Amur Nivkh

I. Sociolinguistic Data

1. Language name

The language name stems from the self-designation нивх meaning “man.” In the plural, it becomes нивггу  or “people.” A more complete version of this endoethnonym includes an inclusive first-person plural: мер+нивггу   which means   “our people.” In folklore texts, the protagonist is usually referred to as мер+ ӈафӄ   (“comrade” – “a person from our people.”) Modern Nivkh call their language нивх+диф or мер+нивх+диф .

The alternative name of the language, based on an endoethnonym, is Gilyak . It was used in the national literature until the middle of the 20th century and even later in some foreign research. Nivkh were called Gilyak mostly by their Tungusic-speaking neighbors, Neghidal  гилаха , Oroch, Ulcha, Nanai (dialect) гилэми , Orok гилэ , or гилэɣэ .   Based on historical sources, it can be assumed that the гиляк   exonym was brought into Russian via the Evenki language, in which Nivkh are called гилэкэ , even though the form of this word is not very typical for Manchu-Tungus languages. The meaning of the root * гилэ is usually associated with the archaic Ulcha  гилэ ‘boat’ (large, rowing, closed type) and the Nanai гила  “large six-oared boat.” Thus, the name of Gilyak can be translated as “people traveling by boats.” According to researchers, Nivkh did not call themselves Gilyak , and this exoethnonym remained relatively alien to them all throughout the time of its use. More detailed information about the ethnonymy of Nivkh can be found in the article.

Until recently, Amur Nivkh was considered a dialect of Nivkh, however, its lexical and phonetic differences (in contrast to a relative similarity on other linguistic levels), as well as the absence of mutual intelligibility with Sakhalin idioms allowed the Amur dialect group to become a separate language.

2. General Characteristics

2.1. Total number of speakers and their ethnic group

Number of native speakers in both Nivkh languages totals 198 people. Source: 2010 Census.

Number of speakers in traditional settlements based on the 2010 Census: 54 people. Source: 2010 Census.

Population (based on the 2010 census): 4.652 Nivkh in total, including 2.149 in the Khabarovsk Krai, and 2.290 in the Sakhalin region.

Currently, researchers estimate the number of competent Amur Nivkh speakers to be around 30 people. A few dozen more are partial or passive speakers.

2.2. Age structure of native speakers

As a rule, only representatives of the oldest generation speak the language.

2.3. Sociolinguistic Characteristics

2.3.1. General Characteristics

Nivkh has no official status, but it is considered to be the language of a small indigenous people. Currently, only representatives of the oldest generations are fluent in it, with very few exceptions.

Generally, children do not use the language widely. The turning point in this linguistic situation happened in the 1950s-1960s with the introduction of the school boarding system. At the same time, the local administration began fortifying settlements and moving into them the residents of small national communities.

The ratio of native people fluent in Amur Nivkh and Sakhalin Nivkh throughout the years is the following: 1897 – 100%; 1926 – 99.5%; 1959 – 77.1% (where most speakers were bilingual); 1979 – 37.4% (about 97,3 % speak Russian on a native level); 1989 – 23.3%; 2002 – 9.2%; 2010 – 4.5%; 2020 – 1% (?).

The   attitude toward the native language is generally positive and the ethnic community expresses the desire to preserve it.

2.3.2. Language Vitality Status

Throughout the territory inhabited by Nivkh, Amur Nivkh has a 1B status and belongs to the so-called dormant languages due to a lack of regular use in communication.

2.2.3. Use in various spheres

2.4 . Information about written language and its existence

In 1931, the first Amur Nivkh alphabet was developed under the supervision of E. Kreinovich. Similar to other alphabets using the Unified Northern Alphabet, the Nivkh alphabet was Latin-based.

In 1932, there was published the first Nivkh ABC Cuzḑif [Nivkh Word], followed by some reading and math books, several booklets, translations of two fairy tales by Pushkin, as well as several editions of the newspaper Niv ꜧ gu   mǝkǝr-qlaj-ḑif [Nivkh Pravda]. The new system of writing was actively used in teaching Nikh and other subjects.

In 1937, state authorities decided to switch the alphabet of all languages of indigenous peoples of the North to a Cyrillic-based orthography. The same year, E. Kreinovich introduced the draft of a new alphabet and the principles of applying Russian orthography to Nivkh. However, for various reasons, the new alphabet failed to get a practical application.

After a long pause, V. Savelyeva, E. Dehal, and Č. Taksami elaborated yet another Cyrillic-based alphabet in 1953. Despite the fact that it was used to compile a new Nivkh language textbook, this version also remained unused.

In the late 1970s, the matter of developing a system of writing for indigenous peoples of the North was brought up again. The debate over Nikh was led by E. Kreinovich, G. Otaina, M. Puhta, and V. Panfilov. In 1979, V. Sangi elaborated 2 new alphabets, this time respectively for the Amur and Sakhalin languages. Based on the approved alphabets, Č. Taksami, M. Puhta, and A. Vingun compiled an ABC for Amur Nivkh. Thereafter, the alphabet underwent several reforms, but its foundation remained unchanged. The underlying trend was to bring the Nivkh orthography closer to that of the Russian language. In recent years, the Cyrillic-based alphabet was used to publish reading books and other textbooks.

The modern Amur Nivkh alphabet includes 44 letters, some of which are only used for Russian-borrowed words. For easier morphological analysis, this article does not use yotized vowels.

3. Geographic Characteristics

3.1. Subjects of the Russian Federation with compact residence of native speakers

At present, Nivkh who speak Amur Nivkh live in Nikolayevsky and Ulchsky districts of the Khabarovsk Krai and the Sakhalin Region.

