Selkup language

Also known as: Ostyak Samoyed language

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June 11, 2026

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The Selkup language is a member of the Southern Samoyedic group of Uralic languages. It is one of the few surviving languages from this group. The Selkup people traditionally lived in central Russia, between the Ob and Yenisey rivers.1

The language has several dialects, and while it has been written in both Latin and Cyrillic scripts, its actual usage is not well-documented. Historically, the Selkup people were seminomadic hunters and fishers, but Russian influence has led to settlement and a decline in traditional cultural practices. In the 2010 census, less than half of the 4,200 recorded Selkup people spoke the Selkup language.12

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Uralic languages
Current distribution
The fourth language, Selkup, lies to the south in a region between the central Ob and central Yenisey; its major representation is located between Turukhansk and the Taz River. A fifth Samoyedic language, Kamas (Sayan), spoken in the vicinity of the Sayan Mountains, survived into the 20th century…
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The fourth language, Selkup, lies to the south in a region between the central Ob and central Yenisey; its major representation is located between Turukhansk and the Taz River. A fifth Samoyedic language, Kamas (Sayan), spoken in the vicinity of the Sayan Mountains, survived into the 20th century…
Read More

Uralic languages
Samoyedic
Selkup, the last of the southern Samoyed languages, is represented by scattered groups of speakers who live on the central West Siberian Plain between the Ob and the Yenisey. Less than half of the 4,200 Selkup recorded in the 2010 census spoke Selkup.
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Selkup, the last of the southern Samoyed languages, is represented by scattered groups of speakers who live on the central West Siberian Plain between the Ob and the Yenisey. Less than half of the 4,200 Selkup recorded in the 2010 census spoke Selkup.
Read More

Samoyedic languages
The South Samoyedic subgroup comprises Selkup and the practically extinct Kamas language. None of these languages was written before 1930, and they are currently used only occasionally for educational purposes in some elementary schools.
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The South Samoyedic subgroup comprises Selkup and the practically extinct Kamas language. None of these languages was written before 1930, and they are currently used only occasionally for educational purposes in some elementary schools.
Read More