ABSTRACT
Dagur (also Daghur, Dahur, Daur) is an aberrant North(east)ern Mongolic language spoken by the majority of the c.120,000 (1990) ethnic Dagur (Chinese Dawoer) in China. The name reflects the self-appellation of the Dagur (dagur ~ dawur ~ daur). Historically, the Dagur once inhabited the Middle Amur region, including, in particular, the Zeya basin, from where they moved (or were forced to move) to the Chinese side of the border in the seventeenth century and later. Subsequent movements have further dispersed the Dagur population, resulting in their current distribution, which may be described in terms of four separate regional groups:
(1) The Amur Dagur are a small (and rapidly diminishing) remnant group of perhaps only 400 individuals, who still remain in the original homeland. The Amur Dagur are today concentrated in the Heihe region on the Chinese side of the Middle Amur basin.
