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Nivkh dialect

Nivkh

Also known as: Gilyak

A language isolate of Sakhalin and the lower Amur basin in Russia. Critically endangered; one of the few Paleo-Siberian languages with no demonstrated relatives.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Nivkh?

Nivkh is a dialect of the Nivkh language.

Where is Nivkh spoken?

Nivkh is primarily spoken in Russia.

Which region is Nivkh associated with?

Nivkh is part of the East Asia region on DialectAtlas.

Is Nivkh known by other names?

Yes — Nivkh is also referred to as Gilyak.

Is Nivkh endangered?

Nivkh is critically endangered. Only a small number of mostly elderly speakers remain, and the variety is at imminent risk of being lost.

Nearby dialects

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Nanai

509 km away

A Tungusic language of the lower Amur basin, spoken in Russia's Khabarovsk Krai and adjacent China. Around a thousand speakers, all elderly.

Ainu

810 km away

A language isolate of the indigenous Ainu people of Hokkaido and historically Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands. Critically endangered with only a handful of native speakers; subject of an active revitalisation effort.

Hokkaido-ben

882 km away

The variety spoken across Hokkaido. A relatively young dialect shaped by 19th-century settlement, mostly close to Standard Japanese but with Tōhoku and coastal influences.

Far Eastern Russian

1,114 km away

The Russian of the Russian Far East around Vladivostok and Khabarovsk. The youngest major regional variety, formed through 19th- and 20th-century settlement; close to standard Russian with regional vocabulary tied to Pacific life.

Itelmen

1,235 km away

The sole surviving language of the Kamchatkan branch of Chukotko-Kamchatkan, spoken in villages along the western coast of Kamchatka such as Kovran. Only a few elderly fluent speakers remain; known for extremely complex consonant clusters, and structurally so divergent from Chukchi-Koryak that its place in the family is debated.

Manchu

1,270 km away

A Tungusic language and the historical court language of the Qing dynasty (1644-1912). Now critically endangered, with only a handful of native speakers in Heilongjiang.

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