Editing Ket language

{{Short description|Yeniseian language spoken in Siberia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}

{{Multiple issues|
{{Sources exist|date=June 2024}}
{{Cleanup lang|date=January 2025|iso=ket}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=January 2025}}
}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Ket
| nativename       = {{lang|ket|остыганна ӄаʼ}} {{transliteration|ket|ostɯɣanna qaʼ}}
| states           = [[Russia]]
| region           = [[Krasnoyarsk Krai]]
| ethnicity        = 1,088 [[Ket people|Ket]] (2021)
| speakers         = 60
| date             = 2019–2024
| ref              = <ref>{{Cite web |title=Кетский язык {{!}} Малые языки России |url=https://minlang.site/lang/ketskiy |access-date=2024-12-15 |website=minlang.site}}</ref>
| familycolor      = Dené-Yeniseian
| fam2             = [[Yeniseian languages|Yeniseian]]
| fam3             = Ketic
| script           = [[Cyrillic]]
| map2             = Lang Status 40-SE.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Ket is classified as Severely Endangered by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
| iso3             = ket
| glotto           = kett1243
| lingua           = 43-AAA-a
| glottorefname    = Ket
| notice           = IPA
| dia1             = Northern
| dia2             = Central
| dia3             = Southern
| altname          = Yenisei Ostyak
| map              = File:Yeniseian_languages_map.svg
| mapcaption       = Map of pre-contact Yeniseian languages.
| speakers2        = 153 (2020 census)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Росстат — Всероссийская перепись населения 2020 |url=https://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |access-date=3 January 2023 |website=rosstat.gov.ru |archive-date=24 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200124160257/http://rosstat.gov.ru/vpn_popul |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|[ostɨ̀kanna qaˀ]}}<ref>{{Cite book |last=Nefedov |first=Andrey |title=Clause linkage in Ket |date=2015 |publisher=LOT |others=Universiteit Leiden |isbn=978-94-6093-190-1 |series=LOT dissertation series |location=Utrecht|url=https://www.lotpublications.nl/Documents/408_fulltext.pdf}}</ref>
| minority         = [[Russia]]
* [[Krasnoyarsky Krai]]
** [[Evenkiysky District]]
** [[Turukhansky District]]
}}
The '''Ket''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|ɛ|t}} {{respell|KET}}<ref name=Bauer/>) language, or more specifically '''Imbak''' and formerly known as '''Yenisei Ostyak''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɒ|s|t|i|æ|k}} {{respell|OSS|tee|ak}}<ref name="Bauer">{{Cite book |last=Bauer |first=Laurie |title=The Linguistic Student's Handbook |date=2007 |publisher=Edinburgh University Press |location=Edinburgh}}</ref>), is a [[Siberia]]n language long thought to be an [[language isolate|isolate]], the sole surviving language of a [[Yeniseian languages|Yeniseian language family]]. It is spoken along the middle [[Yenisei River|Yenisei]] basin by the [[Ket people]].

The language is threatened with extinction—the number of ethnic Kets that are native speakers of the language dropped from 1,225 in 1926 to 537 in 1989. According to the UNESCO census, this number has since fallen to 150. A 2005 census reported 485 native speakers, but this number is suspected to be inflated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/languages-atlas/index.php|title=UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger|website=www.unesco.org|access-date=3 June 2016}}</ref> According to a local news source, the number of remaining Ket speakers is around 10 to 20.<ref>{{Cite web|date=10 September 2019|title=Последний бард последнего народа|url=https://trv-science.ru/2019/09/poslednij-bard-poslednego-naroda/|access-date=22 April 2021|website=Троицкий вариант — Наука|language=ru-RU}}</ref> Another Yeniseian language, [[Yugh language|Yugh]], has recently become extinct.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/yug|title=Yug|work=Ethnologue|access-date=26 May 2018|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Vajda2024&quot;">{{Citation |last=Vajda |first=Edward |title=8 The Yeniseian language family |date=2024-02-19 |work=The Languages and Linguistics of Northern Asia |pages=365–480 |editor-last=Vajda |editor-first=Edward |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9783110556216-008/html |access-date=2024-06-26 |publisher=De Gruyter |doi=10.1515/9783110556216-008 |isbn=978-3-11-055621-6|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== History ==

=== Documentation ===
The earliest observations about the language were published by [[Peter Simon Pallas]] in 1788 in a travel diary ({{Lang|ru|Путешествия по разным провинциям Русского Государства}}, {{Lang|ru-latn|Puteshestviya po raznim provintsiyam Russkogo Gosudarstva}}). [[Matthias Castrén]] was one of the last known to study the [[Kott language]]. Castrén lived beside the [[Kan River|Kan river]] with five people of Kott, in which is believed were the last remaining people who spoke the language.{{sfn|Georg|2007|p={{pn|date=May 2021}}}} In 1858, Castrén published the first grammar and dictionary ({{Lang|de|Versuch einer jenissei-ostjakischen und Kottischen Sprachlehre}}), which also included material on the Kott language. During the 19th century, the Ket were mistaken for a tribe of the Finno-Ugric [[Khanty people|Khanty]]. A. Karger in 1934 published the first grammar ({{Lang|ru|Кетский язык}} {{Lang|ru-latn|Ketskij jazyk}}), as well as a Ket primer ({{Lang|ru|Букварь на кетском языке}} {{Lang|ru-latn|Bukvar' na ketskom jazyke}}), and a new treatment appeared in 1968, written by A. Kreinovich.

