Tungusic languages
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Tungusic languages (or Manchu-Tungus languages) are spoken in Eastern Siberia and Manchuria. Many linguists constitute them to be part of the Altaic family of languages, together with the Turkic, Mongolian, Korean and Japanese but this theory is not universally accepted.
The Tungusic languages are divided into three groups: northern, southern and Manchu group. The northern group includes:
- Evenk language (obsolete: Tungus), spoken by Evenks in central Siberia, Mongolia, and China and
- Lamut (Even language) of eastern Siberia
- Negidal language
- Solon language
The southern group includes:
Manchu group includes:
- Manchu language of Manchuria, which is the only Tungusic language with a literary form since the 17th century and a written history. Manchu includes the Sibe dialect still spoken today.
- Jurchen language - an extinct language of Golden Empire.