Selkup languages
| Selkup | |
|---|---|
| Geographic distribution | Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoyarsk Krai (Turukhansky District), Tomsk Oblast, Russia |
| Ethnicity | Selkup people |
Native speakers | 600 (2020 census)[1] |
| Linguistic classification | Uralic |
| Subdivisions | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-2 / 5 | sel |
| ISO 639-3 | sel |
| Glottolog | selk1253 |
Selkup is the group of languages of the Selkups, belonging to the Samoyedic group of the Uralic language family. It is spoken by some 600 people (2022 est.) in the region between the Ob and Yenisei Rivers (in Siberia). The language name Selkup comes from the Russian селькуп, based on the native name used in the Taz dialect, шӧльӄумыт әты (šöľqumyt əty lit. 'forest-man language'). Different dialects use different native names.
Language situation
As a result of linguistic marginalization and language shift, only a portion out of the general Selkup population (consisting of perhaps 3500 individuals today[4]) speak the native language today.[5]
Although Russia's Federal language legislation for the Indigenous Small-Numbered Peoples formally guarantees some language rights even for small ethnic groups,[6] Selkup language teaching is not included in basic education.[7] Also at the autonomous district level, laws on the native languages of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North have been adopted, including for Selkup, but so far without practical implementation.[6]
A prominent advocate for improving this situation and reforming school education for the Selkups, including the implementation of Selkup-language instruction, has been Daria Egereva,[8] who is also known as Co-Chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC),[9] an official caucus representing Indigenous peoples within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN climate negotiations.
Dialects
Selkup is an extensive dialect continuum whose ends are no longer mutually intelligible. The three main varieties are the Taz (Northern) dialect (тазовский диалект, tazovsky dialekt), which became the basis of the Selkup written language in the 1930s, Tym (Central) dialect (тымский диалект, tymsky dialekt), and Ket dialect (кетский диалект, ketsky dialekt). It is not related to the Ket language.
Some have proposed to split Selkup into two different languages, termed Northern Selkup and Southern Selkup.[10][11] According to the Endangered Languages Project, the differences between dialects are "comparable to those between, for instance, Ket, Yug, and Pumpokol".[12][13][14]
References
- ^ "Итоги Всероссийской переписи населения 2020 года. Таблица 6. Население по родному языку" [Results of the All-Russian population census 2020. Table 6. population according to native language.]. rosstat.gov.ru. Retrieved 2023-01-03.
- ^ Rantanen, Timo; Tolvanen, Harri; Roose, Meeli; Ylikoski, Jussi; Vesakoski, Outi (2022-06-08). "Best practices for spatial language data harmonization, sharing and map creation—A case study of Uralic". PLOS ONE. 17 (6) e0269648. Bibcode:2022PLoSO..1769648R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0269648. PMC 9176854. PMID 35675367.
- ^ Rantanen, Timo, Vesakoski, Outi, Ylikoski, Jussi, & Tolvanen, Harri. (2021). Geographical database of the Uralic languages (v1.0) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4784188
- ^ "Prozess gegen indigene Menschenrechtsverteidigerin in Russland beginnt – Sorge um Daria Egereva". gfbv.de (in German). Gesellschaft für bedrohte Sprachen. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
[…] einem der kleinsten Indigenen Völker Russlands mit insgesamt etwa 3.500 Angehörigen
- ^ Kazakevič, Olga (2022). "Selkup". The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 777–816. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0038.
- ^ a b Zamyatin, Konstantin (2022). "Language policy in Russia". The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 79–90. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0005.
- ^ Annika Pasanen, Johanna Laakso, Anneli Sarhimaa (2022). "The Uralic minorities. Endangerment and revitalization". The Oxford Guide to the Uralic Languages. Oxford University Press. pp. 68–78. doi:10.1093/oso/9780198767664.003.0004.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Dariya Egereva. "The intervention of Darya Egereva at the 18th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues". Indigenous Russia. Retrieved 19 February 2026.
- ^ "Indigenous Peoples Send Open Letter to Russian President Putin to Release Daria Egereva". International Work Group for Indigenous Affairs. Retrieved 15 February 2026.
- ^ "О КМНС". test.atlaskmns.ru. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "О КМНС". atlaskmns.ru. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Did you know Northern Selkup is endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Did you know Central Selkup is critically endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
- ^ "Did you know Southern Selkup is critically endangered?". Endangered Languages. Retrieved 2025-05-14.
Works cited
- Helimski, Eugene (1998). "Selkup". In Abondolo, David (ed.). The Uralic Languages. London: Routledge. pp. 548–579. ISBN 0-415-08198-X.
External links
- Endangered Languages of Indigenous Peoples of Siberia: The Selkup Language
- The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire: The Selkups
- Audio of a man telling a story in Selkup
- Языки народов России - Язык селькупов ('Languages of the Peoples of Russia – Selkup Language') (in Russian and Selkup)