=== Decline and current use ===
Ket people were subjected to collectivization in the 1930s. In the 1950s and 1960s, according to the recollections of informants, they were sent to Russian-only boarding schools, which led to the ceasing of language transmission between generations.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Казакевич, О. и др. 2021. Кетский язык. ПостНаука. |url=https://postnauka.ru/longreads/155721 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210227113055/https://postnauka.ru/longreads/155721 |archive-date=27 February 2021 |access-date=27 February 2021}}</ref> Now, Ket is taught as a subject in some primary schools, but only older adults are fluent and few are raising their children with the language. [[Kellog]], Russia, is the only place where Ket is still taught in schools. Special books are provided for grades second through fourth but after those grades there is only Russian literature to read that describes Ket culture.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kryukova |first=Elena |date=2013 |title=The Ket Language: From Descriptive Linguistic to Interdisciplinary Research |url=https://ling.tspu.edu.ru/files/ling/PDF/articles/kryukova_e_a_38_44_1_1_2013.pdf |journal=Tomsk Journal of Linguistics & Anthropology |volume=1 |pages=39}}</ref> There are no known monolingual speakers as of 2006.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Vajda |first=Edward |title=Loanwords in the World's Languages: a Comparative Handbook |publisher=De Gruyter Mouton |year=2006 |pages=471–500}}</ref> A children's book, ''A Bit Lost'' by Chris Haughton, was translated into the language in 2013.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Haughton |first=Chris |title=A Bit Lost in the Siberian Ket Language |url=https://blog.chrishaughton.com/a-bit-lost-in-the-siberian-ket-language/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=Chris Haughton |date=17 December 2013 |language=en-US}}</ref> [[Alexander Maksimovich Kotusov|Alexander Kotusov]] was a Ket folk singer and poet who died in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-03-30 |title=Песни последнего кета |url=https://www.sibreal.org/a/29845240.html |access-date=2024-12-02 |website=Сибирь.Реалии |language=ru}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=10 September 2019 |title=Последний бард последнего народа |url=https://trv-science.ru/2019/09/poslednij-bard-poslednego-naroda/ |access-date=22 April 2021 |website=Троицкий вариант — Наука |language=ru-RU}}</ref>

Only three localities, Kellog, [[Surgutikha]] and [[Maduika]], retain a native Ket-speaking population in the present day. Other villages such as [[Serkovo (Krasnoyarsk Krai)|Serkovo]] and [[Pakulikha]] were [[Unpromising villages|destroyed]] in the second half of the 20th century, dispersing the local Ket population to nearby towns.<ref name="Vajda" />

== Dialects ==
Ket has three dialects: Southern (Upper Imbat), Central and Northern (collectively Lower Imbat). All the dialects are very similar to each other and Kets from different groups are able to understand each other. The most common southern dialect was used for the standardized written Ket.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sitnikova |first=Alexandra A. |date=2018 |title=The Ket Language |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/325449153 |journal=Journal of Siberian Federal University. Humanities & Social Sciences |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=654–662 |doi=10.17516/1997-1370-0257 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

The three remaining Ket-majority localities natively speak different dialects. Southern Ket is spoken in [[Kellog]], Central Ket in [[Surgutikha]] and Northern Ket in [[Maduika]].<ref name="Vajda">Vajda, p.&nbsp;xi{{Full citation needed|date=December 2024}}</ref>

== Phonology ==
=== Vowels ===
{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|ɨ}}~{{IPAlink|ɯ}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}}~{{IPA link|ɛ}}{{efn|name=high-steady|The normally [[Open-mid vowel|open-mid]] {{IPA|/ɛ/}} and {{IPA|/ɔ/}} are pronounced as [[Close-mid vowel|close-mid]] {{IPA|[e]}} and {{IPA|[o]}}, respectively, when they have the high-steady tone.}}
| {{IPA link|ə}}~{{IPA link|ʌ}}
| {{IPA link|o}}~{{IPA link|ɔ}}{{efn|name=high-steady}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
| colspan="3"| {{IPA link|a}}{{efn|{{IPA|/a/}} freely varies between {{IPA|[æ]}}, {{IPA|[a]}}, {{IPA|[ɐ]}}, and {{IPA|[ɑ]}}.}}
|}
{{notelist}}Georg classifies {{IPAblink|ɛ}}, {{IPAblink|ɔ}}, {{IPAblink|ʌ}} and {{IPAblink|æ}} as [[Marginal phoneme|marginal phonemes]].{{sfn|Georg|2007|p=66}}

