Ob-Ugric languages
The Ob-Ugric languages are a commonly proposed branch of the Uralic languages, grouping together the Khanty (Ostyak) and Mansi (Vogul) languages. Both languages are split in numerous and highly divergent dialects. They, along with Hungarian, are often thought to comprise the Ugric branch of the Uralic languages, though the acceptance of Ugric is less frequent than acceptance of Ob-Ugric.
| Ob-Ugric | |
|---|---|
| (controversial) | |
| Ethnicity | Ob-Ugrians |
| Geographic distribution | Central Russia |
| Linguistic classification | Uralic
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | None |
Ob-Ugric languages at the beginning of the 20th century | |
The languages are spoken in the region between the Urals and the Ob River and the Irtysh in central Russia. The forests and forest steppes of the southern Urals are thought to be the original homeland of the Ugric branch. Beginning some 500 years ago the arrival of the Russians pushed the speakers eastward to the Ob and Irtysh. Some Mansi speakers remained west of the Urals until as late as the early 20th century. Hungarian split off during the 11th century BC. The Ob-Ugric languages have also been strongly influenced by nearby Turkic languages, especially Tatar.
Mansi has about 1,000 speakers while Khanty has about 10,000 speakers, all within Russia. Until 1930, these languages had no written or literary traditions, but since 1937 have used a modified Cyrillic alphabet. However, no significant texts have been created in these languages and they have few official usages.
The term Ob-Ugric was introduced by the Finnish linguist August Ahlqvist who made expeditions to Western Siberia in 1858 and 1877 to study the Khanty and Mansi languages.