Manchu (Jurchen and Manchu are simply different stages of the same language).

References

• Ethnologue entry for Tungus languages
• Kane, Daniel. The Sino-Jurchen Vocabulary of the Bureau of Interpreters. Indiana University Uralic and Altaic Series, Volume 153. Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Research Institute for Inner Asian Studies, 1989.

Other websites

• Monumenta Altaica - Altaic Linguistics. Grammars, Texts, Dictionaries, Bibliographies of Mongolian and other Altaic languages Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine
• Tungusic Research Group at Dartmouth College Archived 2012-10-06 at the Wayback Machine

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