Russia, Europe

Continent

Europe

Alternate language names

ABAZIN, TAPANTA, ABAZINTSY, ASHUWA, BEZSHAGH

Dialect names

TAPANTA, ASHKARAUA

Genetic affiliation

North Caucasian/Northwest/Abkhaz-Abazin

Geographical region

Karachay-Cherkes AO and Dagestan ASSR. Also in California and New Jersey USA

Population

29,000 in Russia (1979 census), 95% speak it as mother tongue; 5,000 to 30,000 in Turkey; 80 speakers out of 150 members of ethnic group in Germany; possibly 15 in USA; 34,000 to 59,000 total

Bilingual in

Russian

Status

Work in progress

Remarks

It has literary status. Uses Cyrillic alphabet. Some dialects are partially intelligible with Abkhaz. Bezshagh may be a dialect of Abkhaz. 69.5% are fluent in Russian

Total speakers

34,000 to 59,000

Religion

Muslim

Languages

ADY ADYGHE

109,000 in Russia (1979 census), 96% speak it as mother tongue; 71,000 in Turkey; 25,000 in Syria; 44,280 in Jordan; 8,000 in Iraq; 2,000 in Israel; 3,000 in USA; 2,000 in Germany; a few villages in Yugoslavia; 10 to 20 families in the Netherlands; a few families in France; 263,000 total or more

AGX AGHUL

12,000 (1979 census), 98% speak it as mother tongue

AKV AKHVAKH

5,000 (1975 Ruhlen)

ANI ANDI

8,000 to 9,000 (1975 SIL)

ARC ARCHI

859 (1975 Ruhlen)

AII ASSYRIAN

25,000 in Russia (1979 census), 55% speak it as mother tongue; 70,000 in Iraq; 40,000 in Iran; 25,000 in Turkey; 167,000 total or more

AVR AVAR

483,000 (1979 census), 98% speak it as mother tongue

KVA BAGVALAL

5,500 (1962 Maxwell)

KAP BEZHTA

2,500 including Hunzib (1975 Ruhlen)

BPH BOTLIKH

3,500 including Godoberi (1962 Maxwell)

CJI CHAMALAL

5,500 (1962 Maxwell)

CJC CHECHEN

944,600 out of an ethnic population of 958,000 (1991 Honolulu Star Bulletin), 98.6% speak it as mother tongue in Russia, Kazakhstan, and Georgia (1979); several hundred in Jordan (1981)

CJU CHUVASH

1,640,000 mother tongue speakers (82%) out of an ethnic population of 2,000,000 (1991 WA)

DAR DARGWA

287,000 (1979 census), 98% speak it as mother tongue

DDO DIDO

7,000 (1962 Maxwell)

RMT DOMARI

500,000 total (1980 Kenrick)

MYV ERZYA

1,153.516 (1989 census)

GER GERMAN, STANDARD

1,836,000 in Russia excluding Plautdietsch (1979 census), 57% speak it as mother tongue; 118,000,000 total (1991 WA)

GDO GHODOBERI

(3,500 together with Botlikh; 1962 Maxwell)

GRK GREEK

344,000 in Russia (1979 census), 38% speak it as mother tongue; 12,000,000 total (1991 WA)

GIN HINUKH

200 (A.E. Kibrik 1991)

HUZ HUNZIB

(2,500 with Bezhta; 1975 Ruhlen)

INH INGUSH

194,000 mother tongue speakers (97%) out of an ethnic population of 200,000 (1986 estimate)

KAB KABARDIAN

368,000 including 46,000 Cherkes in Russia (1979 census), 97% speak it as mother tongue; 1,000 villages of Kabardian and Adygey in Turkey; 2,000 speakers in USA mixed with Adygey (1981)

KGZ KALMYK-OIRAT

147,000 Kalmyk in Russia (1979 census), 91% speak it as mother tongue; 139,000 Oirat in China (1987); 205,500 Oirat in Mongolia; 491,000 total

KRC KARACHAY-BALKAR

191,000 mother tongue speakers (97%) out of an ethnic population of 197,000 including 131,000 Karachay, 66,000 Balkar (1979 census)

KPT KARATA

6,000 (1962 Maxwell)

KRL KARELIAN

118,000 mother tongue speakers (56%) out of an ethnic population of 138,400 in Russia (1979 census); 40,000 in Finland (1975); 158,000 total

KHV KHVARSHI

1,800 (Maxwell 1962)

KOI KOMI-PERMYAK

116,000 mother tongue speakers (77%) out of an ethnic population of 151,000 (1979 census)

KPV KOMI-ZYRIAN

249,000 mother tongue speakers (76%) out of an ethnic population of 327,000 (1979 census)

KSK KUMYK

189,000 in Russia (1970 census)

