Tunguz language
- noun
- Specialized
- Only a small number of people still speak the Tunguz language today.
Examples
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Linguists are working to document the grammar of the Tunguz language.
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The Tunguz language belongs to the Tungusic language family.
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The Tunguz language is rich in vocabulary related to nature.
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Many people are learning the Tunguz language to connect with their heritage.
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Linguists are working to document the grammar of the Tunguz language.
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Only a small number of people still speak the Tunguz language today.
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The Tunguz language belongs to the Tungusic language family.
Synonyms
1
9.9
A language spoken by an indigenous people in eastern Siberia and northern Mongolia
1
9.9
A language spoken by the Evenki people in eastern Siberia
A language spoken by the Evenki people in eastern Siberia
A language spoken by the Evenki people in eastern Siberia
A language spoken by the Evenki people in eastern Siberia
A language spoken by native people in eastern Siberia and parts of China
Surface Forms
Morphology
Tunguz + language
This is a straightforward compositional construction: a proper name 'Tunguz' combined with 'language' yields 'the language of the Tunguz/Tungusic people.' If a learner knows the constituent 'Tunguz' as the name of a people or ethnic group, the meaning is directly derivable and follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (proper noun + language).
Etymology
The name Tunguz language comes from an old Russian name Tunguz for the 'Evenki' people who live in eastern Siberia. So Tunguz language simply means the 'language' spoken by those people today.