Solon is a language or dialect descended from Tungusic that was spoken by the Solons in China and Kazakhstan. Solon is Manchurian Evenki dialect, which was created to due the settlements[clarification needed] of Solons to Hulunbuir in the 17th century.[3][4]
Name
The name “Solon” was originally used for Evenki and Dagur speakers from the Amur valley. After migrations in the 16th-17th century from multiple ethnic groups, the name Solon was used for modern Solon, Dagur and Oroqen speakers. After being moved to Hulunbuir in 1732, the modern Solons and Solon dialect were designated and distinguished from other ethnic groups. Solons were also called Ongkors, which has been changed to designate Solons from Xinjiang.[4]
Dialects
The dialects of Solon are Amur, Hulun Buir (Huihe), Morigele, Nonni (Nenjiang) and Ongkor Solon.[5] The Ongkor Solon dialect has been extinct since the 1990s.[6]
Classification
According to Juha Janhunen research, the numerous dialects of the Ewenki language can be divided into two major groups: those of the Solons (which he labels “Solon Ewenki”) and those of the Ewenki of Siberia (as well as the Oroqen and the “Manchurian Reindeer Tungus” of China), which he calls “Siberian Evenki”. The Ewenki dialects of the bilingual Khamnigan show features characteristic of both “Manchurian” and “Siberian” groups, as well as peculiar Khamnigan innovations.[7]
The Solon being closely associated with the Dagur, many (around half of them, according to Janhunen’s field research in the 1990s) Solon people are bilingual in the Dagur.[8] During the Qing Empire, many Solon (as well as members of many other native groups of Manchuria) were able to speak Manchu,[9] while in modern China Mandarin Chinese is universally taught.
Solon has also been classified as a separate language, with Janhunen classifying it as a part of the Ewenic languages.[10]
Phonology
Consonants
Tsumagari states there are 17 consonant phonemes in the Solon language, which are p, t, k, b, d, g, m, n, c, [쥰], j, [쥵], s, x, l, r, w, y and [j]. The /h/ phoneme is also sometimes considered a separate phoneme, but is also interpreted as an allophone of s.[11] However, Kazama states there are 19 consonant phonemes, that are p, t, č, k, b, d, ǰ, g, m, n, ň, ŋ, s, š, x, w, j, r and l.[12]
Vowels
There are 12 vowel phonemes in the Solon language, which are H, i, ə, ɵ, u, S, ι, a, o, u, e and ee.[12]
Syllable structure
The syllable structure of Solon is shown as (C)V(V)(C).[11][12]
Morphology
Morphological process
Solon’s morphological process has agglutinative suffixes, which is shown in the xaxraa-sül-nii-s (of your chickens). Regressive assimilation has also occurred in Solon, resulting in alterations in the stem’s final consonant, which is shown in is-ca being used for has reached over it-caa.[13]
Nouns
Declension
Solon has 13 different cases that includes an established genitive and a unmarked nominative form that serves as a stem of oblique cases. Some case-endings in Solon also include allomorphs which include the stem-final phonemic structure (-V♯/-C♯). The following list includes the Solon words beye (man) and morin (horse) that comes from Toshiro Tsumagari.[13]
| Case | beye (man) | morin (horse) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | beye | morin |
| Genitive | beye-nii | morin-ii |
| Accusative | beye-we | morin-ba |
| Indefinite Accusative | beye-ye | morin-a |
| Dative | beye-dii | morin-du |
| Locative | beye-lee | morin-dulaa |
| Directive | beye-txii | morin-tixii |
| Prolative | beye-lii | morin-dulii |
| Ablative | beye-diixi | morin-duxi |
| Elative | beye-giiji | morin-giiji |
| Delative | beye-leexi | morin-dulaaxi |
| Instrumental | beye-ji | morin-ji |
| Comitative | beye-gilii | morin-gilii |
Personal endings
The following list includes the nominative form and other case forms in Solon with endings that indicate the person and their number, which comes from Toshiro Tsumagari.[14]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | -bi［-beye～-weye] | -mun～-mün (exclusive) -t(i) (inclusive) |
| 2nd person | -s(i) (～C-ci) | -sun～-sün (～C-cun～-cün) |
| 3rd person | -nin(i)［-ni | same as singular |
| Reflexive | ［-bi～-wi] | ［-beli～-weli］ |
Plural suffix