=== Consonants ===
Vajda analyses Ket as having only 12 consonant phonemes:

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|-
!colspan=2| 
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" |[[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPAlink|b}}
| {{IPAlink|d}}
|
| 
| 
| 
|-
!rowspan=2| [[Fricative]]
! {{small|[[Central consonant|central]]}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ç}}
|
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! {{small|[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ɮ}}
|
|
|
|
|}
It is one of the few languages to lack both {{IPA|/p/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ/}},<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://wals.info/valuesets/5A-ket|title=WALS Online – Datapoint Ket / Voicing and Gaps in Plosive Systems}}</ref> along with [[Arapaho language|Arapaho]], [[Goliath language|Goliath]], [[Obokuitai language|Obokuitai]], [[Palauan language|Palauan]], and [[Efik language|Efik]], as well as classical [[Arabic]] and some modern Arabic dialects.

There is much [[allophony]], and the phonetic inventory of consonants is essentially as below. This is the level of description reflected by the Ket alphabet.

{|class=wikitable style=text-align:center
|- 
!colspan=3| 
! [[Bilabial consonant|Bilabial]]
! [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan=3| [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPAlink|m}}
| {{IPAlink|n}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|ŋ}}
|
|
|-
! colspan=2 rowspan=2| [[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}}
|
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}}
| {{IPAlink|ʔ}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPAlink|b}}
| {{IPAlink|d}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ɡ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɢ}}
| 
|-
!rowspan=3| [[Fricative]]
!rowspan=2| {{small|[[Central consonant|central]]}}
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ç}}
| ({{IPAlink|x}})
| ({{IPAlink|χ}})
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPAlink|β}}
| 
| {{IPAlink|ʝ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɣ}}
| {{IPAlink|ʁ}}
| 
|-
! colspan=2| {{small|[[Lateral consonant|lateral]]}}
|
| {{IPAlink|ɮ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=3| [[Flap consonant|Flap]]
|
| {{IPAlink|ɾ}}
|
|
|
|
|-
! colspan=3| [[Trill consonant|Trill]]
|
| {{IPAlink|r}}
|
|
|
|
|}

Furthermore, all nasal consonants in Ket have voiceless allophones at the end of a monosyllabic word with a glottalized or descending tone (i.e. {{IPA|[m, n, ŋ]}} turn into {{IPA|[m̥, n̥, ŋ̥]}}), likewise, {{IPA|[ɮ]}} becomes {{IPA|[ɬ]}} in the same situation. Alveolars are often pronounced [[laminal consonant|laminal]] and possibly [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]], though not in the vicinity of a uvular consonant. {{IPA|/q/}} is normally pronounced with affrication, as {{IPA|[𐞥χ]}}.

=== Tone ===
Descriptions of Ket vary widely in the number of contrastive tones they report: as many as eight and as few as zero have been counted. Given this wide disagreement, whether or not Ket is a [[tonal language]] is debatable,<ref>Ian Maddieson, "Tone". The World Atlas of Language Structures Online. http://wals.info/feature/13</ref> although recent works by Ket specialists Edward Vajda and Stefan Georg defend the existence of tone.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Vajda |first=Edward J. |author-link=Edward Vajda |title=Tone and Phoneme in Ket |journal=Current Issues in Linguistic Theory |year=2003 |volume=246 |pages=393–418 |doi=10.1075/cilt.246.19vaj |isbn=978-90-272-4758-2 |url=https://www.academia.edu/3749920 |via=Academia.edu}}</ref>

In tonal descriptions, Ket does not employ a tone on every syllable but instead uses one tone per word. Following Vajda's description of Southern Ket, the five basic tones are as follows:{{Sfn|Vajda|2004|pp=8-12}}{{failed verification|date=July 2024|reason=Where did the Cyrillic transcriptions come from?}}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
! [[Tone name]]
! Glottalized
! High-even
! Rising falling
! Falling
! Rising high-falling
|-
! [[Tone contour]]
| {{IPA|[˧˦ˀ]}} (34’)
| {{IPA|[˥]}} (5)
| {{IPA|[˩˧.˧˩]}} (13.31)
| {{IPA|[˧˩]}} (31)
| {{IPA|[˩˧.˥˧]}} (13.53)
|-
! Example
| {{lang|ket|кеʼт}} {{IPA|[kɛˀt]}}<br>'person'
| {{lang|ket|сюль}} {{IPA|[súl]}}<br>'blood'
| {{lang|ket|сюуль}} {{IPA|[su᷈ːl] ([sǔûl])}}<br>'hand sled'
| {{lang|ket|ӄай}} {{IPA|[qâj]}}<br>'elk'
| {{lang|ket|бънтан}} {{IPA|[bʌ̌nta᷇n]}}<br>'mallard duck'
|}

The glottalized tone features pharyngeal or laryngeal constriction, or a full glottal stop that interrupts the vowel.

