Nenets language
Encyclopedia
The Nenets language refers to either of two languages spoken in northern Russia
by the Nenets people
. They are often treated as being two dialect
s of the same language, but they are very different and mutual intelligibility
is very low. The languages are Tundra Nenets
, the bigger language of the two in number of speakers, spoken by some 30,000 to 40,000 people in an area stretching from the Kanin Peninsula
to the Yenisei River
; and Forest Nenets
, spoken by 1,000 to 1,500 people around the Agan
, Pur
, Lyamin and Nadym rivers
.
The Nenets languages are classified in the Uralic language family
, making them distantly related to some European national languages – namely Finnish
, Estonian
, and Hungarian
– in addition to other minority languages spoken in Russia. Both of the Nenets languages have been greatly influenced by Russian
. Tundra Nenets
has, to a lesser degree, been influenced by Komi
, and Northern Khanty
. Forest Nenets
has also been influenced by Eastern Khanty
. Tundra Nenets is well documented, considering its status as an indigenous-
and minority language
, also having a literary tradition going back to the 1930s
, while Forest Nenets was first written during the 1990s
and is only very little documented.
Apart from the word 'Nenets', only one other Nenets word has entered the English language
: 'parka
', their traditional long hooded jacket made from skins and sometimes fur.
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
by the Nenets people
Nenets people
The Nenets are an indigenous people in Russia. According to the latest census in 2002, there are 41,302 Nenets in the Russian Federation, most of them living in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Nenets Autonomous Okrug...
. They are often treated as being two dialect
Dialect
The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...
s of the same language, but they are very different and mutual intelligibility
Mutual intelligibility
In linguistics, mutual intelligibility is recognized as a relationship between languages or dialects in which speakers of different but related languages can readily understand each other without intentional study or extraordinary effort...
is very low. The languages are Tundra Nenets
Tundra Nenets language
Tundra Nenets is a Samoyedic language spoken in northern Russia, from the Kanin Peninsula to the Yenisei River, by the Nenets people. It is closely related to Nganasan and Enets, more distantly related to Selkup and even more distantly to the other Uralic languages...
, the bigger language of the two in number of speakers, spoken by some 30,000 to 40,000 people in an area stretching from the Kanin Peninsula
Kanin Peninsula
Kanin Peninsula is a large peninsula in Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. Latitude : 68° Longitude : 45°It is surrounded by the White Sea to the west and by the Barents Sea to the north and east. Shoyna is one of the few communities on the peninsula....
to the Yenisei River
Yenisei River
Yenisei , also written as Yenisey, is the largest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean. It is the central of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean...
; and Forest Nenets
Forest Nenets language
Forest Nenets is a Samoyedic language spoken in northern Russia, around the Agan, Pur, Lyamin and Nadym rivers, by the Nenets people. It is closely related to the Tundra Nenets language, and the two are still sometimes seen as simply being dialects of a single Nenets language, despite there being...
, spoken by 1,000 to 1,500 people around the Agan
Agan River
Agan is a river in Tyumen Oblast in Russia. It is 544 km long and its basin is 32 200 km²....
, Pur
Pur River
The Pur River is a river in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in Russia. The Pur River proper starts at the confluence of the Pyakupur and Aivasedapur Rivers. The length of the Pur River is 389 km. It is often considered as the Pyakupur's extension, which would make it 1,024 km long...
, Lyamin and Nadym rivers
Nadym River
The Nadym is a river in Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia. It is a left tributary of the Ob River. The length of the Nadym River is . The area of its basin is . The river originates in Lake Numto and flows into the Kara Sea. It freezes up in October and stays under the ice until late May. The...
.
The Nenets languages are classified in the Uralic language family
Uralic languages
The Uralic languages constitute a language family of some three dozen languages spoken by approximately 25 million people. The healthiest Uralic languages in terms of the number of native speakers are Hungarian, Finnish, Estonian, Mari and Udmurt...
, making them distantly related to some European national languages – namely Finnish
Finnish language
Finnish is the language spoken by the majority of the population in Finland Primarily for use by restaurant menus and by ethnic Finns outside Finland. It is one of the two official languages of Finland and an official minority language in Sweden. In Sweden, both standard Finnish and Meänkieli, a...
, Estonian
Estonian language
Estonian is the official language of Estonia, spoken by about 1.1 million people in Estonia and tens of thousands in various émigré communities...
, and Hungarian
Hungarian language
Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....
– in addition to other minority languages spoken in Russia. Both of the Nenets languages have been greatly influenced by Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
. Tundra Nenets
Tundra Nenets language
Tundra Nenets is a Samoyedic language spoken in northern Russia, from the Kanin Peninsula to the Yenisei River, by the Nenets people. It is closely related to Nganasan and Enets, more distantly related to Selkup and even more distantly to the other Uralic languages...
has, to a lesser degree, been influenced by Komi
Komi language
The Komi language is a Finno-Permic language spoken by the Komi peoples in the northeastern European part of Russia. Komi is one of the two members of the Permic subgroup of the Finno-Ugric branch...
, and Northern Khanty
Khanty language
Khanty or Xanty language, also known previously as the Ostyak language, is a language of the Khant peoples. It is spoken in Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous okrugs, as well as in Aleksandrovsky and Kargosoksky districts of Tomsk Oblast in Russia...
. Forest Nenets
Forest Nenets language
Forest Nenets is a Samoyedic language spoken in northern Russia, around the Agan, Pur, Lyamin and Nadym rivers, by the Nenets people. It is closely related to the Tundra Nenets language, and the two are still sometimes seen as simply being dialects of a single Nenets language, despite there being...
has also been influenced by Eastern Khanty
Khanty language
Khanty or Xanty language, also known previously as the Ostyak language, is a language of the Khant peoples. It is spoken in Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous okrugs, as well as in Aleksandrovsky and Kargosoksky districts of Tomsk Oblast in Russia...
. Tundra Nenets is well documented, considering its status as an indigenous-
Indigenous language
An indigenous language or autochthonous language is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples but has been reduced to the status of a minority language. This language would be from a linguistically distinct community that has been settled in the area for many generations...
and minority language
Minority language
A minority language is a language spoken by a minority of the population of a territory. Such people are termed linguistic minorities or language minorities.-International politics:...
, also having a literary tradition going back to the 1930s
1930s
File:1930s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: Dorothea Lange's photo of the homeless Florence Thompson show the effects of the Great Depression; Due to the economic collapse, the farms become dry and the Dust Bowl spreads through America; The Battle of Wuhan during the Second Sino-Japanese...
, while Forest Nenets was first written during the 1990s
1990s
File:1990s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope floats in space after it was taken up in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields and the USA Lexie in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War; The signing of the Oslo Accords on...
and is only very little documented.
Apart from the word 'Nenets', only one other Nenets word has entered the English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
: 'parka
Anorak
An anorak or parka is a type of heavy jacket with a hood, often lined with fur or fake fur, so as to protect the face from a combination of freezing temperatures and wind...
', their traditional long hooded jacket made from skins and sometimes fur.