Table of Contents
Ket in Russia
Language designations:
- In the language itself: денг
- ISO 639-3 standard: ket
Language vitality:
Linguistic aspects:
- Script: Cyrillic. In the Soviet period the written Ket language was based on the alphabet that was common to the people of the north. In 1986 a new cyrillic Ket alphabet with 32 letters was created by E. Kreinovich. 1) G.K. Werner has developed the alphabet and writing in Cyrillic symbols for Ket textbooks in the 1990s. 2) See Russian legislation concerning script.
Language standardization:
Demographics
Language Area
The Ket are the only survivors of an ancient group that lived throughout central southern Siberia. 3) The Ket population now lives along the Yenisei river and its tributaries. The majority lives in the Kellog Village on the Yelogui River, which is accessible only by boat. 4)
operating instructions
Various functions are available as part of the map.
mouse/touch operation
- moving by grabbing the map with a mouse-click you can move the map around
- overview map using the < button in the bottom right of the map you can expand an overview map
- zooming in and out using the + and - buttons in the top left of the map you can obtain more or less detail in the map
- switching themes or maps clicking on the ≡ icon on the right-hand side of the map you can view and select available maps and themes
- retrieving information the map may contain elements that contain more information, by clicking these a popup will show this information
- fullscreen display using the ⛶ button the map can be maximized to fullscreen display, use the ▢ button to return to page display.
keyboard operation
Keyboard operation becomes available after activating the map using the tab key (the map will show a focus indicator ring).
- moving using the arrow keys you can move the map
- overview map using the + button in the bottom right of the map you can expand an overview map
- zooming in and out using the + and - buttons in the top left of the map or by using the + and - keys you can obtain more or less detail in the map
- switching themes or maps clicking on the ≡ icon on the right-hand side of the map you can view and select available maps and themes
- retrieving information the map may contain elements that contain more information, using the i key you can activate a cursor that may be moved using the arrow keys, pressing the enter will execute an information retrieval. press the i or the escape key to return to navigation mode
- fullscreen display using the ⛶ button the map can be maximized to fullscreen display, use the ▢ button to return to page display.
It's possible that some of the functions or buttons describe above have been disabled by the page author or the administrator
| id | symbol | latitude | longitude | description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | ||||
| 1 |  |
62.6236º | 87.7148º | Ket language |
Speaker numbers
| Total population | Native speakers | |
|---|---|---|
| Census 1926 | 1428 | 1225 |
| Census 1959 | 1019 | 785 |
| Census 1970 | 1182 | 885 |
| Census 1979 | 1122 | 510 |
| Census 1989 | 1113 | 537 |
| Census 2002 | 1494 | 485 |
| Census 2010 | 1220 | 210 |
Source: Vahtre & Viikberg (1991)5), Kryukova (2013) 6), Ethnologue 7)
Language and education legislation:
History of language education:
Legislation of the Russian Federation:
The Constitution of Russia states that “everyone shall have the right to education”. This is further detailed in the Federal Law on Education. In Russia one has the right to receive education in the native language and the government is required to provide the opportunities for minorities in Russia to learn their language(s). 8)
Federal legislation:
Educational legislation:
Education in practice
- The Kellog village is the only place where Ket is taught. Children study the language in the 2nd till the 8th grade in primary school, for only one hour per week. Special textbooks written by G.K. Werner are used from the 2nd till the 4th grade. In the other grades the teachers use literature about the Ket culture which is written in Russian. 9)
- The Department of Siberian Indigenous Languages trains and consults teachers and provides teaching material as well. The Department has organised several seminars for Ket language teachers in which they got practical training in teaching native languages and information about internet resources that can be used for teaching Ket.10)
| Academic Year | Number of students learning Ket |
|---|---|
| 1988/89 | - |
| 1990/91 | 15 |
| 1991/92 | 134 |
| 1992/93 | 142 |
| 1993/94 | 123 |
Source: Bulatova (2009) 11)
Bodies controlling enforcement of educational laws:
Educational institutions and learning resources:
Educational institutions
The Department of Siberian Indigenous Languages is concerned with the training of teachers. They provide teaching material as well.
Resources
- Ket language structure online lecture
- Ket fairy tale Cuckoo video
- Songs of the last Ket (in Russian)
1)
Vahtre, L. & Viikberg, J. (1991). The Red Book of the People of the Russian Empire. Available at: https://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/kets.shtml.
2)
, 6)
Kryukova, E.(2013). The Ket language: from descriptive linguistics to interdisciplinary research. Available at: http://ling.tspu.edu.ru/en/archive.html?year=2013&issue=1&article_id=3970
3)
Vadja, E.J. (2000). The Ket and Other Yeniseian Peoples. Available at: http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ea210/ket.htm.
4)
Vajda, E.J. (2009). Loanwords in Ket. Available at: //linguistics.uoregon.edu/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Vajda-Ket-Loans.pdf
5)
Vahtre, L. & Viikberg, J. (1991). The Red Book of the People of the Russian Empire. Available at: https://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/kets.shtml.
7)
Ethnologue https://www.ethnologue.com/language/ket
8)
The Law Library of Congress (2016). Constitutional Right to an Education: Russia . Retrieved January 2017. Available at: https://www.loc.gov/law/help/constitutional-right-to-an-education/russia.php#Constitutional.
9)
, 10)
Kryukova, E.(2013). The Ket language: from descriptive linguistics to interdisciplinary research. Available at: http://ling.tspu.edu.ru/en/archive.html?year=2013&issue=1&article_id=3970
11)
Bulatova, N Ya. (2009). Sociolinguistic Situation of the Minority Languages of the Indigenous Peoples of the Far North. Senri Ethnological Studies 72: 161-166