Tofa language

{{Short description|Moribund Northeastern Turkic language}} {{Distinguish|||text=Karagash dialect of Nogai or the Karagas dialect of the Mator language}} {{multiple issues| {{Lead too short|date=November 2024}} {{Cleanup lang|date=November 2024|iso=kim}} {{Expand language|topic=|langcode=ru|otherarticle=Тофаларский язык|date=February 2025}} }}{{Infobox language | name = Tofa | nativename = {{lang|kim|Тоъфа дыл}} {{tlit|kim|To'fa dyl}} | pronunciation = {{IPA|kim|t̪ɔˤfa d̪ɯl̪|}} | states = Russia | region = Tofalariya, Irkutsk Oblast | ethnicity = Tofalar | speakers = 67 | ref = <ref name="2020 census">[https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/Tom5_tab7_VPN-2020.xlsx Том 5. «Национальный состав и владение языками». Таблица 7. Население наиболее многочисленных национальностей по родному языку]</ref> | date = 2020 census | familycolor = Altaic | fam1 = Turkic | fam2 = Common Turkic | fam3 = Siberian Turkic | fam4 = South Siberian | fam5 = Sayan Turkic | fam6 = Taiga Sayan Turkic<ref name="refRagagnin">Elisabetta Ragagnin (2011), [http://www.harrassowitz-verlag.de/dzo/artikel/201/004/4043_201.pdf?t=1322214979 Dukhan, a Turkic Variety of Northern Mongolia, Description and Analysis], Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden</ref> | iso3 = kim | glotto = kara1462 | glottorefname = Taiga Sayan Turkic | glotto2 = tofa1248 | glottorefname2 = Tofa | notice = IPA | altname = Tofalar, Karagas | map2 = Lang Status 20-CR.svg | mapcaption2 = {{center|Tofa is classified as Critically Endangered by the UNESCO ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger.''<ref name="unesco">[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206 UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090222090430/http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00206 |date=22 February 2009 }}</ref> }} | map = File:Tofalaria.png | mapcaption = Tofalaria, the region inhabited by the Tofalar | glottoname = Taiga Sayan Turkic | glottoname2 = Tofa }}

'''Tofa''' (Tofa: Тоъфа дыл ''Tòfa dıl''), also known as '''Tofalar''' or '''Karagas''', is a Turkic language spoken in Irkutsk Oblast, Russia by the Tofalar, an indigenous people of Siberia. Tofa forms a dialect continuum with the closely related Tuvan language, and shares many features with it. Tofa is a critically endangered language, as classified by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger,<ref name=":0" /> and recent estimates for speakers run from 67<ref name="2020 census" /> to fewer than 40 individuals.<ref name="anderson2004">{{Cite web |url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/dharris2/Anderson&Harrison%202004.pdf |title='Natural' and obsolescent change in Tofa |last1=Anderson |first1=Gregory D. |last2=Harrison |first2=K. David |date=2004 |website=Living Tongues |pages=11–13 |orig-year=July 2003 (presentation at the Symposium of South Siberian Turkic Languages) |access-date=1 March 2016}}</ref>

==Classification== Tofa is most closely related to the Tuvan language<ref name=":0">Lars Johanson (1998) "The History of Turkic". In Lars Johanson & Éva Ágnes Csató (eds) ''The Turkic Languages''. London, New York: Routledge, 81-125. [http://www.turkiclanguages.com/www/classification.html Classification of Turkic languages at Turkiclanguages.com]</ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2023|reason=The book doesn't appear to say this, and other sources categorize it as Taiga Sayan Turkic, while most Tuvan dialects are Steppe Sayan Turkic.}} and forms a dialect continuum with it. '''Tuha''' and '''Tsengel Tuvan''' may be dialects of either Tuvan or Tofa. Tofa shares a number of features with these languages, including the preservation of *d as /d/ (as in ''hodan'' "hare" - compare Uzbek ''quyon'') and the development of low tones on historically short vowels (as in *''et'' > ''èt'' "meat, flesh").