Plurality in Solon is represented by the suffix -sal, which is attached to humans, animals and innaminate objects such as omolƐƐ -sal (grandsons), xolƐƐ -sal/＜xolƐƐn (snakes) and jolo-sol (stones). Unmarked forms are also used for referring to plural entities, which is more common when there is a quantitative adjective or it is preceded by a numeral such as ilan iite (three sons) and baraan xonin (many sheep). The suffix -sƐƐn is also added in Solon to place names or personal names and will mean “those who live somewhere” and “someoneʼs family, someone and others”, which is shown by imin-sƐƐn (those who live in Imin) and ülji-sƐƐn (the Uljis). The noun ulur or possibly olor (people, fellow) has also been used in Solon for human nouns such as sawi ulur (students).[15]
Pronouns
Personal pronouns
Most of the personal pronouns in Solon are infected with alternative stems given in square brackets. The case-endings are similar to the noun case-endings, with the restructuring of actual occurrence for case-endings. For 3rd person pronouns, demonstrative pronouns such as eri/tari (this/that), usually employs plural forms ersel/tarsal～taccil (these/those) and elür/talur (＜eri/tari ulur) (these/those people). The original 3rd person pronoun nugan, with a plural form of nugan-sal, is rarely used and expresses politeness to the referent. This is shown in the following table, that comes from Toshiro Tsumagari.[15]
| Singular | Plural | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st person | bii ［min-,accusative case minewe] | büü［mün-,accusative case münewe (exclusive) miti (inclusive) |
| 2nd person | sii ［sin-,accusative case sinewe] | süü［sün-,accusative case sünewe］ |
Reflexive pronouns
The word meeni (oneself) is used for both numbers and has the stem meen-, a case-ending and a singular reflexive-ending. The word meeni has a dative case of meen-dü-wi, a instrumental case of meen-ji-wi and a accusative case of meen-bi, with the accusative case not having and any case-markings.[15]
Demonstrative pronouns
The words eri (this) and tari (that) are used attributively and independently, with some case forms having both having reduced stems and derivative forms. The case forms with reduced stems are the dative case of e-dü/ta-du and the locative case of e-lee/ta-laa, while the derivative forms are eyye/tayya (this/that with a contemptuous tone), ennegen/tannagan (like this/that which is attributive) and ettü/tattu (in this/that way).[15]
Interrogative pronouns
The following table includes interrogative pronouns from Toshiro Tsumagari:[16]
| English | Solon |
|---|---|
| what | ii, oxon |
| who | aawu, nii |
| which | iir, iggü |
| how many, how much | ooxi, adi |
The following table also includes interrogative pronouns from Toshiro Tsumagari which have some case forms and derivative forms serve as interrogative adverbs.[16]
| English | Solon |
|---|---|
| when | ooxidu |
| where | iilee |
| how | iittü |
| why, how | yoodon |
| what kind of | oondii |
Numerals
Cardinals
The following table includes the Solon’s words for numerals from Toshiro Tsumagari and Shinjiro Kazama.[17][18]
| Number | Solon |
|---|---|
| 1 | əmun/emün |
| 2 | ǰuur/jüür |
| 3 | ilan |
| 4 | digin |
| 5 | tuŋa/toŋa |
| 6 | niŋun/niŋün |
| 7 | nadan |
| 8 | ǰaxun |
| 9 | jəgin/yegin |
| 10 | ǰaan |
| 11 | jaan emün |
| 12 | jaan jüür |
| 20 | orin |
| 30 | gotin |
| 40 | dexi |
| 50 | toŋŋεε/tornii |
| 60 | niŋüŋŋεε/niŋürnii |
| 70 | nadanŋŋεε/nadanrnii |
| 80 | jaxuŋŋεε/jaxurnii |
| 90 | yereen |
| 100 | namaaji |
| 200 | jüür namaaji |
| 1,000 | miŋgan |
| 10,000 | tümün |
The numerals 20, 30, 40, 90, 1,000 and 10,000 (orin, gotin, dexi, yereen, miŋgan and tümün) are shown to be borrowed from Manchu (orin, γusin, dexi, and tumen) and Mongolian (χorin, γucin, yiren, miŋgan, tümen). [19]
Derivative numerals
Ordinal numerals have the suffix -si/-ci added to them, such as ila-si. Manchu supplementive forms are also adopted for first “üjü” (＜Ma. uju ʻid.＜head) and second “jai” (＜Ma.jai ʻid.＜next).[19]
The following is derivational suffixes of Solon from Toshiro Tsumagari.[19]
| Case | Suffix |
|---|---|
| Iterative | -raa |
| Collective | -nnεε |
| Distributive | -tal |
| Restrictive | -xxan |
Script
Historically, Solon did not have a literary form or script. In the 1980s, standardisation of the language had started, which included the creation of a script system that based itself off of the Mongolian script.[20] In the modern day, Solon uses both the Latin and Mongolian script.[21]
Words
The following list of Solon words comes from Shinjiro Kazama.[22]
| English | Solon |
|---|---|
| head | dıl |
| hair | nuuttə, iŋatta |
| eye | iisal |
| nose | ňeenči |
| ear | seen |
| mouth | amma |
| tooth, teeth | iittə |
| hand | naala |
| finger | unaxan |
| foot, leg | bəldiir |
| skin | nanda |
| blood | səəči |