Georg's 2007 description of Ket tone is similar to the above, but reduces the basic number of tonemes to four, while moving the rising high-falling tone plus a variant to a class of tonemes only found in multisyllabic words. With some exceptions caused by certain prefixes or clitics, the domain of tones in a multisyllabic word is limited to the first two syllables.{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=49, 56–58}}

== Orthography ==
{{Expand language|langcode=ru|section=yes|otherarticle=Кетская письменность|date=December 2024}}
In the 1930s a [[Unified Northern Alphabet|Latin-based alphabet]] was [[Latinisation in the Soviet Union|developed and used]]:<ref> {{cite book |last1=Исаев |first1=М. И. |title=Языковое строительство в СССР. Процессы создания письменностей народов СССР |publisher=[[Nauka (publisher)|Наука]] |year=1979 |isbn= |volume= |location=Москва}}</ref>
{| style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: none; font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 1.4em; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 239);"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | A a
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ā|Ā ā]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Æ|Æ æ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | B [[Small capital B|ʙ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | C c
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | D d
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | E e
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ē|Ē ē]]
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ə|Ə ə]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | F f
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | G g
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | H h
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ꜧ|Ꜧ ꜧ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | I i
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ī|Ī ī]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | J j
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | K k
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | L l
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ļ|Ļ ļ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | M m
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | N n
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ņ|Ņ ņ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ŋ|Ŋ ŋ]] 
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | O o
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ō|Ō ō]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | P p
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Q q
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | R r
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | S s
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ş|Ş ş]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | T t
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | U u
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[Ū|Ū ū]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | V v
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Z z
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |[[Ƶ|Ƶ ƶ]]
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | [[I with bowl|Ь ь]] 
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" |
|}

In the 1980s a new, Cyrillic-based, alphabet was created:
{| style="border: 1px solid rgb(0, 0, 0); border-image: none; font-family: Arial Unicode MS; font-size: 1.4em; border-collapse: collapse; background-color: rgb(248, 248, 239);"
| 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;" | Ӷ ӷ
| 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;" | 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;" | Й й
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | К к
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ӄ ӄ
| 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;" | Ӈ ӈ
| 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;" | Ф ф
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Х х
| 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;" | 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;" | Ә ә
| 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;" | ʼ
| 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
|
|}


{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]]
! [[Latin script|Latin]]
! [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
|-
|А а
|A a
|[[Open front unrounded vowel|a]]
|-
|Б б
|B b
|[[Voiced bilabial stop|b]]
|-
|В в
|V v
|{{IPA link|v}}
|-
|Г г
|G g
|{{IPA link|g}}, {{IPA link|ɣ}}
|-
|Ӷ ӷ; Г̡ г̡
|
|{{IPA link|ɢ}}, {{IPA link|ʀ}}
|-
|Д д
|D d
|[[Voiced alveolar stop|d]]
|-
|Е е
|E e
|{{IPA link|e}}, {{IPA link|ɛ}}
|-
|Ё ё
|Ē ē
|{{IPA link|ə}}, jɔ
|-
|Ж ж
|Ƶ '''ƶ'''
|{{IPA link|ʐ}}
|-
|З з
|Z z
|{{IPA link|z}}
|-
|И и
|I i
|[[Close front unrounded vowel|i]]
|-
|Й й
|Ī ī
|[[palatal approximant|j]]
|-
|К к
|K k
|[[voiced velar stop|k]]
|-
|Ӄ ӄ
|Q q
|[[voiceless uvular stop|q]]
|-
|Л л
|L l; Ļ ļ
|[[alveolar lateral approximant|l]]; [[palatalized alveolar lateral approximant|lʲ]]
|-
|М м
|M m
|[[bilabial nasal|m]]
|-
|Н н
|N n; Ņ ņ
|[[alveolar nasal|n]]; [[palatalized alveolar nasal|nʲ]]
|-
|Ӈ ӈ
|Ŋ ŋ
|[[velar nasal|ŋ]]
|-
|О о
|O o
|[[open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]]
|-
|Ө ө
|Ō ō
|[[close-mid back rounded vowel|o]]
|-
|П п
|P p
|[[voiceless bilabial stop|p]]
|-
|Р р
|R r
|[[alveolar trill|r]]; [[palatalized alveolar trill|rʲ]]
|-
|С с
|S s; Ș ș
|[[voiceless alveolar fricative|s]]; [[palatalized voiceless alveolar fricative|sʲ]]
|-
|Т т
|T t
|[[voiceless alveolar stop|t]]
|-
|У у
|U u
|[[close back rounded vowel|u]]
|-
|Ф ф
|F f
|[[voiceless labiodental fricative|f]]
|-
|Х х
|H h
|{{IPA link|h}}, {{IPA link|x}}
|-
|Ц ц
|
|{{IPA link|t͡s}}
|-
|Ч ч
|
|{{IPA link|t͡ʂ}}{{Cn|date=February 2025}}
|-
|Ш ш
|
|{{IPA link|ʃ}}
|-
|Щ щ
|
|{{IPA link|ɕ}}
|-
|Ъ ъ
|
|{{IPA link|ʌ}}
|-
|ʼ
|
|{{IPA link|◌ˀ}}
|-
|Ә ә
|Ə ə
|{{IPA link|ə}}
|-
|Ы ы
|Ь ь
|[[close central unrounded vowel|ɨ]]
|-
|Ь ь
|
|{{IPA link|◌ʲ}}
|-
|Э э
|
|{{IPA link|ɛ}}
|-
|Ю ю
|
|[[close back rounded vowel|u]], ju
|-
|Я я
|
|[[Open front unrounded vowel|a]], ja
|}

