Introduction

The Sámi languages consist of 9 different languages, which are often divided into 3 different groups: the Southern Sámi languages (South Sámi and Ume Sámi), the Central Sámi languages (Northern Sámi, Lule Sámi and Pite Sámi) and the Eastern Sámi languages (Inari Sámi, Skolt Sámi, Kildin Sámi and Ter Sámi). These languages are spoken by the Sámi people in Norway, Sweden, Finland and in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation. It is estimated that there are between 70,000 and 110,000 Sámi living worldwide. Within the Russian Federation, most Sámi people live in the Murmansk Oblast'. The number of speakers of the Sámi languages is estimated to be around 30,000. Of all Sámi languages, only Skolt, Kildin and Ter Sámi are spoken in Russia and they are all in danger of extinction. 

For the article about the Skolt, Kildin and Ter Sámi, see: Sámi

 

 

 

The Finnic languages (also 'Fennic' or 'Balto-Finnic')  consist of 8 recognized languages (depending on the interpretation this number varies and can be much higher), spoken throughout Norway (Kven), Sweden (Meänkieli), Finland (Finnish and Karelian), Estonia (Estonian, Võro and Seto), Latvia (Livonian*) and northwestern Russia (Ingrian (Izhorian), Votian, Karelian, Ludic and Vepsian). It is estimated that there are about 6 million people who speak a Finnic language. Almost all Finnic languages spoken in Russia are in danger of extinction, e.g. the Votic language had only 21 native speakers in 2021. The Finnic peoples of Russia traditionaly live in the northwestern part of the Russian Federation: the Karelians and Vepsians mostly live in the Republic of Karelia and the Izhorians and Votians in the Leningrad Oblast'. 

*The last native speaker of the Livonian language died in 2013, but the language is currently being revived.

For the articles about the Finnic peoples, see: Karelians, Vepsians, Izhorians and Votians

 

 

The Mordvinic languages consist of two closely related language, Erzya and Moksha. In the past, the Mordvinic languages were considered together with Mari as one group of languages, the Volga-Finnic languages, but this subdivision is now rejected by most linguists. Worldwide there are about 800,000 Mordvins, of which about 1/3 is Moksha and 2/3 Erzya. Exact figures about the number of speakers of Erzya and Moksha are much more uncertain. Presumably, Erzya has between 250,000 and 300,000 native speakers and Moksha between 100,000 and 150,000 native speakers. The majority of the Erzyans and Mokshans live in the Republic of Mordovia, but an extensive diaspora also exists.

For the article about the Mordvins (Erzyans & Mokshans), see: Mordvins 

 

 

 

The Mari language consists of 3 different dialects, of which Meadow-Mari is the standard and most commonly used language. The Hill-Mari language is also officially recognized as being a seperate language, and has its own alphabet. The Northwestern Mari dialect also has its own alphabet, but there is a debate whether this also is a separate language or only a dialect of the Hill-Mari-Language. The Meadow-Mari language has about 360.000 native speakers and the Hill-Mari language about 25.000. Most of the Mari people live in the Republic of Mari El. But there is also an extensive diaspora, in, among others, the Republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan, the Kirov and Sverdlovsk Oblasts, and the Krai Perm'.

For the article about the Mari, see: Mari

 

The Permic language family consists of 3 languages: Udmurt, Komi-Zyrian and Komi-Permyak. Depending on the interpretation, Komi-Yazva is also seen as a separate language. It is estimated that there are about 350.000 Udmurt, 160.000 Komi-Zyrian and 65.000 Komi-Permyak native speakers. The number of speakers of Komi-Yazva is much more uncertain, as the language is not officially recognized by the Russian Federation, but it has been estimated that its number is around 2,000. The Komi and Udmurt languages are closely related, and in some ways even mutually intelligible.The core area of the Udmurts and Komi lies west of the Ural Mountains, and most of them live in the Republic of Udmurtia and Republic of Komi, but due to migrations between the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, many Udmurts and Komi also live outside these areas, even in Siberia.

For the articles about the Permians, see: Komi and Udmurts

 

 

The Ugric language family consist of 3 languages: Hungarian, Khanty and Mansi. Hungarian is spoken in Hungary and several surrounding countries, while Mansi and Khanty are both spoken in Western Siberia. Hungarian has about 16 million native speakers worldwide. This is in stark contrast to Mansi and Khanty, which are spoken by approximately 1,000 and 10,000 speakers respectively. The Mansi and Khanty languages together form the Ob-Ugric languages. Although the Hungarian language and the Ob-Ugric languages are related to each other, the similarities between the Ob-Ugric peoples and the Hungarians are absolutely minimal, and have been preserved almost exclusively in the language. This is because the Hungarians already split off from the other Ugric peoples in the first millennium BC and since then have known a completely different history than the Mansi and the Khanty. The Khanty and Mansi live mainly in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, but also in the Sverdlovsk Oblast', the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Tyumen' Oblast' and the Tomsk Oblast'.

For the articles about the Ugrians, see: Mansi and Khanty

 

The Samoyedic language family consists of 7 different languages spoken in the most northern part of Russia: Forest Nenets, Tundra Nenets, Forest Enets, Tundra Enets, Nganasan, Tomsk Selkup and Northern Selkup. All Samoyedic languages are threatened with extinction, mainly due to a language shift to Russian. Nevertheless, the Samoyedic peoples have in some places still managed to keep their traditional nomadic lifestyle relatively well. Linguistically spoken, the Samoyedic languages are the most distinct language family within the Uralic languages.Multiple languages (i.e. Mator, Yurats and Kamas), belonging to the Samoyedic language family have already gone extinct.

For the articles about the Samoyeds, see: Nenets, Enets, Nganasans and Selkups

 

 

.