Tungusic languages

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.

Tungusic
Geographic distribution:	Siberia, Manchuria
Linguistic classification:	possibly Altaic (controversial) Tungusic
Subdivisions:	Northern Southern
Ethnologue code:	17-844
ISO 639-5:	tuw
Geographic distribution

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