Nanai

GLD

shifting

Alternate Names: Gold, Goldi, Heche, Hezhe, Hezhen, Nanaj

Dialects: Akani, Birar, Kila, Kuro-Urmi, Samagir, Sunggari, Torgon, Ussuri. Quite distinct dialects.

Genealogy:

Altaic
Tungusic
Southern
Southeast
Nanaj

Demographics: 1,350 in Russian Federation (2010 census). Population total all countries: 1,390. Ethnic population: 12,000 (2010 census).

Language Use: Severely endangered. Mainly older adults. Neutral to mildly positive attitudes. Motivated to use Russian [rus]. Those under 40 consider Nanai unhelpful in life. Older generation pessimistic about possibility of preservation. Some elderly may also use Chinese [cmn]. Also use Russian [rus].

Language Development: Dictionary. Bible portions: 1884–2002.

Writing System: Cyrillic

Nation of Origin: Russian Federation

Other Comments: Traditional religion.