Ethnolinguistic Ecology of the Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East (On the Material of the Languages of the Northern Group of the Manchu-Tungus Languages)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of ethnolinguistic ecology of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East — speakers of the northern group of the Manchu-Tungus languages of the Altai linguistic community: the Evenks (the Tungus people), the Evens (the Lamut people), the Negidals, the Solons. For the first time the term “ethnolinguistic ecology” was introduced by Professor V. P. Neroznak in the encyclopedic dictionary and reference book “The Red Book of the Languages of the Peoples of Russia” (Moscow, 1994), which included information on the Evenki, Even and Negidal languages. During the 20th and early 21st centuries, there has happened a dramatic dying out of the languages of the northern peoples. In these conditions, the revival, preservation and development of languages and cultures of the indigenous small-numbered peoples of the Russian Federation, including the Manchu-Tungus peoples, are particularly relevant. In this regard, both the state patronage and the position of the small-numbered peoples themselves become especially important. Special attention should be paid to the issues of scientific research of the remaining foci of the colloquial native languages and culture (mainly in the places of dense concentration of these peoples, who are engaged in traditional types of management — reindeer herding, hunting, fishing, gathering), and also the issues of teaching these languages at all levels of the education system (family, preschool educational institutions, primary and secondary schools, secondary special educational institutions and universities). The article highlights extreme importance of the practical application of research in such an audacious area of linguistics as ethnolinguistics.