== Morphology ==
[[Nouns]] have [[nominative]] basic case (subjects and direct objects) and a system of secondary cases for spatial relations. The three noun classes are: masculine, feminine and inanimate. 

Unlike neighbouring languages of Siberia, Ket makes use of verbal prefixes. Ket has two verbal declensions, one prefixed with ''d-'' and one with ''b-''. The [[Grammatical person|second-person]] singular prefixes on intransitive verbs are {{IPA|[ku-, ɡu-]}}. 

Ket makes significant use of [[Incorporation (linguistics)|incorporation]]. Incorporation is not limited to nouns, and can also include verbs, adverbs, adjectives, and bound morphemes found only in the role of incorporated elements. Incorporation also occurs as both a lexicalized process – the combination of verb and incorporate being treated as a distinct lexical element, with a meaning often based around the incorporated element – and a paradigmatic one, where the incorporation is performed spontaneously for particular semantic and pragmatic effect{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=233, 235}} Forms of incorporation include:
*'''Nominal incorporation''', most commonly used to describe the [[Thematic relation|instrumental]] part of an action, but sometimes used to describe [[Patient (grammar)|patients]] instead. Instrumental incorporation does not affect the [[Transitivity (grammar)|transitivity]] of the verb (though there are examples where this form of incorporation is used to describe agentless changes of state), while patient incorporation can make a [[transitive verb]] [[Intransitive verb|intransitive]]. Patient incorporation is usually used for patients that are wholly effected by an action (such as being brought into existence by it); more generally affected patients are typically incorporated only when significantly defocused or backgrounded.{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=236}}
*'''Verbal incorporation''', more specifically the incorporation of verbal [[infinitives]] (rather than roots) into the verb complex. This form of incorporation is used to signify [[Grammatical aspect|aspect]] and form [[causative]]s. Incorporated infinitives may bring incorporated elements of their own into the verb as well.{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=233–234}}
*'''Adjectival incorporation''', with an incorporated adjective describing the target or final state of an action.{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=232–233}}
*'''Adverbial incorporation''', where a local adverb is used to describe the direction or path of a movement.{{sfn|Georg|2007|pages=233}}Ket is classified as a [[synthetic language]]. [[Verbs]] use [[prefixes]], while [[suffixes]] are rare. Nevertheless, [[Incorporation (linguistics)|incorporation]] is well-developed.
The division between [[morphemes]] is based on [[Fusion (phonetics)|fusion]].  [[Sandhi]] are common as well.<ref>Werner, Heinrich. Die ketische Sprache, раздел «Морфонология»</ref>
The basic [[word order]] is subject-object-verb [[Subject–object–verb|SOV]].<ref>Werner, Heinrich. Die ketische Sprache, раздел «Синтаксис», стр. 332</ref>
The name marking is of [[Ezāfe]]-type, the same as in [[Predicate (grammar)|predication]].