KUR KURMANJI

116,000 in Russia (1979 census), 84% speak it as mother tongue; 7,000,000 to 8,000,000 total (1987 estimate)

LBE LAK

95,000 mother tongue speakers (95%) out of an ethnic population of 100,000 (1979 census)

LEZ LEZGI

500,000 (1989 census), 91.5% speak it as mother tongue

LUD LUDIAN

MRJ MARI, HIGH

MAL MARI, LOW

609,000 mother tongue speakers (87%) out of an ethnic population of 700,000 (1986 estimate; including High and Low Mari). The majority speak Low Mari

MDF MOKSHA

428,333 (1970)

NOG NOGAI

54,000 mother tongue speakers (90%) out of an ethnic population of 60,000 (1979 census)

OLO OLONETSIAN

GRN PLAUTDIETSCH

100,000 in Russia and Kazakhstan (1986); 306,000 total

RUS RUSSIAN

153,655,000 in the republics of the former USSR; including 137,397,000 Russians (1979 census), and an additional 16,300,000 non-Russians who speak Russian as their mother tongue; 400,000 to 450,000 in Israel (1992); 334,615 in USA (1970 census); 31,745 in Canada (1971 census); 13,504 in China (1990 census); 160,000,000 total first language speakers; 294,000,000 including second language speakers (1991 WA)

RSL RUSSIAN SIGN LANGUAGE

RUT RUTUL

15,000 (1979 census), 99% speak it as mother tongue

LPD SAAMI, KILDIN

1,000 (1987 T. Salminen); 2,000 all Saami in Russia (1987 Swedish Saami Association)

LPK SAAMI, SKOLT

500 in Russia (1987); 500 in Finland (1987); 1,000 total

LPT SAAMI, TER

500 (1987 T. Salminen)

SRC SERBO-CROATIAN

5,000 in Russia (1959 census); 20,000,000 total (1991 WA)

SLN SLAVONIC, OLD CHURCH

SLO SLOVAK

12,000 in Russia (1970 census); 4,865,450 in Czechoslovakia (1990 WA); 510,366 in USA (1970 census); 17,370 in Canada (1971 census); 100,000 in Yugoslavia (1985); 100,000 or more in Hungary; 5,606,000 total

TAB TABASSARAN

72,800 mother tongue speakers (97%) out of an ethnic population of 75,000 (1979 census)

TAT TAT, HEBREW

20,000 Jewish Tat possibly in Russia and Azerbaijan (1979 census), 91% of the ethnic group (6,800) in Dagestan speak Judeo-Tat; 220,000 in Iran including Mussulman Tat

TTR TATAR

5,715,000 speakers (86%) out of an ethnic group of 6,645,588 in Russia (1989 census), including 6,017,000 ethnic Tatar, of whom 86% speak Tatar as mother tongue, and an additional 370,000 Bashkir who speak it as mother tongue; 7,000 to 10,000 in New York City and San Francisco, USA; 1,000 in China (1990); 350 in Afghanistan; 7,000,000 total (1991 WA)

TIN TINDI

5,000 (1962 Maxwell)

TKR TSAKHUR

11,000 (1970 census)

UDM UDMURT

550,000 mother tongue speakers (77%) out of an ethnic population of 750,000 (1989 census)

VEP VEPS

2,320 speakers (1979 census) out of 13,500 in the ethnic group (1989 census). The remaining persons speak Russian as first language. Other reports indicate the number of speakers is higher

VOD VOD

25 (1979 Valt)

Russia, Asia

Continent

Asia

Remarks

See Russia in Europe for population statistics and the list of languages in the European region

Languages

AIN AINU

(1,500 in Russia; 15,000 in Japan; 16,500 total in ethnic group)

ALW ALEUT

10 vigorous speakers 50 years old and older, of whom most speak the Attuan dialect; There are other semi-speakers, all 40 years and older (1987 M. Krauss); 300 in the ethnic group in Russia (1991 A.E. Kibrik); 500 speakers out of 2,000 in the ethnic group in USA (1987 M. Krauss)

ATV ALTAI, NORTHERN

(51,000 including Southern Altai; 1979 census)

ALT ALTAI, SOUTHERN

51,600 mother tongue speakers (86%) out of an ethnic population of 60,000, including Northern Altai (1979 census)

ALR ALUTOR

100 to 500 elderly speakers out of 800 in the ethnic group (1991 A.E. Kibrik)

BXK BASHKIR

1,000,000 mother tongue speakers (67%) out of an ethnic population of 1,371,000 (1979 census). 370,000 ethnic Bashkir speak Tatar as mother tongue

MNB BURIAT, RUSSIA

318,000 mother tongue speakers (90%) out of an ethnic population of 422,000 (1990 National Geographic)

