Ӈаасан

Nganasan

Uralic (Samoyedic, Northern)

FamilyUralic (Samoyedic, Northern) Speakers~125 (UNESCO: critically endangered) ScriptCyrillic (Tereshchenko 1979 alphabet, with ӈ ӧ ӱ ʼ ˮ) CountriesRussia Official inNo (recognized indigenous minority of the North) Vitalitycritically endangered ISO 639-3nio

Nganasan (Ӈаасан, also Tavgi) is a Samoyedic Uralic language spoken on the Taymyr Peninsula at the very northernmost edge of Eurasia (the world's northernmost language by territory). Closely related to Enets within Northern Samoyedic. Famous in linguistic literature for its near-perfect agglutinative morphology, vowel harmony, and consonant gradation system — described in detail by Tereshchenko (1979), Helimski (1998), and Wagner-Nagy (2018). Critically endangered: only ~125 fluent speakers remain, all elderly. The Nganasan are traditional reindeer herders and the last group in Eurasia to maintain shamanic religious practices into the 20th century.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Nganasan

Water

быˮ

bɨʔ

Fire

туй

tuj

Sun

коу

kou

Moon

кичез̌әә

kitʃeðəː

Star

хотəдиə

xotəˈdʲiə

Night

хии

xiː

Rain

соруа

sorʷa

Snow

сирү

sʲiry

Wind

биә

bʲiə

Earth

моу

mou

Stone

хуалә

xʷalə

Mountain

дикә

dʲikə

Sea

дям

dʲɐm

Mother

ниӈӈы

niŋːɨ

Father

десы

desɨ

Daughter

ны нюо

nɨ ɲuo

I

мəнə

məˈnə

You

тəнə

təˈnə

We

мəӈ

məŋ

Name

ним

ɲim

Person

ӈанаˮса

ŋɐnɐʔsɐ

Head

ӈойбуо

ŋojbʷo

Eye

сейми

sejmi

Ear

коу

kou̯

Nose

ӈүнкә

ŋynkə

Mouth

ӈаӈ

ŋɐŋ

Tooth

чими

tʃimi

Tongue

сиәде

sʲiədʲe

Hand

дютү

dʲyty

Foot

ӈой

ŋoj

Heart

сәә

səə

Bone

латәә

latəː

Blood

кам

kam

Love

тонды

tondɨ

Tree

та

ta

Dog

баӈка

baŋka

Cat

кокса

koksa

Fish

колы

kolɨ

Bird

тәибәә

təibəː

Butterfly

кәуз̌иай

kəuðʲiɐj

Egg

мәну

mənu

Bear

ӈарка

ŋarka

Horse

дюндүа

dʲundyɐ

House

маˮ

maːʔ

Milk

ними

nimi

Iron

баса

basa

Book

книга

kɲiɡa

Eat

нягү

ɲaɡu

Drink

быр

bɨr

Sleep

кундуаса

kunduasa

One

ӈуо

ŋuo

Two

сити

sʲiˈti

Three

нагүр

naɡyr

Four

четэ

tʃetə

Five

сәӈхәляӈкә

səŋxəʎaŋkə

Hundred

дир

dʲir

Hello

нерум

nerum

Thank you

нюәдыра

ɲuədɨra

Good

ӈуойнюй

ŋuojɲuj

New

меньдяде

mʲeɲdʲɐdʲe

Red

дябакуо

dʲɐbɐkʷo

White

сыр

sɨr

Black

куларәку

kulɐrəku

Green

нөтәрәку

nʷatərəku

Blue

ӈиндіаˮсыә

ŋindiɐʔˈsɨə

Tea

чаи

tʃɐi

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Uralic (Samoyedic, Northern)

Meaning NganasanForest EnetsSelkupNenetsMagahiMaithiliKhanty
Water быˮ /bɨʔ/ bi /bi/ ӱт /yt/ иˮ /iʔ/ पानी /paːni/ पानि /paːni/ йиңк /jiŋk/
Fire туй /tuj/ tu /tu/ тӱ /ty/ ту /tu/ आग /aːɡ/ आगि /aːɡi/ тут /tut/
Sun коу /kou/ kaya /kaja/ чэлы /tɕeːlɨ/ хаер /xajer/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ सूरज /suːrədʒ/ хатәл /xatəl/
Moon кичез̌әә /kitʃeðəː/ diri /diri/ ариаа /ariaː/ ирий /irij/ चान /tʃaːn/ चान /tʃaːn/ тылащ /tɯlaɕ/
Star хотəдиə /xotəˈdʲiə/ pozsey /pɔzsɛj/ кыска /ˈkɨska/ нумгы /ˈnumɡɨ/ तारा /taːraː/ तारा /taːraː/ хус /xus/
Night хии /xiː/ pi /pi/ пи /pi/ пи /pʲi/ रात /raːt/ राति /raːti/ ат /at/
Rain соруа /sorʷa/ sari /sari/ сэрынта /særɨnta/ сарё /sarʲo/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ बरखा /bərkʰaː/ йєрт /jer̃t/
Snow сирү /sʲiry/ syra /sɨra/ сыры /sɨrɨ/ сыра /sɨra/ बरफ /bərəf/ बरफ /bərəf/ ӆоньсь /ɬoɲsʲ/
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