=== Number ===
Ket has two [[Grammatical number|grammatical numbers]], the singular and plural. This is usually expressed by the presence or absence of {{Lang|ket|-n}} (individuated plural) or {{Lang|ket|-ŋ}} (collective plural), the plural suffixes. The old singulative suffix {{Lang|ket|-s}} is present on certain singular forms, however, like the stem {{Lang|ket|tɨˀs}} 'stone' > {{Lang|ket|təˀŋ}} 'stones'. Some shape-classifying suffixes have developed and are mildly [[Productivity (linguistics)|productive]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Vajda |first=Edward |title=45 Ket Morphology |date=2007-06-23 |work=Morphologies of Asia and Africa |pages=1292–1341 |editor-last=Kaye |editor-first=Alan S. |url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/9781575065663-048/html |access-date=2025-02-13 |publisher=Penn State University Press |doi=10.1515/9781575065663-048 |isbn=978-1-57506-566-3|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== Noun declension ===
{| class="wikitable"
|+hīk "man" (masculine noun)
!Case
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
|hīk-Ø
|hīk-en-Ø
|-
!Genitive
|hīk-da
|hīk-en-na
|-
!Dative
|hīk-daŋa
|hīk-en-naŋa
|-
!Benefactive
|hīk-data
|hīk-en-nata
|-
!Ablative
|hīk-daŋal
|hīk-en-naŋal
|-
!Adessive
|hīk-daŋta
|hīk-en-naŋta
|-
!Locative
| -
| -
|-
!Prosecutive
|hīk-bes
|hīk-en-bes
|-
!Instrumental
|hīk-as
|hīk-en-as
|-
!Abessive
|hīk-an
|hīk-en-an
|-
!Translative
|hīk-esaŋ
|hīk-en-esaŋ
|-
!Vocative
|hīk-ó
|hīk-en-ə́
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+qīm "woman" (feminine noun)
!Case
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
|qīm-Ø
|qīm-n-Ø
|-
!Genitive
|qīm-di
|qīm-n-di
|-
!Dative
|qīm-diŋa
|qīm-n-diŋa
|-
!Benefactive
|qīm-dita
|qīm-n-dita
|-
!Ablative
|qīm-diŋal
|qīm-n-diŋal
|-
!Adessive
|qīm-diŋta
|qīm-n-diŋta
|-
!Locative
| -
| -
|-
!Prosecutive
|qīm-bes
|qīm-n-bes
|-
!Instrumental
|qīm-as
|qīm-n-as
|-
!Abessive
|qīm-an
|qīm-n-an
|-
!Translative
|qīm-esaŋ
|qīm-n-esaŋ
|-
!Vocative
|qīm-ə́
|qīm-n-ə́
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+
doˀn "knife" (neuter noun)
!Case
!Singular
!Plural
|-
!Nominative
|doˀn-Ø
|dón-aŋ-Ø
|-
!Genitive
|dón-di
|dón-aŋ-di
|-
!Dative
|dón-diŋa
|dón-aŋ-diŋa
|-
!Benefactive
|dón-dita
|dón-aŋ-dita
|-
!Ablative
|dón-diŋal
|dón-aŋ-diŋal
|-
!Adessive
|dón-diŋta
|dón-aŋ-diŋta
|-
!Locative
|dón-ka
|dón-aŋ-ka
|-
!Prosecutive
|dón-bes
|dón-aŋ-bes
|-
!Instrumental
|dón-as
|dón-aŋ-as
|-
!Abessive
|dón-an
|dón-aŋ-an
|-
!Translative
|dón-esaŋ
|dón-aŋ-esaŋ
|-
!Vocative
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|<nowiki>-</nowiki>
|}

== Lexicon ==

=== Loanwords ===
Ket has many loanwords from Russian, such as {{Lang|ket-latn|mora}} 'sea'; there are also loanwords from other languages such as [[Selkup language|Selkup]], for example: the word {{Lang|ket-latn|qopta}} 'ox' comes from the Selkup word {{Lang|sel-latn|qobda}}. Ket also has some [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] words, such as {{Lang|ket-latn|saˀj}} 'tea' from Mongolian {{Lang|mn-latn|tsaj}}. There are also words from [[Evenki language|Evenki]], for example: the word {{Lang|ket-latn|saˀl}} 'tobacco' is probably borrowed from Evenki {{Lang|evn-latn|sâr}} 'tobacco'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=WOLD - |url=https://wold.clld.org/word/72262144269573919 |access-date=15 January 2021 |website=wold.clld.org}}</ref>

