Orochen

Oroqen

Tungusic (Northern)

FamilyTungusic (Northern) Speakers~1.2K (Oroqen nationality ~9K) ScriptUnwritten CountriesChina (Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang) Official inNo (recognized minority nationality; language unwritten) Vitalitydefinitely endangered ISO 639-3orh

Oroqen is a Northern Tungusic language of the Greater Khingan range, close to Evenki, spoken in the Oroqen Autonomous Banner of Inner Mongolia and across the border in Heilongjiang. The nationality numbers about 9,000 and the language has perhaps 1,200 speakers, nearly all of them old. Until the middle of the twentieth century the Oroqen were hunters of the forest, moving with the game and with their reindeer; they were settled in villages in the 1950s, and hunting itself was banned in 1996, which took away in one stroke most of the vocabulary's daily use. The language is unwritten. Its 1PL pronouns are two, an inclusive and an exclusive, as Tungusic generally has — though the source consulted here labels them the opposite way round from the usual reconstruction, so this row gives both without saying which is which.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Oroqen

Water

muu

muu

Fire

tɔɣɔ

tɔɣɔ

Sun

dɪlatʃa

dɪlatʃa

Moon

bɛga

bɛɡa

Star

ɔʃɪkta

ɔʃɪkta

Night

dɔlbɔ

dɔlbɔ

Rain

tigdə

tiɡdə

Snow

ɪmana

ɪmana

Wind

ədin

ədin

Earth

tʊkala

tʊkala

Stone

dʒɔlɔ

dʒɔlɔ

Mountain

urə

urə

Sea

dalaj

dalaj

Mother

ənin

ənin

Father

amɪn

amɪn

Daughter

axakan utə

axakan utə

I

bii

bii

You

ʃii

ʃii

We

buu / mir

buu / mir

Name

gərbi

ɡərbi

Person

bəjə

bəjə

Head

dɪl

dɪl

Eye

jɛɛʃa

jɛɛʃa

Ear

ʃɛɛn

ʃɛɛn

Nose

ɔŋɔktɔ

ɔŋɔktɔ

Mouth

amŋa

amŋa

Tooth

iktə

iktə

Tongue

iŋi

iŋi

Hand

ŋaala

ŋaala

Foot

algan

alɡan

Heart

mɛɣan

mɛɣan

Bone

gɪramna

ɡɪramna

Blood

ʃəəkʃə

ʃəəkʃə

Love

—

—

Tree

mɔɔ

mɔɔ

Dog

ŋanakin

ŋanakin

Cat

—

—

Fish

ɔlɔ

ɔlɔ

Bird

tʃinəkə

tʃinəkə

Butterfly

kɔldɪkan

kɔldɪkan

Egg

ʊmʊkta

ʊmʊkta

Bear

ətirkəən

ətirkəən

Horse

mʊrɪn

mʊrɪn

House

dʒuu

dʒuu

Milk

ukun

ukun

Salt

katagan

kataɡan

Rice

kandu

kandu

Iron

ʃələ

ʃələ

Wheel

kurdu

kurdu

Book

bitəgə

bitəɣə

Eat

dʒəb

dʒəb

Drink

um

um

Sleep

aaʃɪn

aaʃɪn

One

umun

umun

Two

dʒuur

dʒuur

Three

ɪlan

ɪlan

Four

dijin

dijin

Five

tʊŋŋa

tʊŋŋa

Hundred

ɲamaadʒɪ

ɲamaadʒɪ

Hello

—

—

Thank you

—

—

Good

aja

aja

New

irkəkin

irkəkin

Red

ʊlaarɪn

ʊlaarɪn

White

bagdarɪn

baɡdarɪn

Black

kɔŋnɔrɪn

kɔŋnɔrɪn

Green

tʃuturin

tʃuturin

Blue

tʃaŋgɛɛn

tʃaŋɡɛɛn

Tea

tʃaj

tʃaj

Sugar

ʃatan

ʃatan

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Tungusic (Northern)

Meaning OroqenEvenkiProto-TungusicNanaiUdegeEvenJurchen
Water muu /muu/ мӯ /muː/ *mū /mū/ муэ /mue/ ули /uli/ мө /mø/ muke /muke/
Fire tɔɣɔ /tɔɣɔ/ того /toɡo/ *tawa /tawa/ тава /tava/ то̄ /toː/ тоог /toːɡ/ to /to/
Sun dɪlatʃa /dɪlatʃa/ дылача /dilatʃa/ *sigūn /sigūn/ сиун /siun/ сӯ /suː/ нөлтэн /nølten/ še'un /ʃeun/
Moon bɛga /bɛɡa/ бега /beɡa/ *bēga /bēga/ биа /bia/ биа /bia/ бяг /bjaɡ/ bia /bia/
Star ɔʃɪkta /ɔʃɪkta/ осикта /oˈsikta/ *xōsikta /xoːsikta/ хосикта /xosikta/ ваикта /ˈwaikta/ осикат /oˈsikat/ ušiha /uʃixa/
Night dɔlbɔ /dɔlbɔ/ долбони /dolboni/ *dolbo /dolbo/ долбо /dolbo/ догбо /doɡbo/ долбани /dolbani/ dobori /dobori/
Rain tigdə /tiɡdə/ тыгдэ /tiɡdə/ *tigde /tiɡde/ тугдэ /tuɡdə/ тигдэ /tiɡde/ удан /udan/ agu /aɡu/
Snow ɪmana /ɪmana/ иманна /imanˈna/ *imana /imana/ симата /simata/ има̄ /imaː/ иманра /imanˈra/ imanggi /imaŋɡi/
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