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Concept
Evenki language
Summary
Evenki eɪˈvɛnki (Ewenkī), formerly known as Tungus or Solon, is the largest member of the northern group of Tungusic languages, a group which also includes Even, Negidal, and the more closely related Oroqen language. The name is sometimes wrongly given as "Evenks". It is spoken by Evenks or Ewenkī(s) in Russia and China.
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). Evenki children were forced to learn Russian at Soviet residential schools, and returned with a “poor ability to speak their mother tongue...". The Evenki language varies considerably among its dialects, which are divided into three large groups: the northern, the southern and the eastern dialects. These are further divided into minor dialects. A written language was created for Evenkis in the Soviet Union in 1931, first using a Latin alphabet, and from 1937 a Cyrillic one. In China, Evenki is written experimentally in the Mongolian script. The language is generally considered endangered.
Evenki is a member of the Tungusic family. Its similarity to Manchu, the best-documented member of the family, was noted hundreds of years ago, first by botanist P. S. Pallas in the late 18th century, and then in a more formal linguistic study by M. A. Castren in the mid-19th century, regarded as a "pioneer treatise" in the field of Tungusology. The exact internal structure of the Tungusic family is a matter of some debate. Some scholars propose two sub-families: one for Manchu, and another for all the other Tungusic languages, including Evenki. SIL International's Ethnologue divides Tungusic into two sub-families, Northern and Southern, with Evenki alongside Even and Negidal in the Northern sub-family, and the Southern family itself subdivided into Southwestern (among which Manchu) and Southeastern (Nanai and others). Others propose three or more sub-families, or at the extreme a continuum with Manchu at one end and Evenki at the other.
Official source
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