Mansi language

The Mansi language, also known as Vogul, is part of the Ob-Ugric group of Uralic languages, alongside Khanty. The Ob-Ugric languages are distantly related to Hungarian and are part of the larger Finno-Ugric branch.12

Mansi speakers are primarily found along the western tributaries of the Ob River, east of the Ural Mountains, with a few also living west of the Urals in Arctic lands. While there were around 12,300 ethnic Mansi in the early 21st century, fewer than 1,000 claimed Mansi as their mother tongue, indicating a decline in native speakers. Many Mansi have been assimilated by their Russian and Tatar neighbors.2

The language has four main dialect groups, though some are nearly extinct or spoken only by older individuals. The Northern dialect serves as the basis for the literary language. Both Mansi and Khanty first appeared in print in 1868, with literary forms developing more significantly after 1930. Initially, a Latin alphabet was used, but Cyrillic has been employed since 1937.2