Tofa: An Endangered Language
Tofa
Tofa is an example of an endangered language. All of its speakers are from and live in central Siberia, where the language originated. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet, but is not usually written. As of now, it has about 30 speakers left, all elderly. This language most likely became endangered because of its remoteness and the Russian-only laws put in place by the government in Russia. It is laws like these that put languages in danger in the first place. Tofa is very likely to die out soon, and, because of this, it was recently recorded and archived by the Enduring Voices Project.
The Reindeer Classification System
Tofa is an extremely unique language. From the beginning, the Tofa people were reindeer herders. Everybody who spoke the language was either a herder himself or was closely related to a herder. It was their profession and their lifestyle. Because of this, Tofa has an extremely complex classification system for reindeer that allowed them to classify and describe reindeer in a single word. This system cannot be translated into any other language and is why the death of Tofa will be a great loss to the world. When the language dies out, so will this classification system. Luckily, it was archived, so, in a way, it will live on. This classification system is extremely detailed. For example, the single word "chary" translates into "a five-year-old, castrated, domesticated reindeer that can be ridden." Another one is "döngür." This means "male domesticated reindeer in its third year and first mating season, but not ready for mating." In Tofa, all of that information is conveyed with a single word.
Below is a chart that shows the basics of the reindeer classification system of Tofa.
Tofa is an example of an endangered language. All of its speakers are from and live in central Siberia, where the language originated. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet, but is not usually written. As of now, it has about 30 speakers left, all elderly. This language most likely became endangered because of its remoteness and the Russian-only laws put in place by the government in Russia. It is laws like these that put languages in danger in the first place. Tofa is very likely to die out soon, and, because of this, it was recently recorded and archived by the Enduring Voices Project.
The Reindeer Classification System
Tofa is an extremely unique language. From the beginning, the Tofa people were reindeer herders. Everybody who spoke the language was either a herder himself or was closely related to a herder. It was their profession and their lifestyle. Because of this, Tofa has an extremely complex classification system for reindeer that allowed them to classify and describe reindeer in a single word. This system cannot be translated into any other language and is why the death of Tofa will be a great loss to the world. When the language dies out, so will this classification system. Luckily, it was archived, so, in a way, it will live on. This classification system is extremely detailed. For example, the single word "chary" translates into "a five-year-old, castrated, domesticated reindeer that can be ridden." Another one is "döngür." This means "male domesticated reindeer in its third year and first mating season, but not ready for mating." In Tofa, all of that information is conveyed with a single word.
Below is a chart that shows the basics of the reindeer classification system of Tofa.