Chulym language
Encyclopedia
Chulym also known as Chulim, Chulym-Turkic, Küerik, Chulym Tatar or Melets Tatar (not to be confused with the Tatar language
) is the language of the Chulyms
. The name the people use to refer to themselves, and also to their language, is Ös, literally ‘self’ or ‘own’. It is also spoken by the Kacik (Kazik, Kuarik).
This name originated from a now extinct tribe.
The language is closely related to the Shor
and Khakas
languages. Though considered by some as one language, the Ös speakers themselves do not believe this to be the case.
Chulym comprises distinct dialects, corresponding to locations along the Chulym River: Lower Chulym (now believed extinct), Middle Chulym, and Upper Chulym.
Chulym is a moribund language and will most likely be extinct within 25 years. It is listed in the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages. During the filming of the 2008 American documentary film The Linguists
, linguists Greg Anderson and K. David Harrison
interviewed and recorded 20 speakers and estimate there may be between 35-40 fluent speakers out of a community of overall 426 members. The youngest fluent speaker was 54 at the time of filming.
The speakers are located in Russia
, in central Siberia
, north of the Altay Mountains
, in the basin of the Chulym River
, a tributary of the Ob River
. All speakers are bilingual in Russian
. In Soviet
times, speakers of the language suffered as children were discouraged from or punished for using the language in schools, in a process of language devalorization.
Tatar language
The Tatar language , or more specifically Kazan Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tatars of historical Kazan Khanate, including modern Tatarstan and Bashkiria...
) is the language of the Chulyms
Chulyms
The Chulyms, also Chulym Tatars, are a Turkic people in the Tomsk Oblast and Krasnoyarsk Krai in Russia.-History:...
. The name the people use to refer to themselves, and also to their language, is Ös, literally ‘self’ or ‘own’. It is also spoken by the Kacik (Kazik, Kuarik).
This name originated from a now extinct tribe.
The language is closely related to the Shor
Shor language
The Shor language is a Turkic language spoken by about 10,000 people in the Kemerovo Province in south-central Siberia. In the history of the Turkic states and China, Shors played an important role, mostly connected with their offshoot Shatuo. Presently, not all ethnic Shors speak Shor, and the...
and Khakas
Khakas language
Khakas is a Turkic language spoken by the Khakas people, who mainly live in the southern Siberian Khakas Republic, or Khakassia, in Russia...
languages. Though considered by some as one language, the Ös speakers themselves do not believe this to be the case.
Chulym comprises distinct dialects, corresponding to locations along the Chulym River: Lower Chulym (now believed extinct), Middle Chulym, and Upper Chulym.
Chulym is a moribund language and will most likely be extinct within 25 years. It is listed in the UNESCO Red Book of Endangered Languages. During the filming of the 2008 American documentary film The Linguists
The Linguists
The Linguists is an independent 2008 American documentary film produced by Ironbound Films about language extinction and language documentation...
, linguists Greg Anderson and K. David Harrison
K. David Harrison
K. David Harrison is a linguist, author and activist for the documentation and preservation of endangered languages teaching at Swarthmore College and affiliated with the National Geographic Society. His research focuses on the Turkic languages of central Siberia and western Mongolia. He co-starred...
interviewed and recorded 20 speakers and estimate there may be between 35-40 fluent speakers out of a community of overall 426 members. The youngest fluent speaker was 54 at the time of filming.
The speakers are located in Russia
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...
, in central Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, north of the Altay Mountains
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed...
, in the basin of the Chulym River
Chulym River (Ob River)
The Chulym is a river in Krasnoyarsk Krai and Tomsk Oblast in Russia, a right tributary of the Ob River. The length of the river is . The area of its basin is . The Chulym flows into the Ob in Ust-Chulym...
, a tributary of the Ob River
Ob River
The Ob River , also Obi, is a major river in western Siberia, Russia and is the world's seventh longest river. It is the westernmost of the three great Siberian rivers that flow into the Arctic Ocean .The Gulf of Ob is the world's longest estuary.-Names:The Ob is known to the Khanty people as the...
. All speakers are bilingual in 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...
. In Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
times, speakers of the language suffered as children were discouraged from or punished for using the language in schools, in a process of language devalorization.