Alexander Vovin (2017) notes that Tofa and other Siberian Turkic languages, especially Sayan Turkic, have Yeniseian loanwords.<ref>Vovin, Alexander. 2017. "[https://www.academia.edu/33407303/Some_Tofalar_Etymologies Some Tofalar Etymologies]." In ''Essays in the history of languages and linguistics: dedicated to Marek Stachowski on the occasion of his 60th birthday.'' Krakow: Księgarnia Akademicka.</ref>

==Geographic and demographic distribution== The Tofa, who are also known as the Tofalar or Karagas, are an indigenous people living in southwestern Irkutsk Oblast, in Russia. The region they inhabit is informally known as Tofalariya. They are traditionally a nomadic reindeer-herding people, living on or near the Eastern Sayan mountain range. However, reindeer herding has greatly declined since the 20th century, with only one Tofa family continuing the practice {{as of|2004|lc=yes}}.<ref name="donahoe2004">Donahoe, Brian Robert (2004) ''A line in the Sayans: History and divergent perceptions of property among the Tozhu and Tofa of South Siberia''. Doctoral Thesis. Indiana University.</ref> Recognized by the former USSR in 1926 as one of the "Small Numbered Minorities of the North," (Russian: ''коренные малочисленные народы Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока)'' the Tofa have special legal status and receive economic support from Russia. The Tofa population is around 750 people; around 5% of the population spoke Tofa as a first language in 2002, (although that number has likely declined since then, due to the age of the speakers).<ref name="donahoe2004" /><ref name="harrison2003">{{Cite journal|last=Harrison|first=Kevin David|date=2003|title=Language Endangerment Among the Tofa|journal=Cultural Survival Quarterly|pages=53–55}}</ref> Although the population of Tofalaria appears to be growing, the number of ethnic Tofalar seems to be in decline.

=== Effects of language contact === Language contact—mainly with Russian speakers—has been extensive since 1926, when the Tofa officially received their "Small Numbered Minorities of the North" status from the USSR (Russian: ''коренные малочисленные народы Севера, Сибири и Дальнего Востока)'' and underwent significant cultural, social, and economic changes. Most notably, this traditionally nomadic, reindeer-herding people have since become sedentary and reindeer herding has all but vanished among the Tofa.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Donahoe|first=Brian|date=2006|title=Who owns the taiga? Inclusive vs. Exclusive Senses of Property among the Tozhu and Tofa of Southern Siberia|journal=Sibirica|volume=5|issue=1|pages=87–116|doi=10.3167/136173606780265306}}</ref> In addition to visiting tax collectors and tourists, many other Russians have come to the Sayan mountain range to live. Russian migration and intermarriage also has had an effect, according to a citation by Donahoe: "In 1931, of a total population in Tofalaria of 551, approximately 420 (76%) were Tofa, and the remaining 131 (24%) were non-Tofa, predominantly Russian (Mel'nikova 1994:36 and 231). By 1970, the population in Tofalaria had increased to 1368, of whom 498 (36%) were Tofa, and 809 (59%) were Russian (Sherkhunaev 1975:23)."<ref name="donahoe2004" />(p. 159) There were approximately 40 speakers of various fluency levels by 2002, and this number has likely continued to decrease in the intervening time.<ref name="harrison2003" /><ref>{{Cite book|title=Skazki i Skazochiniki Tofalarii (Tales and Storytellers of the Tofa)|last=Sherkhunaev|first=R. A.|publisher=Tuvinskoc Knizhnoe Izdatel'stvo|year=1975|pages=23}}</ref>

==Phonology==

===Vowels=== The following table lists the vowels of Tofa. The data was taken from Ilgın<ref name="ilgin2012">{{cite journal |last1=Ilgın |first1=Ali |date=2012 |title=Tofa (Karagas) Türkleri ve Dilleri Üzerine |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/tdd/issue/29413/315008 |journal=Tehlikedeki Diller Dergisi |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=103–112 |access-date=10 May 2023}}</ref> and Rassadin.<ref name="rassadin1971">{{cite book |last1=Rassadin |first1=V.I. |title=Fonetika i leksika tofalarskogo jazyka |date=1971 |publisher=Бурятское кн. изд-во |location=Ulan-Ude |script-title=ru:Фонетика и лексика тофаларского языка |trans-title=Phonetics and lexicon of the Tofalar language |author-link=Valentin Rassadin}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;" ! rowspan="2" | ! colspan="2" |Front ! colspan="2" |Back |- ! short|| long ! short|| long |- ! Close |{{IPA link|i}}, {{IPA link|y}} |{{IPA link|iː}}, {{IPA link|yː}} |{{IPA link|ɯ}}, {{IPA link|u}} |{{IPA link|ɯː}}, {{IPA link|uː}} |- !Near-close |{{IPA link|ɪ}} |{{IPA link|ɪː}} | | |- ! Open-mid |{{IPA link|ɛ}}, {{IPA link|œ}} |{{IPA link|ɛː}}, {{IPA link|œː}} |{{IPA link|ɔ}} |{{IPA link|ɔː}} |- ! Open |{{IPA link|æ}} |{{IPA link|æː}} |{{IPA link|ɑ}} |{{IPA link|ɑː}} |}

Rassadin also indicates that Tofa has a short [{{IPA|ĭ}}].<ref name="rassadin1971" /> All vowels except [{{IPA|æ}}] can be pharyngealized [{{IPA|◌ˤ}}]. According to Rassadin<ref name="rassadin1971" /> pharyngealization is realized as creaky voice [{{IPA|◌̰}}]; Harrison and Anderson represent this feature as low tone.

