Evenk

Discovering the language

Evenki is a Tungus language spoken notably in Russia (Yakutia, Krasnoiarsk region, Baikal and Amur), Mongolia and China (Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang), for a total of around 50,000 speakers.

Composed of three main dialects (Northern, Southern and Eastern), Evenki has been written in Russia in the Cyrillic alphabet (with a few specific letters) since 1937, but other scripts are also used in Mongolia and China.

In Russia, Evenki is an officially recognized and taught language. Most speakers are bilingual (Evenki and Russian) or trilingual (Evenki, Buryat and Russian). Evenki is also widely spoken in the media (radio, television and website).