Oroqen language

Oroqen
Orochon, Oronchon, Olunchun, Elunchun, Ulunchun
Арутчэн Уркун
ɔrɔtʃeen ulguur
Pronunciation/arʊtɕʰen urkun/
Native toChina
RegionChina: Inner Mongolia, Heilongjiang
EthnicityOroqen
Native speakers
3,789 (2009)
Tungusic
  • Northern
Dialects
  • Gankui
  • Selpechen
Latin script
Language codes
ISO 639-3orh
Glottologoroq1238
ELPOroqen
Oroqen is classified as Critically Endangered by the
UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Oroqen (/ˈɒrəɛn, ˈɒr-/ ORR-ə-chen, ORR-oh-; Oroqen Urkun; ɔrɔtʃeen ulguur), also known as Orochon, Oronchon, Olunchun, Elunchun or Ulunchun, is a Northern Tungusic language spoken in the People's Republic of China. Dialects are Gankui and Heilongjiang. Gankui is the standard dialect. It is spoken by the Oroqen people of Inner Mongolia (predominantly the Oroqin Autonomous Banner) and Heilongjiang in Northeast China.

Since the 1980s, Oroqen-language materials were produced by teachers in Oroqen-speaking areas. They based the language's orthography either on IPA or Pinyin. A majority of Oroqen speakers use Chinese as a literary language and some also speak Daur.