===Consonants=== The following table lists the consonants of Tofa. The data was taken from Ilgın<ref name="ilgin2012" /> and Rassadin.<ref name="rassadin1971" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" ! !Labial !Alveolar !Palatal !Velar !Uvular !Glottal |- !Nasal |{{IPA link|m}} |{{IPA link|n}} |{{IPA link|ɲ}} |{{IPA link|ŋ}} |{{IPA link|ɴ}} | |- !Plosive |{{IPA link|p}}, {{IPA link|b}} |{{IPA link|t}}, {{IPA link|d}} |{{IPA link|c}}, {{IPA link|ɟ}} |{{IPA link|k}}, {{IPA link|g}} |{{IPA link|q}}, {{IPA link|ɢ}} |{{IPA link|ʔ}} |- !Fricative |{{IPA link|f}}, {{IPA link|v}} |{{IPA link|s}}, {{IPA link|z}} |{{IPA link|ʃ}}, {{IPA link|ʒ}} |{{IPA link|ɣ}} |{{IPA link|ʁ}} |{{IPA link|h}}, {{IPA link|hʲ}} |- !Affricate | | |{{IPA link|t͡ʃ}}, {{IPA link|d͡ʒ}} | | | |- !Liquid | |{{IPA link|l}}, {{IPA link|ɾ}} | | | | |- !Glide | | |{{IPA link|j}} | | | |}

===Vowel harmony=== Many dialects of Tofa exhibit vowel harmony, although this harmony seems to be linked to fluency: as one decreases, so does the other.<ref name="harrison1999">{{Cite journal|last=Harrison|first=K. David|date=1999|title=Vowel harmony and disharmony in Tuvan and Tofa|url=http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/dharris2/Harrison-GLOW-1999.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the Nanzan GLOW (2nd Asian Generative Linguistics in the Old World)|pages=115–130|access-date=20 March 2016}}</ref> Tofa vowel harmony is progressive and based on two features: backness and rounding, and this occurs both root-internal and in affixes.<ref name="harrison1999" /> Enclitics do not appear to trigger backness harmony, and rounding harmony in Tofa has been undergoing changes, and may apply inconsistently. In some cases this may be due to opaque rules resulting in an apparent "disharmony", especially among speakers of the younger generation.<ref name="anderson2004"/> The complications surrounding Tofa vowel harmony may also be due to fluctuations from language endangerment.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lessons from Documented Endangered Languages|last1=Harrison|first1=Kevin David|last2=Anderson|first2=Gregory D. S.|publisher=John Benjamins|year=2008|editor-last=Harrison|editor-first=K. David|location=Amsterdam, Netherlands|pages=243–270|editor-last2=Rood|editor-first2=David S.|editor-last3=Dwyer|editor-first3=Arienne}}</ref> In general, Russian loanwords do not appear to conform to vowel harmony.<ref name="harrison1999" /> Given the increasing quantity of these loanwords, leveling may also be a factor in the inconsistent application of vowel harmony.

== Writing system == Tofa, although not often written, employs a Cyrillic alphabet:

{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF" | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | А а | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Б б | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | В в | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Г г | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ғ ғ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Д д | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Е е |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ә ә | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ё ё | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ж ж | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | З з | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | И и | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | I i | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Й й |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | К к | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Қ қ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Л л | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | М м | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Н н | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ң ң | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | О о |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ө ө | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | П п | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Р р | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | С с | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Т т | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | У у | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ү ү |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ф ф | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Х х | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Һ һ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ц ц | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ч ч | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ҷ ҷ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ш ш |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Щ щ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ъ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ы ы | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | ь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Э э | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ю ю | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Я я |}

Tofa has letters that are not present in the Russian alphabet: Ғғ {{IPA|[ɣ]}}, Әә {{IPA|[æ]}}, Ii {{IPA|[ĭ]}}, Ққ {{IPA|[q]}}, Ңң {{IPA|[ŋ]}}, Өө {{IPA|[œ]}}, Үү {{IPA|[y]}}, Һһ {{IPA|[h]}}, and Ҷҷ {{IPA|[d͡ʒ]}}. Additionally, the letter ъ is sometimes used after a vowel to mark pharyngealization [ˤ], as in эът [ʔɛˤt̪] "meat".

