ERIC Number: EJ1173927
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1934-5275
EISSN: N/A
The Endangered State of Negidal: A Field Report
Language Documentation & Conservation, v12 p1-14 2018
Negidal is a Northern Tungusic language closely related to Evenki with two recognized dialects, Upper and Lower Negidal. This nearly extinct language used to be spoken in the Lower Amur region of the Russian Far East by people whose traditional way of life was based on fishing and hunting. While the number of remaining active speakers of Upper Negidal was more or less known, the current state of Lower Negidal was still uncertain. We here report on a trip to ascertain the state of Lower Negidal and give a precise assessment of the linguistic situation of both dialects. While the Upper dialect is still represented by seven elderly female speakers, varying in proficiency from fully fluent to barely able to produce a narrative, not a single active speaker of Lower Negidal is left. The language will therefore probably be extinct in the next decade or two.
Descriptors: Language Maintenance, Language Skill Attrition, Language Fluency, Language Research, Languages, Foreign Countries, Dialects, Older Adults, Language Proficiency, Females, Geographic Regions, Travel
National Foreign Language Resources Center at University of Hawaii. Department of Linguistics, UHM Moore Hall 569, 1890 East-West Road, Honolulu, HI 96822. Fax: 808-956-9166; e-mail: ldc@hawaii.edu; Web site: http://nflrc.hawaii.edu/ldc/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Russia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A