Manchu/Information on Tungusic Languages

Introduction

The Manchu Tungusic language family consists of roughly 12 different languages that are spoken in a large geographical area stretching from Heilongjiang province and Inner Mongolia (both located in North East China) in the south, all the way through to the Arctic ocean in the north; from Sakhalin island, and the Kamchatka peninsula in the east, to the Yenisei river in the west. There are also several thousand speakers of a Manchu Tungusic language in Cabcal Sibe Autonomous County (察布查尔錫伯自治县) in North West China. Although speakers of Manchu Tungusic languages are spread over a huge geographical area, the actual number of people who speak one of the languages is less than 100,000.

Linguists working on Tungusic have proposed a number of different classifications based on different criteria, including morphological, lexical, and phonological characteristics. One classification which seems favoured over other alternatives is that the Tungusic languages can be divided into a northern branch and a southern branch, with the southern branch further subdivided into southeastern and southwestern groups.

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Language	In Ethnic Group	Speakers	Distribution
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Northern
Even	19,071	7,543	Russia - Sakha Republic and the Kamchatka Peninsula, widely scattered over the entire Okhotsk Arctic coast.
Evenki - China	30,500	19,000	China - Inner Mongolia, Hulunbuir: Ewenki, Moriadawa, Oronchon, Chen Bargu, Arong, Ergune, Huisuomu; Heilongjiang Province, Nale.
Evenki - Russia	35,527	9,000	Russia - Krasnoyarsk Krai to Sakhalin island, including Sakha Republic, Buriatia, Amurskaya oblast, Irkutsk oblast and Zabaikalski Krai.
Evenki - Mongolia	1,000	1,000	Mongolia - Selenge Aimag, north Mongolia.
Oroqen	8,196	1,200	China - Heilongjiang Province and Inner Mongolia, Huma, Aihui, Sunko districts, Great Xingan Ridge.
Negidal	567	100	Russia - Khabarovsk Krai, Kamenka settlement and Im, and in the Paulina Osipenko Region.
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South-Eastern
Nanai	12,160	5,760	Russia - Khabarovsk Krai confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers, scattered in Ussuri Valley and Sikhote-Alin, Amur Valley below Khabarovsk.
Hezhe	4,640	12	China - Northeast Heilongjiang, Tongjiang county, Bacha and Jiejinkou villages, and in Sipai village in Raohe County.
Orok	346	30	Russia - Sakhalin Island, Poronajsk District, Poronajsk, Gastello and Vakhrushev; Nogliki District, Val, Nogliki. Also spoken in Japan.
Ulch	2,913	500	Russia - Khabarovsk Krai, Ulch Region, Bogorodskove, Bulava, Dudi, Kalinovka, Mariinskoe, Nizhnaya Gavan, Savinskoe, Mongol, Solontsy.
Oroch	686	100	Russia - Khabarovsk Krai not far from Komsomolsk-na-Amure. Also in Vanino Region in Datta and Uska-Orochskaya settlements.
Udihe	1,657	100	Russia - Khabarovsk Krai, Gvasiugi, Lazo Region; Arsenievo, Nanai Region; Primorski Krai, Pozharsk Region, Terneisk Region.
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South-Western
Jurchen	Extinct	Extinct	China - Extinct.
Manchu	10,682,300	60	China - Heilongjiang, a few Manchu-speaking villages in Aihui and Fuyu counties.
Xibe	188,800	30,000	China - Xinjiang Province, mainly in Ili Region; some in Ürümqi City and Tacheng Region of Xinjiang Province.
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• Note 1: Figures for Russia are based on 2002 census figures
• Note 2: Figures for China are based on the 2001 census figures
• Note 3: Figures for number of speakers were taken from ethnologue and are therefore generally quite dated.
• Note 4: Only officially recognised ethnic groups and languages included.