ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the current status of Nivkh, a Palaeo-Siberian isolate language spoken in the Amur basin and on the island of Sakhalin in the Russian Far East. Due to massive language shift during the last two to three generations, Nivkh is today spoken by only a handful of fluent speakers out of an ethnic population of approximately 4000 people. Since current programs of teaching the language as a facultative subject at schools have not changed the situation, a new type of revitalization program was initiated recently on the basis of international experience using the master-apprentice method. It is hoped that, in cooperation with the local authorities, immersion groups for children can also be created in a few locations. At the same time, efforts are being made to raise the visibility and prestige of the Nivkh language in its social environment.