| bone | gıranda |
| flesh | uldə |
| body | bəjə |
| diseases, illness, sickness | ənux |
| medicine | əəŋ |
| salt | doosun |
| oil | immičči |
| liquor, wine | arixi |
| tabacco | daŋga |
| food | ǰittərə jəm |
| egg | umutta |
| bird | dəgii |
| knife | usxən |
| thread | širtə |
| clothes, clothing | təggačči |
| paper | saasun |
| thing | jəm |
| worm, insect | xulixan |
| fish | osxon |
| dog | nınaxın |
| house, home | ǰuu |
| money | məgun |
| tree | moo |
| grass | orotto |
| leaf | načči |
| flower, blossom | iggaa |
| seed | ur |
| field, acres, rice-field | taragan |
| way, road | təggu |
| river | doo |
| mountain | ur |
| water | muu |
| stone | ǰolo |
| earth | sirtan |
| fire | tog |
| wind | ədin |
| cloud | təčči |
| rain | tugdə |
| sky | bokkon |
| sun | sigun |
| moon | beega |
| star | oositta |
| day, afternoon | inigə |
| month | beega |
| year | anee |
| morning | əddə |
| night | dobbo |
| yesterday | tiinugu |
| tomorrow | timaasin |
| today | əri inigə |
| now | əsi |
| when | ooxidu |
| hour, time | ərin |
| one | əmun |
| two | ǰuur |
| three | ilan |
| four | digin |
| five | tuŋa |
| six | niŋun |
| seven | nadan |
| eight | ǰaxun |
| nine | jəgin |
| ten | ǰaan |
| how much | ooxii |
| how many | adii |
| altogether, all, whole | xokko |
| age | nasun |
| husband | ədəxən |
| wife | asi |
| father, papa | abaa, ami |
| mother, mama | əňəə, əməə |
| son | ukkəəxən |
| daughter | unaaǰi |
| elder brother | axaa, axin |
| elder sister | ədaa, əxin |
| younger brother | əkkəəxən nəxun |
| younger sister | unaaǰi nəxun |
| friend, mate | axaa nəxun |
| male | nirug bəj |
| female | axii bəj |
| person, man, one | bəj |
| I | bii |
| you | sii |
| he | tari |
| who | awu |
| name | gəbbi |
| letter | bitəg |
| voice | diggan |
| god | bokkon |
| this one | əri |
| it, that one | tari |
| which one | ijə |
| what | uxuŋ |
| why | ittu |
| here | ədu |
| there, that place, over there | tadu talaa |
| where, anywhere | iləə |
| left | jəəŋguu |
| right | bəruuŋguu |
| front | ǰuldəədə |
| back | amidaata |
| inside, inward, interior | doolo |
| out, outside, exterior | tuldəə |
| up | oroondo |
| down | əggilə |
References
- ^ “Solon”. LINGUIST List. Retrieved 8 May 2026.
- ^ Tsumagari 2009, p. 2.
- ^ Khabtagaeva 2012, p. 337-338.
- ^ a b Elisabetta Ragagnin; Bayarma Khabtagaeva (28 December 2022). Endangered Languages of Northeast Asia. Brill Publishers. pp. 277–278. ISBN 9004503501. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin (eds.). “Solon”. Glottolog . Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
- ^ Christopher Moseley; Alexandre Nicolas (2010). “Atlas of the world’s languages in danger”. UNESCO. p. 58. Retrieved 2026-06-01.
…the Jungarian variety of Evenki, also known as Ongkor Solon, became extinct in the 1990s
- ^ Janhunen 1996, pp. 70–72.
- ^ Janhunen 1996b, p. 828.
- ^ Janhunen 1996, p. 83.
- ^ Hölzl, Andreas (2018). The Tungusic languages family through the ages:Interdisciplinary perspectives. Tallinn: University of Zurich. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- ^ a b Tsumagari 2009, p. 3.
- ^ a b c Kazama 2003, p. 12.
- ^ a b Tsumagari 2009, p. 4.
- ^ Tsumagari 2009, p. 5.
- ^ a b c d Tsumagari 2009, p. 6.
- ^ a b Tsumagari 2009, p. 7.
- ^ Tsumagari 2009, p. 7-8.
- ^ Kazama 2003, p. 53-55.
- ^ a b c Tsumagari 2009, p. 8.
- ^ Khabtagaeva 2012, p. 338.
- ^ “Courses: Department of Central Eurasian Studies”. Archived from the original on 2009-06-13. Retrieved 2026-05-06.
- ^ Kazama 2003, p. 16-80.
Bibliography
- Janhunen, Juha (1996), Manchuria: an ethnic history, Volume 222 of Suomalais-ugrilaisen Seuran toimituksia, Suomalais-ugrilainen Seura, Finno-Ugrian Society, ISBN 9789519403847
- Janhunen, Juha (1996b), “Mongolic languages as idioms of intercultural communication in Northern Manchuria”, in Wurm, Stephen Adolphe; Mühlhäusler, Peter; Tryon, Darrell T. (eds.), Atlas of languages of intercultural communication in the Pacific, Asia and the Americas, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 827–835, ISBN 978-3-11-013417-9
- Tsumagari, Toshiro (2009). A sketch of Solon grammar. Journal of the Graduate School of Letters. Hokkaido University. Retrieved 2026-05-10.
- Khabtagaeva, Bayarma (2012). “The Dagur elements in Solon Evenki”. Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 65: 335–346. JSTOR 43282466. Retrieved 11 May 2026.
- Kazama, Shinjiro (2003). Basic vocabulary (A) of Tungusic languages (in Japanese). Osaka Gakuin University. pp. 12–80. ISSN 1346-082X. Retrieved 2026-05-28.