Tungusic languages

The Tungusic languages ​​(also: Manchu - Tungus languages ​​) are a language family of twelve relatively closely related languages ​​that are spoken by about 75,000 speakers in North China, East Siberian regions of Russia and parts of Mongolia.

Tungusic as a subgroup of Altaic languages

The Tungusic languages ​​are often brought into a genetic connection with the Mongolian and Turkic languages, and combined with, as Altaic language family. The typological and lexical similarities - to a lesser extent also with the Korean, Japanese and with some Paleo-Siberian languages ​​- can be explained, however, by a mutual areal influence ( language contact ) and by diffusing culture words. The question of the possible relationship is in historical linguistics remains controversial, however, the tendency to consider the Altai languages ​​only as areal Sprachbund, but not as a genetic unit grows.

Classification

On the basis of lexical and grammatical investigations can the Tungusic languages ​​in the three groups of North Tungusic (actually Tungusic ), Southeast Tungusisch ( Amur languages) and Southwest Tungusic ( Manchu languages) divided. More detailed studies have also shown that the two latter groups are more closely related. Overall, results in the following classification:

• Tungusisch 12 languages ​​, 75,000 speakers Northern Tungusic Evens Ewenisch ( Lamutisch ) ( 7500, ethnic 17,000 )

• Evenki - Solonisch ( 30,000 )
• Oroqenisch ( Oroqenisch, Orontschisch ) ( 1,200, 7,000 ethnic )

• Negidalisch (200, 500 ethnic )

• South East ( Amur Group) Nanaiisch Nanaiisch ( Goldisch, Hezhenisch ) ( 6000, ethnic 12,000 )
• Kili ( to Kur and Urmi )
• Ultschisch ( Oltschisch ) ( 1,000, 3,000 ethnic )
• Orokisch ( Uilta ) ( 100)

• Udeheisch ( Udigheisch, Udigeisch, Qiakalanisch ) (100, ethnically 1,000)
• Orotschisch (100, ethnically 1,600)

• Manchu (100, ethnically 10 million) ( native language of the Chinese emperors of the Manchu dynasty )
• Xibenisch ( Sibenisch, Xibo, Sibo, Sibe - Manchu ) ( 30,000, ethnic 170,000 )
• Jurchenisch ( Juchenisch, Ruzhenisch, Nuchen, Nüzhen ) † (formerly spoken by the Ruzhen )

Geographical distribution

The number and names of the individual languages ​​varies depending on the position of the respective scientists. The definition of relatively closely related variants ( ie dialects ) follows as languages ​​in some cases political requirements. All Tungusic languages ​​are endangered or at least threatened.

Survey

Tungusic languages ​​- geographical distribution

Nordtungusisch ( Tungusisch i.e.S. )

The Ewenische (old name: " Lamutisch " ) is widespread in north-eastern Siberia in Yakutia and the Kamchatka Peninsula.

In many parts of Siberia, Mongolia and some regions in the extreme northeast of the People 's Republic of China ewenkische language is used. It is the Tungusic in the strict sense. Evenki has many regional variants spoken in Siberia, especially on Sakhalin, about 10 thousand people. In China, three dialects of Evenki be distinguished, the "Solo niche " with nearly 20,000 speakers, the " Bargu - Ewenkische " with around 3,000 speakers, and the " Olguya - Ewenkische " with about 150 speakers. Almost all speakers live in the administrative area of ​​the city of Hulun Buir, Inner Mongolia, only about 2,000 speakers of Solon Evenki live in the adjacent Qiqihar in Heilongjiang Province. ( Previously, these dialects of Evenki were considered separate languages. )

This group also includes the Negidalische language that is still spoken by some 200 people on the Amur underflow ( geographically an Amur language ).

Southeast Tungusisch: Amur languages

In the regions belonging to Russia in the lower reaches of the Amur ( Khabarovsk Krai ) are spoken following Tungusic languages: Nanaiisch ( Goldisch, Hezhenisch ) Ultschisch, Orokisch, Orotschisch and Udiheisch. The Negidalische, which is also spoken in the Amur belongs linguistically to the languages ​​nordtungusischen. Together they have only seven to eight thousand speakers.

Southwest Tungusisch: Manchu languages

In Manchuria still in two villages Manchurian ( Manchu ) of less than 100 people is spoken. The vast majority of over 10 million Manchu China today speak variants of the Chinese language. The Manchu language was one of the official languages ​​of the Tungus - Manchu Qing dynasty (1644-1911 ). The Xibenische, which has evolved from the Manchurian is now in Xinjiang Ili area, especially in Qapqal, distributed ( about 30,000 speakers).

Written languages

Most widely Tungusic writing and literary language was the Manchus, for as Offizial language of the Chinese Manchu dynasty in the 17th century -. Based on Mongolian models - a font was created, in which there is also a significant literature

Even the language of the forerunners of the Manchus, the Jurchen, but was used officially based in their own writing on the writing of the proto- Mongolian Khitan in the North China Jin Dynasty. Their territory was then as that of the Chinese Song Dynasty conquered by the Mongols. In this language, also the remains of manuscripts and inscriptions have been found and individual words are narrated in Chinese chronicles of the time.

1931 got the Ewenkische, Ewenische and Nanaiische in the Soviet Union, Latin, shortly after 1936/37, they were transliterated in Cyrillic.

The Xibe use today for their own xibenische font, a slight modification of the Manchu script.

" Tatar " and Tungusic

Like many other Siberian languages ​​also - - In Russian some Tungusic languages ​​were called " Tatar ", without that they are more closely related to the now -called Tatar Turkic language.

Tungus etymology (word equations)

A look at equations of the Tungusic word basic vocabulary provides the following table. It shows that the Tungusic languages ​​are closely related, but also leaves the main groupings in North ( Ewen - Ewenki - Negidal ), South East ( Amur languages) and Southwest ( Manchu Juchen ) recognize.

Linguistic Features

In terms of typology, the Tungusic languages ​​very similar to the other two groups of Altaic languages ​​( Turkic and Mongolian). These features are thus largely gemeinaltaisch and can be found partly in Uralic and Paleo-Siberian languages ​​(see Altaic languages).

The most important typological characteristics of the Mongolian languages ​​are:

• Medium Phoneminventare, simple syllable structure, hardly consonant cluster.

• Vowel harmony between the last vowel of the stem and the following suffix, which is based on different vowel oppositions.

• A largely agglutinative word formation and inflection, and indeed almost exclusively by suffixes. Each morpheme has a specific meaning and grammatical function and - apart from the requirements of vowel harmony - steady. There are in the Tungusic languages ​​but also approaches of periphrastic formations ( flexion with auxiliary words ).

• Adjectives are not inflected, they do not show concordance with their determination word.

• There are no items.

• There is no grammatical gender.

• Like the Mongolian languages ​​the Tungus have the concept of converbs used as a substitute for subordinate clause constructions. In general, subordinate clauses are nominalized and built into the main clause as part of the sentence.

• The normal sentence order is SOV ( subject-object - verb).