TUVIN (Russia, Asia)

Family
Siberian-Turkish

Country
Russia, Asia

Language code
TUN

Continent
Asia

Alternate language names
TUVA, TUVAN, TUVIA, TYVA, TOFA, TOKHA, SOYOT, SOYON, SOYOD, TANNUTUVA, TUBA, TUVINIAN, URIANKHAI, URIANKHAI-MONCHAK, URYANKHAI, DIBA, KÖK MUNGAK

Dialect names
CENTRAL TUVIN, WESTERN TUVIN, NORTHEASTERN TUVIN (TODZHIN), SOUTHEASTERN TUVIN, TUBA-KIZHI

Genetic affiliation
Altaic, Turkic, Northern

Geographical region
Tuvin AO

Population
166,000 in Russia (1979 census), 99% speak it as mother tongue; 24,700 in Mongolia (1985 estimate); 400 in China (1990); 191,000 total

Bilingual in
Russian, Mongolian

Status
Work in progress

Remarks
Has literary status. Cyrillic script. Sharp dialect differences. Speakers use Russian as second language, and Mongolian near the border. Until 1944 Tuva was a formally independent state

Total speakers
191,000

Religion
Lamaist Buddhist

Also in
Mongolia, China