== Sample text ==
{| class="wikitable"
|+Dotam, a Ket fairy tale<ref>{{Cite web |title=Дотам {{!}} Siberian Lang |url=https://siberian-lang.srcc.msu.ru/ru/text/dotam |access-date=2024-12-18 |website=siberian-lang.srcc.msu.ru}}</ref>
!Ket
!English translation
|-
|
# Báàt báàmas dolin dolin.
# Buŋnaŋt həna hyˀb obilda.
# Buŋ saˀŋ bat oŋon hyˀb qā bat datobaqn.
# Bīs uska bat dinbesn sáàŋna kəjgan binaŋ bilan hyˀbdat taŋa sáàŋna buleŋ bat tobaqn. 
# Buŋna hyˀb bat dilden saŋna buleŋ bənən dub. 
# Buda obaŋ sī bat tolaŋan. 
# Bu sī dugde bat dilden. 
# Dotam báàm dainbes hybda hȳj qibas dausbiltet tuliŋ əla dabutoblej. 
# Hybda amaŋ qonoqs hilaŋtesin. 
# Buŋna hybda iŋgij bənsaŋ. 
# Dotam báàm daoldoq. 
# Báàt bada báàmo. 
# Attas qā kasnam. 
# Báàm attas qā dakajnam. 
# Báàt attas dobni. 
# Dotam báàmdiŋa ogon. 
# Dotam báàm attasas daltetna. 
# Dotam báàm kəjga dilunbet binda uska dinbes. 
# Báàmdiŋa həna bimnij dotam báàmdi huˀn dainbes mana abaŋa maramsanka qətgetin amdi kəjga adat ām daesilaq. 
# Báàt ajataŋabinsaŋ attasas dotam báàmdi huˀn diqej. 
# Báàt ogon dotam báàm bobse diqej. 
# Dotam báàmt báàt digdoqon. 
# Báàt dotam báàmdi báàtdaŋa bada atas dəŋon sien qadij u at ildoq. 
# Dotət báàt báàtas hissyjdiŋa ogon. 
# Oksdaŋal sakətləŋ hando tyndiŋa dobilda ūl datbijaq boˀk bilbet tyˀn daŋqimna. 
# Dotət báàtdaŋa bada qibo kado tyˀn aks kaqan. 
# Dotət báàt bat koldo haj bat koldo. 
# Báàt tyˀn kajnam áàŋ tyˀn dotət báàtda ədiŋa datbijaq. 
# Dotət báàt boˀk daoldoq. 
# Báàt bylda daŋqej. 
# Báàt bindada báàmas digdaqan.
|
# An old man and an old woman lived and lived.
# They had a little son.
# They went to hunt squirrels, leaving their son at home. 
# They came home in the evening, ate the squirrel heads themselves, leaving only the squirrel paws for their son. 
# Their son cried, he does not eat squirrel paws. 
# His parents went to bed at night. 
# He cried the whole night. 
# The old woman Dotam came, cut her son's belly in half, pulled out the intestines, put them in the fire, and ate her son.
# The parents got up in the morning.
# There was no rustle of their son.
# The old woman Dotam ate him.
# The old man said: "Old woman!
# Take [=bring] the spear home."
# The old woman took the spear home. 
# The old man sharpened the spear. 
# He went to Dotam the old woman. 
# He struck the old woman Dotam with a spear. 
# He broke the old woman's head and returned home himself. 
# A little later, the old woman's daughter Dotam came to the old woman and said: "Give me some maramsanka [grass], my mother has a headache, my mother has passed away."
# The old man got angry and killed the old woman's daughter with the spear of the old woman Dotam. 
# The old man went and killed the old woman Dotam completely. 
# The old man stayed with the old woman Dotam. 
# The old man said to the old woman Dotam: "Come with me to eat, then you can eat me." 
# The old man Dotet went into the forest with the old man. 
# He chopped some wood chips from a tree, put them in a cauldron, poured water, made a fire, and boiled the cauldron. 
# He said to the old man Dotet: "Uncle, look how the cauldron is boiling!" 
# Old man Dotet looked and looked some more. 
# The old man took the cauldron and poured the hot cauldron on old man Dotet. 
# The fire burned [=ate] old man Dotet. 
# The old man killed everyone. 
# The old man stayed with his old woman.
|}

