Khanty

Introduction

Khanty is a language of the Khant peoples. It is spoken in Khanty-Mansi and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous okrugs, as well as in Aleksandrovsky and Kargosoksky districts of Tomsk Oblast in Russia.

For the Khants, the Mansi language is the nearest kindred language. The Khants and Mansi languages began to branch off from their common Ob-Ugric proto-language in the 13th century, approximately.

Khanty Dialects

Due to the vast area and sparse population, the Khant language divides into numerous dialects. The two main dialect groups are the western and the eastern dialects.

• The western dialect group consists of a) the Obdorsk dialect, b) the dialect on the River Ob and c) the dialect on the River Irtysh;
• the eastern dialect group is divided into a) Surgut and b) Vakh-Vasyugan dialects.

There are 13 vernaculars. The differences between these dialects are noticeable and they hamper communication.

The Verb

Sample verb: мина mina 'to go'

Person		Past
Sg.1	ма	ариԓам
Sg.2	нӑӈ	ариԓан
Sg.3	ԓўв	арийԓ
Du.1	мин	ариԓман
Du.2	нын	ариԓтан
Du.3	лын	ариԓӈӑн
Pl.1	мўӈ	ариԓув
Pl.2	нын	ариԓты
Pl.3	ԓўв	ариԓӈӑт

Verblist

• њӑхиты
• амәтты
• вәԯ
• вәԯты
• ӑӈкәрмәты

External Links

• THE KHANTS
• Khanty Language and Lower School Education: Native, Second, or Foreign Language?