An earlier version of the alphabet from 1988 looks like this: {| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF;white-space:nowrap;" | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |А а | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Б б | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |В в | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Г г | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ғ ғ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Д д | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Е е | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ә ә |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ё ё | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ж ж | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |З з | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |И и | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |I i | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Й й | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |К к | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Қ қ |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Л л | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |М м | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Н н | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ң ң | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |О о | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ө ө | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |П п | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Р р |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |С с | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Т т | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |У у | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ү ү | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ф ф | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Х х | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Һ һ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ц ц |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ч ч | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ӌ ӌ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ш ш | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Щ щ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ъ ъ | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ы ы | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ь ь | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Э э |- | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Ю ю | style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |Я я | | | | | | |}

== Morphology and syntax == Tofa is an agglutinative language with a few auxiliary verbs.<ref name="anderson2004" /> The bare stem of a verb is only used in the singular imperative; other categories are marked by suffixation, including the singular imperative negative.<ref name="anderson2004" /> The Tofa suffix /''--sig''/ is an especially unusual derivational suffix in that it attaches to any noun to add the meaning 'smelling of + [NOUN]' or 'smelling like + [NOUN]'.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Ebert|first=Jessica|date=2005|title=Linguistics: Tongue tied|journal=Nature|volume=438|issue=7065|pages=148–9|doi=10.1038/438148a|pmid=16281002|bibcode=2005Natur.438..148E|s2cid=31157479|doi-access=free}}</ref> Grammatical number in Tofa includes singular, plural, dual inclusive ('you and me'), and plural inclusive, tense includes the present and past, and aspect includes the perfective and imperfective. Historically suffixes conformed to Tofa vowel harmony rules, but that appears to be changing. Some example sentences are included below to illustrate suffixation:<ref name="anderson2004" /> {| class="wikitable" ! Rounding harmony in roots !Gloss ! Rounding harmony in suffixes !Gloss |- |[oruk] |'road' |gøk-tyɣ |{{interlinear|grass-ADJ}} |- |[tyŋgyr] |'drum' |tyŋgyr-lyɣ |{{interlinear|drum-ADJ}} |- |[kuduruk] |'wolf' |kuduruk-tuɣ |{{interlinear|wolf-ADJ}} (literally {{interlinear|tail-ADJ}}) |}

'''Plural Perfective'''

{{interlinear|indent=3 |orus[t]e-y ber-gen |Russian[ize]-CVB ASP-PST |'They have become Russian[ized]'}}

'''Singular Imperative'''

{{interlinear|indent=3 |nersa-ɣa '''bar''' |Nerxa-DAT go |'go to Nerxa'}}

'''Singular Imperative Negative'''

{{interlinear|indent=3 |al-gan men di-ve |take-PST 1 say-NEG |'don't say "I took"!'}}

=== Pronouns === Tofa has six personal pronouns:

{|class="wikitable" |+Personal pronouns ! !Singular !Plural |- !1st person |{{fs interlinear|мен|men|I}} |{{fs interlinear|биъс|bìs|we}} |- !2nd person |{{fs interlinear|сен|sen|you ''(singular)''}} |{{fs interlinear|сілер|siler|you ''(plural, formal)''}} |- !3rd person |{{fs interlinear|оң|oŋ|he/she/it}} |{{fs interlinear|оларың|olarıŋ|they}} |}

Tofa also has the pronouns бо "this", тээ "that", кум "who", and чү "what".

==Vocabulary== Tofa words are very similar to many other Turkic Languages, but not more than Tuvan. English and Russian are provided for reference. {| class="wikitable" |+ !Tofalar !Tuvan !Russian !English |- |Àt |Àt |Koň |Horse |- |Sők |Sők |Kosť |Bone |- |Bós |Bóstá |''Gorlo'' |Throat |- |Dañ Àtarı |''Dañ Xayázı'' |''Rassvet'' |Dawn |- |''Hartığa'' |Xartığa |''Sokol'' |Falcon |}

==References== {{reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{Cite web |last=Yusupov |first=Rustam |date=2011 |title=Tofastan - sayt o tofalarskom yazyke |script-title=ru:Тофастан — сайт о тофаларском языке |trans-title=Tofastan - a site about the Tofalar language |url=http://tofastan.ru/ |access-date=2023-05-10 |website=tofastan.ru}} * {{Cite web |last=Trofimova |first=Svetlana |date=2020 |script-title=ru:Тофаларский язык: Что такое заглазное время, опасительное наклонение и продольный падеж |trans-title= Tofalar language: What is the post-ocular tense, the fearful mood and the longitudinal case |url= https://postnauka.org/longreads/156073 |website= postnauka.org}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tofa Language}} Category:Agglutinative languages Category:Siberian Turkic languages Category:Languages of Russia Category:Endangered Turkic languages