Endangered Languages Project

ALSO KNOWN AS		Nivx, Gilyak, сахалинский нивхский язык, Nivkhi, Nivukhi, Ghilyak, Ghiliak, Gilyak, Gelyak, Giriyaaku, Нивхгу диф, Ньиғвӈгун, гиляцкий язык
CLASSIFICATION		Nivkh
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		niv
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		North Sakhalin Gilyak Amur East Sakhalin Gilyak
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

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Information from: “Red Book on Endangered Languages: Northeast Asia” . Juha Janhunen; Tapani Salminen (2000)

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available
>500
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
~2,000
CHILDREN
0
YOUNG ADULTS
0?

DATE OF INFO: 1993

SPEAKER NUMBER TRENDS

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

children speakers: very few, if any, though there is information that Sakhalin Nivkh is somewhat more vigorous than Amur Nivkh

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Russian

LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS

degree of speakers' competence: increasingly rudimentary, with strong interference from Russian

More on Orthography

there is a recently created literary standard (based on the central dialect), which is being propagated with some success

PLACES: Russia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: on northern Sakhalin, on both the western and the eastern coast, within Sakhalin Oblast, Russia

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: A small group of Sakhalin Nivkh speakers used to live in the southern part of the island (Karafuto), from where individuals were evacuated (after 1945) to Hokkaido, Japan; a few of these Sakhalin Nivkh emigrants survived until recently.

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
688
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,089
Native speakers worldwide

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
~300
Native speakers worldwide

TRANSMISSION
Scripts (Writing system): Cyrillic Script

PLACES: Siberia

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Poranaysk County

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,080
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
4,673
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
In 1989 the native speaker population was calculated as 23.3 % of the 4,673 over all population. Approximately 1,080.

DATE OF INFO: 1989

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY
LANGUAGE CONTEXT COMMENTS: With the abolition of native language schools, an ethnic mix of schoolchildren became additional justification for using Russian in schooling. The trend toward bilingualism begun in the 1930s, soon gained momentum: by 1959 the figure was 23%. Russian is now by far the predominant language, and the Nivkhs are on their way from bilingualism back to monolingualism but this time with the Russian language.
Scripts (Writing system): Russian alphabet
More on Orthography: Under the Soviet regime, a Nivkh alphabet based on the Latin alphabet (1931) and a written language based on the Amur dialect were created. In 1953, the transition to the Russian alphabet was completed and a new primer published.

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: The Nivkhs live in the Far East, on the Lower Amur, on the coast of the Ohkotsk Sea on the river's estuary, and on Sakhalin Island (Yh-mif in the Nivkh language). In the administrative sense, they belong to the Khabarovsk district of the Russian Federation (the districts of Takhatin and Lower Amur), and Sakhalin region (the districts of Rybinov, Kirov, Alexandrov and Shirokopad)

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
690
Native speakers worldwide
Ethnic population
5,162
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
"Ethnic population: 2,000 Amur, 2,700 Sakhalin (1995 M. Krauss)."

PLACES: Russia;

		2007	Europe and North Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	211-282	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge				Tapani Salminen	Salminen, Tapani. 2007. "Europe and North Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 211-282. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD			~300		100-999				Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13				Siberia	Poranaysk County
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press	New York				2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.																	47.0,142.5
	16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX		http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub	5,162		690		100-999	"Ethnic population: 2,000 Amur, 2,700 Sakhalin (1995 M. Krauss)."			Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)					Russia;
	3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris		http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub			688		100-999				Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)							51.7814,143.1628
		2000	Red Book on Endangered Languages: Northeast Asia						UNESCO	http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/nasia_report.html	Juha Janhunen; Tapani Salminen	Juha Janhunen; Tapani Salminen. 2000. "UNESCO RED BOOK ON ENDANGERED LANGUAGES: NORTHEAST ASIA." Online: http://www.helsinki.fi/~tasalmin/nasia_report.html		~2,000	0?	>500	1993	100-999		Russian	degree of speakers' competence: increasingly rudimentary, with strong interference from Russian	Severely Endangered (80 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	13	children speakers: very few, if any, though there is information that Sakhalin Nivkh is somewhat more vigorous than Amur Nivkh	15	A small group of Sakhalin Nivkh speakers used to live in the southern part of the island (Karafuto), from where individuals were evacuated (after 1945) to Hokkaido, Japan; a few of these Sakhalin Nivkh emigrants survived until recently.	Russia	on northern Sakhalin, on both the western and the eastern coast, within Sakhalin Oblast, Russia
			World Oral Literature Project							http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.				1,089		1000-9999				Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
9985-936922		1993	The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire			Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits				http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook		"The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire." edited by Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits. Online: http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook.		4,673		1,080	1989	1000-9999	In 1989 the native speaker population was calculated as 23.3 % of the 4,673 over all population. Approximately 1,080.	Russian	With the abolition of native language schools, an ethnic mix of schoolchildren became additional justification for using Russian in schooling. The trend toward bilingualism begun in the 1930s, soon gained momentum: by 1959 the figure was 23%. Russian is now by far the predominant language, and the Nivkhs are on their way from bilingualism back to monolingualism but this time with the Russian language.	Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						The Nivkhs live in the Far East, on the Lower Amur, on the coast of the Ohkotsk Sea on the river's estuary, and on Sakhalin Island (Yh-mif in the Nivkh language). In the administrative sense, they belong to the Khabarovsk district of the Russian Federation (the districts of Takhatin and Lower Amur), and Sakhalin region (the districts of Rybinov, Kirov, Alexandrov and Shirokopad)

Sakhalin Nivkh

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

>500

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

688

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,089

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~300

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,080

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

690

Discussion

Sakhalin Nivkh

Language metadata

Language information by source

Severely endangered

80 percent certain, based on the evidence available

>500

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

688

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,089

Endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

~300

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,080

Endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

690

Discussion

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Sources of information

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