3.2. Total number of localities traditionally inhabited by native speakers.

3.3. List of localities

Mainland Nivkh tend to disperse in small settlements located in the Lower Amur area and the Amur River estuary. Further listed are the names of localities inhabited by members of the Nivkh community with an estimated number of speakers in brackets (data provided by M. Temina and A. Hurion).

Nikolayevsky district: Aleevka (3), Nizhnee Pronge (0), Innokent’evka (1), Lazarev (4), Krasnoe (2), Mnogovershinny (4), Mago (0), Orel-Chlia (1), Oremif (2), Tneyvah (0), Polovinka (0), Puir (1), Chnyrrah (0). Ulchsky district: Voskresenksoye (0), Kalma (2), Kolchem (0), Mongol (0), Tyr (0), Ukhta (0).

Sakhalin Nivkh live in a more compact way. The speakers of Amur Nivkh live in Nekrasovka, Okha District.

The Nivkh municipal diasporas formed on the mainland in Nikolayevsk-on-Amur (Amur dialect, 8), Khabarovsk (Amur dialect, 3), and Komsomolsk-on-Amur; as well as in Sakhalin: Okha (North Sakhalin, 1) and South-Sakhalinsk.

4. Historical Dynamics

The number of native speakers and corresponding ethnic group based on various censuses (starting from 1897) and other sources.

II. Linguistic Data

1. Position in the Genealogical classification of world languages

Amur Nivkh and Sakhalin Nivkh are closely related languages and form the Amur (Nivkh) language family. Previously, these idioms were perceived as a single Nivkh language considered a language isolate, which was included in the group of Paleo-Asiatic languages based on the classification by Leopold von Schrenck. This group includes several unrelated languages spoken in northeast Asia prior to the arrival of the Manchu-Tungus language family in the region.

2. Dialects

Amur Nivkh incorporates several local variants that represent a dialect continuum. Its traditional range of distribution includes the Lower Amur area, the Amur River estuary, the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk and the Tatar Strait, as well as the north-western part of Sakhalin Island. Traditionally, Nivkh used to live in small settlements along spawning streams and by the seashore. On the Amur River, villages were often mixed and made up of different ethnic groups.

People in the Lower Amur area speak a dialect that differs slightly from the one in the Amur River estuary, as well as from the West Sakhalin dialect. The North Sakhalin variety, which was spoken on the Schmidt Peninsula, can also be considered a variant of Amur Nivkh, with some reservations. This dialect contains features of Amur and Sakhalin, but it also has some idiosyncratic features of its own. 

3. Brief history of language study

The first reliable information regarding the material and spiritual culture of Nivkhs appeared in the late 19th century, when V. Grube published the data collected by L. von Schrenk and P. von Glen during their expedition to the Amur region (Priamurie) organized by the Russian Imperial Academy of Science in 1854–56.

A more intensive study of Amur Nivkh began with the publications of E. Kreinovich that included two short grammatical essays (1934, 1979), a monograph on Nivkh numerals (1932), a monograph on Nivkh phonetic and morphonologic systems (1937), a series of articles about Nivkh dialects (1973), spatial orientation (1960, 1986), incorporation (1958, 1966), contacts with other languages (1955), and other research.

2013. Panfilov made his contribution to Nivkh studies by publishing a dissertation on Nivkh numerals (1953) and Nivkh grammar (1962, 1965), where the main focus was phonology and morphology. He also published a short grammatical essay (1968) and a series of articles on incorporation (1954, 1958, 1960), voices of verbs (1960), declension of nouns (1963), as well as other research. There is a comprehensive study of Nivkh qualitative verbs in a monograph by G. Otaina (1978), who worked together with V. Nedjalkov to write several articles on the Nivkh transitivity (1978), reflexivity (1981), causativeness (1969), taxis (1987), and reciprocity (2007). In 2012, there was a posthumous publication of a research by G. Otaina and V. Nedjalkov on the Amur Nivkh syntax translated into English in 2013.

Russian-Nivkh (1965) and Nivkh-Russian (1970) dictionaries were published by V. Savelyeva and Č. Taksami. V. Savelyeva also studied Nivkh phonology and grammar (1948, 1954, 1960).

Among foreign research, one should point out the grammar essays written by B. Comrie (1981), G. Campbell (1991), E. Gruzdeva (1998), and J. Mattissen (2001). J. Mattissen also wrote a monograph on the synthesis in Nivkh (2003). Japanese linguist H. Shiraishi (2006) has been actively researching Nivkh phonetics and phonology. Since 2002, he has published 12 volumes of Amur Nivkh audio recordings in collaboration with native speakers.

In the last few decades, E. Gruzdeva has been particularly dynamic in describing various aspects of the Nivkh language, sometimes in collaboration with J. Janhunen.

4. 4. The Most Prominent Linguistic Characteristics from Typological and Areal Perspective

Nivkh is often presented as an outstanding or even unique language from a typological perspective. Indeed, it is fundamentally different from other languages that are spoken or used to be spoken in the Amur Region and Sakhalin, most of which belong to the Manchu-Tungus group.

Nivkh is known for its mechanism of morpho-phonological alternations that can be considered quite unique not only from an areal, but also from a typological perspective. Alternations play an important role in both phonological and syntactic levels since their presence or absence is often the only indicator of certain syntactic functions. Among all Eurasian languages, only Celtic languages possess a similar peculiarity.

The majority of languages close to Nivkh also contain demonstratives, spatial orientation terms, and numeral classifiers to varying degrees, however, Nivkh is the only one to display extremely well-developed systems in all the above-mentioned areas.