| Also Known As: Chukchi,Chukchee,Chukcha,Luoravetlan,Chuchee
Description:
The Chukchi language (ԓыгъоравэтԓъэн йиԓыйиԓ, łygˀoravetłˀɛn jilǝjil) also known as Luoravetlan, Chukot and Chukcha is a Palaeosiberian language spoken by Chukchi people in the easternmost extremity of Siberia, mainly in Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. According to the Russian Census of 2002, about 7,700 of the 15,700 Chukchi people speak Chukchi; knowledge of the Chukchi language is decreasing, and most Chukchis now speak the Russian language (fewer than 500 report not speaking Russian at all). Chukchi is closely related to Koryak, which is spoken by about half that number. The language together with Koryak, Kerek, Alutor and Itelmen forms the Chukotko-Kamchatkan language family.
The Chukchi and Koryaks form a cultural unit with an economy based on reindeer herding and both have autonomy within the Russian Federation.
The ethnonym Chukchi (also spelled Chukchee) is an anglicized form of the Russian ethnonym (singular Chukcha, plural Chukchi). This came into Russian from Čävča, the term used by the Chukchis' Tungusic-speaking neighbors, itself a rendering of the Chukchi word [t͡ʃawt͡ʃəw], which in Chukchi means "a man who is rich in reindeer". The Chukchis' term for themselves is..... full article at Wikipedia |