=== Examples of sentences ===
* {{Lang|ket|bu du-taRɔt}} 'He lies/sleeps';
* {{Lang|ket|ətn en dʌŋ-ɔtn}} 'We are walking already';
* {{Lang|ket|bu ətn d-il'-daŋ-s'}} 'He attracted us'.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Literature ==
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last=Georg |first=Stefan |title=A Descriptive Grammar of Ket (Yenisei-Ostyak) |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publisher=Brill |date=2007 |doi=10.1163/ej.9781901903584.i-328|isbn=978-90-04-21350-0 }}
* {{cite book |first1=N. K. |last1=Karger|title=Кетский язык. — Языки и письменность народов Севера |volume=Ч. III |location=Moscow, Leningrad |year=1934}}
* Kotorova, Elizaveta, and Andrey Nefedov (eds.) (2015). ''Comprehensive Ket Dictionary'' / Большой словарь кетского языка (2 vols). Languages of the World/Dictionaries (LW/D) 57. Munich: Lincom Europa.
* {{cite book |first1=E. A. |last1=Kreinovich|title=Кетский язык. — Языки народов СССР |publisher=Т. V., Leningrad |year=1968}}
* {{cite book |first1=Edward J. |last1=Vajda|title=Ket Prosodic Phonology |year=2000 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |series=Languages of the World |volume=15}}
* {{cite book |first=Edward J. |last=Vajda|publisher=Psychology Press|year=2001|isbn=0700712909|title=Yeniseian Peoples and Languages: A History of Yeniseian Studies With an Annotated Bibliography and a Source Guide|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fSfx-GTbSx4C&pg=PR11}}
* {{cite book |first1=Edward J. |last1=Vajda|title=Ket |year=2004 |location=Munich |publisher=Lincom Europa |series=Languages of the World |isbn=3-89586-221-5}}
* {{cite book |first1=E. |last1=Vajda |title=Morfologicheskii slovar ketskogo glagola: na osnove iuzhno-ketskogo dialekta. = Morphological dictionary of the Ket verb: Southern dialect / |first2=M. |last2=Zinn |year=2004}}
* {{cite book |last1=Vajda|first1=Edward J.|chapter=Siberian Link with Na-Dene Languages ''The Dene–Yeniseian Connection'' |first2=J. |last2=Kari |first3=B. |last3=Potter |pages=33–99 |title=Anthropological Papers of the University of Alaska, new series |volume=5 |location=Fairbanks |publisher=[[University of Alaska Fairbanks]], Department of Anthropology |year=2010}}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite journal |last1=Kotorova |first1=Elizaveta |first2=Andrey |last2=Nefedov |title=Preserving Endangered Knowledge in a Dictionary: The Case of Ket |journal=Anthropological Linguistics |volume=61 |issue=1 |date=2019 |pages=103–113 |doi=10.1353/anl.2019.0012|doi-access=free }}
* {{cite book |last=Nefedov |first=Andrey |chapter=Ket |title=Clause Linkage in the Languages of the Ob-Yenisei Area |editor1-first=Anja |editor1-last=Behnke |editor2-first=Beáta |editor2-last=Wagner-Nagy |series=Empirical Approaches to Linguistic Theory |volume=23 |location=Leiden, The Netherlands |publisher=Brill |date=2023 |pages=209–247 |doi=10.1163/9789004684775_006|isbn=978-90-04-68477-5 }}

== External links ==
{{Incubator|code = ket}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060703172611/http://lingsib.unesco.ru/en/languages/ket.shtml.htm Endangered Languages of the Indigenous Peoples of Siberia – The Ket Language]
* [http://wold.clld.org/vocabulary/18 Ket language vocabulary with loanwords] (from the World Loanword Database)
* Filtchenko, Andrei. 2001. [https://web.archive.org/web/20051118164119/http://www.owlnet.rice.edu/~andreif/project/ket%20language.htm Ket Language]
* Georg, Stefan. 2006. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wFuPAAAACAAJ&q=A+Descriptive+Grammar+of+Ket ''A Descriptive Grammar of Ket'' (Yenisei-Ostyak).]{{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} Folkestone, Kent: [[Global Oriental]]. {{ISBN|978-1-901903-58-4}}
* Kazakevich, Olga, et al. 2006?. [http://minlang.srcc.msu.ru/slovar?field_lang_filter_tid=44&field_rfrns_place_tid=All&field_rfrns_dictor_nid=All Multimedia Database of Ket Language, Moscow State (Lomonosov) University]{{Dead link|date=May 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
* Lueders, Ulrich. Books: Language Description, Ket: Vajda. [https://linguistlist.org/issues/17/17-1521/ Publisher's announcement] on [[LINGUIST List]]
* [[Edward Vajda|Vajda, Edward J.]] 2000. [https://web.archive.org/web/20190406214043/http://pandora.cii.wwu.edu/vajda/ea210/ket.htm Ket and other Yeneseic Peoples]
* [[Edward Vajda|Vajda, Edward J.]] 2006. [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6050673836854498204 The Ket People – Google Video] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303083233/http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6050673836854498204 |date=3 March 2007 }}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100708040307/http://www.uaf.edu/anthro/apua/ Table of contents and ordering information for ''The Dene–Yeniseian Connection.'']
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110805182710/http://www.uaf.edu/anlc/dy/ Notices and news items on Dene–Yeniseian]
* Viikberg, Jüri. [http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/kets.shtml Kets]. In ''[http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook/index1.shtml The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire]'', NGO Red Book, {{ISBN|9985-9369-2-2}} ([[The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire|Wikipedia article]])
*[http://starling.rinet.ru/cgi-bin/response.cgi?root=new100&morpho=0&basename=new100\yen\yen&limit=-1&encoding=utf-eng Ket basic lexicon at the Global Lexicostatistical Database]
*[http://www.rferl.org/content/Silent_Extinction_Language_Loss_Reaches_Crisis_Levels/1963070.html Silent Extinction: Language Loss Reaches Crisis Levels]

{{Yeniseian languages}}
{{Paleosiberian languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ket Language}}
[[Category:Ket people]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Siberia]]
[[Category:Yeniseian languages]]
[[Category:Krasnoyarsk Krai]]
[[Category:Severely endangered languages]]
[[Category:Endangered Dené–Yeniseian languages]]

[[de:Jenisseische Sprachen#Das Ketische]]