Oroch language

Oroch
Орочи кэсэни
Native toRussia
RegionRussian Far East
Ethnicity527 Orochs (2021 census)[1]
Extinct2008[2]
119 (2021 census)[3]
Tungusic
Dialects
  • Koppi
  • Oroch Xadi
  • Tumnin
Cyrillic
Language codes
ISO 639-3oac
Glottologoroc1248
ELPOroch
  Oroch
Oroch is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

The Oroch language is a nearly[citation needed] extinct language spoken by the Oroch people in Siberia. It is a member of the southern group of the Tungusic languages and is closely related to the Nanai language and Udege language. It was spoken in the Khabarovsk Krai (Komsomolsky, Sovetskaya Gavan, and Ulchsky districts). The language is split into three dialects: Tumninsky, Khadinsky, and Hungarisky. At the beginning of the 21st century, a written form of the language was created. The Russian government and the scientific field disagree on whether the language is living or extinct.[2][4] The last active speaker died in 2008, but there are pasive speakers who speak Oroch to varying degrees.[5]

Oroch belongs to the northern subgroup of the Tungusic languages, alongside Udege, its closest relative, and the Ewenic languages.

It is believed that the Oroch language is the closest to Nanai, because a significant group of Nanai (Evenki) origin (Samagirs) joined the Orochs. Until the beginning of the 20th century, some researchers combined the Orochi with the Udege, considering them as close dialects. In the 1930s it was believed that the Udege language could be considered as a single standard language for both ethnic groups.

  1. ^ a b Lewis, M. Paul; Gary F. Simons; Charles D. Fennig, eds. (2015). Ethnologue: Languages of the World (18th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  2. ^ a b Е. В. Перехвальская (2016). Язык и общество. Энциклопедия [Language and society. Encyclopedia // Oroch language] (PDF) (in Russian). Moscow: Азбуковник. pp. 339–342/872. ISBN 978-5-91172-129-9.
  3. ^ Том 5. «Национальный состав и владение языками». Таблица 7. Население наиболее многочисленных национальностей по родному языку
  4. ^ Tolskaya, Inna (January 2014). "Oroch Vowel Harmony". Lingua. 138: 128–151. doi:10.1016/j.lingua.2013.10.012. Oroch, a recently extinct Manchu-Tungusic language
  5. ^ "Перепись населения насчитала в России шесть вымерших и заснувших языков". РБК (in Russian). 4 February 2024. Retrieved 12 November 2024.