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Kalmyk Language Facts
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| Extinct: no |
| Family: Altaic |
| Branch: Mongolian |
| Continent: Europe |
| Country: Russia |
| Region: The Kalmyk are in Kalmykia, the steppes between the Don and Volga rivers, lower Volga region, now the Astrakhan Province. The capital is Elista. The Dorbot and Torgut live between the Volga and the Don, east of the Caspian and north of the Caucasus, in Kalmyk ASSR. Also spoken in China, Germany, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Taiwan, USA. |
| Countries Where Spoken: 174,000 Kalmyk in Russia (1993 UBS). Population total all countries: 518,500. China, Mongolia. |
| Countries Where Official: Russia |
| Native Speakers: 174,000 |
| Speakers Total: 518,500 |
| Phrasebase members who speak this language at a native level: 0 |
| Phrasebase members who speak this language at a conversational level: 0 |
| Phrasebase members primary language they are trying to learn: 0 |
| Phrasebase members secondary language they are trying to learn: 0 |
| Three Letter Code: XAL |
| Alternative Names: KALMUK, KALMUCK, KALMACK, QALMAQ, KALMYTSKII JAZYK, KHAL:MAG, OIRAT, VOLGA OIRAT, EUROPEAN OIRAT, WESTERN MONGOLIAN |
| Dialects: |
| Summary: Their language has diverged from other Mongolian languages and they are called 'Kalmyk' in Russia; 'Oirat' in China and Mongolia. In USA Kalmyk has not been heavily influenced by Russian as it has been in Russia. Different from other varieties in China called Oirat, which are sometimes called 'Asiatic Oirat.' Tibetan is used as religious language. Russian is used as second language for other purposes. In 1628 the Oirat moved from Dzungaria, Eastern Turkistan (Xinjiang, China) to the Volga, north and west of the Caspian Sea. Cyrillic script. Lamaist Buddhist. NT 1827-1894. |
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