CKT CHUKOT

10,900 mother tongue speakers (78%) out of an ethnic population of 14,000 (1979 census); Maritime Chukchi are 25% of the speakers, Reindeer Chukchi 75%

CHU CHULYM

DLG DOLGAN

5,100 (1979 census)

ENE ENETS

90 speakers (1989 Juha Janhunen)

EVE EVEN

7,170 mother tongue speakers (56%) out of an ethnic population of 12,800 (1979 census)

EVN EVENKI

12,000 mother tongue speakers (43%) out of an ethnic population of 28,000 in Russia (1979 census); 10,000 in China (1990); 2,000 in Mongolia; 24,000 total

NIV GILYAK

400 or slightly more mother tongue speakers (1991) out of an ethnic population of 4,420 (1979 census)

ITL ITELMEN

100 or fewer speakers, primarily the older generation, out of an ethnic population of 1,500 (1991 A.E. Kibrik)

XAS KAMAS

1 speaker, about 92 years old (1987 T. Salminen)

KIM KARAGAS

600 (1959 census)

KRK KEREK

3 speakers from 60 to 63 years old (1991 A.P. Volodin in Kibrik); 200 to 400 in 1900

KET KET

990 mother tongue speakers (80% to 85%) out of an ethnic population of 1,200 (1991 A.E. Kibrik)

KJH KHAKAS

57,500 mother tongue speakers (81%) out of an ethnic population of 71,000 in Russia (1979 census); about 10 fluent speakers in China (1988); 57,500 total

KCA KHANTY

13,500 mother tongue speakers (1989 Juha Janhunen), out of an ethnic population of 22,000 (1979 census)

KKN KOREAN

389,000 in Russia (1979 census), 55% speak it as mother tongue; 20,000,000 in North Korea (1986); 42,000,000 in South Korea (1986); 1,920,597 in China (1990 census); 604,000 in Japan (1986); 249,000 in USA (1975); 5,200 in Singapore (1985); 72,000,000 total (1991 WA)

KPY KORYAK

5,450 mother tongue speakers (69%) out of an ethnic population of 7,900 (1979 census)

MNS MANSI

3,000 mother tongue speakers out of an ethnic population of 8,200 (1989 census)

MTM MATOR

KHK MONGOLIAN, HALH

1,774 in Russia (1959); 1,883,300 in Mongolian People's Republic (1986); 1,885,000 total

GLD NANAI

7,190 mother tongue speakers (55%) out of an ethnic population of 10,500 in Russia (1979 census); 40 elderly speakers out of an ethnic population of 4,245 in China (1990 census); 7,230 total

NEG NEGIDAL

200 speakers, mainly older, out of 500 in the ethnic group (1991 I.V. Nedyalkov in A.E. Kibrik)

YRK NENETS

27,000 mother tongue speakers out of an ethnic population of 34,000 (1989)

NIO NGANASAN

1,000 mother tongue speakers out of an ethnic population of 1,300 (1989 census)

OAC OROCH

490 mother tongue speakers (41%) out of an ethnic population of 1,200 (1979 census)

OAA OROK

(317 in the ethnic group; 1979 official report)

SAK SELKUP

1,700 mother tongue speakers (1989) out of an ethnic population of 4,500 (1991 A.E. Kibrik)

CJS SHOR

9,760 mother tongue speakers (61%) out of an ethnic population of 16,000 (1979 census)

TUN TUVIN

166,000 in Russia (1979 census), 99% speak it as mother tongue; 24,700 in Mongolia (1985 estimate); 400 in China (1990); 191,000 total

UDE UDIHE

100 speakers, 50 years old and older, out of 1,600 in the ethnic group (1991 A.E. Kibrik)

ULC ULCH

(2,500 in the ethnic group; 1979 census)

UKT YAKUT

311,600 mother tongue speakers (95%) out of an ethnic population of 328,000 (1979 census)

YUU YUGH

2 or 3 semi-speakers out of an ethnic group of 10 to 15 (1991 G.K. Verner in Kibrik)

YKG YUKAGHIR, NORTHERN

150 Tundra over 50 years old, out of 1,100 in the ethnic group (1989 census)

YUX YUKAGHIR, SOUTHERN

50 speakers over 35 to 40 years old (1989 census)

ESS YUPIK, CENTRAL SIBERIAN

300 speakers out of 1,200 to 1,500 population in Russia (1991 A.E. Kibrik); including 200 Chaplino (1991 Kibrik); 1,000 speakers out of 1,000 population in Alaska; 1,300 total

YNK YUPIK, NAUKAN

75 (1990 L.D. Kaplan) to 100 speakers (1991 A.E. Kibrik) out of an ethnic population of 350

YSR YUPIK, SIRENIK

2 elderly fluent speakers (1991 A.E. Kibrik)