Kamassian language
Kamassian (Kaŋmažən šəkət) is an extinct Samoyedic language. It is included by convention in the Southern group together with Mator and Selkup (although this does not constitute a subfamily). The last native speaker of Kamassian, Klavdiya Plotnikova, died in 1989. Kamassian was spoken in Russia, north of the Sayan Mountains, by Kamasins. The last speakers lived mainly in the village of Abalakovo. Prior to its extinction, the language was strongly influenced by Turkic languages.
| Kamassian | |
|---|---|
| Kaŋmažən šəkət | |
| Native to | Russia |
| Ethnicity | Kamasins |
| Extinct | 1989, with the death of Klavdiya Plotnikova |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xas |
zkb | |
| Glottolog | kama1351kama1378 |
| ELP | Kamas |
Traditional distribution of the extinct Sayan Samoyedic languages including Kamas | |
The term Koibal is used as the ethnonym for the Kamas people who shifted to the Turkic Khakas language. The modern Koibal people are mixed Samoyed–Khakas–Yeniseian. The Kamassian language was documented by Kai Donner in his trips to Siberia along with other Samoyedic languages. But the first documentation attempts started in the 1740s. In 2016 the university of Tartu published a Kamassian e-learning book. The grammar and vocabulary of Kamassian are well documented.