ABSTRACT
The Kalmuck (Kalmyk) language (xalymg keln) is a Western Mongolic language spoken mainly in the Kalmuck Republic (Republic of Kalmykia), the former Kalmuck ASSR, which since 1992 forms a sovereign entity within the Russian Federation. Outside of the republic, Kalmuck is spoken in several other parts of Russia, including, in particular, the provinces (oblast’ ) of Astrakhan, Rostov, Volgograd, and Orenburg, and the region (krai) of Stavropol’. A small number of people identified as Kalmuck also live in the Issyk Köl region of Kyrgyzstan. The total Kalmuck population in the Russian Federation, according to the census of 1989, is about 165,800 people, most of whom (146,300) live in the Kalmuck Republic. A large proportion of the Kalmuck have, however, lost the native language in favour of Russian, and it is unclear whether the recent political changes can revert the ongoing process of linguistic assimilation.
