Get to Know the Buryat language of Lake Baikal

 

The Buryat language is a Mongolic language spoken in the Republic of Buryatia - the region around Lake Baikal on Russia’s border with Mongolia. 

The Buryat language is also spoken in parts of Mongolia, as well as the Province of Inner Mongolia in China.

 

Why learn the Buryat language?

There are thought to be around 280,000 speakers today. The number of speakers had been declining for decades, but thankfully, efforts are being made to revitalise the Buryat language.

There is debate as to whether it is a separate language or a major dialect group of the Mongolian language. 

Such debates depend on how someone defines dialects and languages, and should not detract from a language or dialect’s importance.

A crescent moon at Lake Baikal
The shores of Lake Baikal with mountains in the background

Speakers :

280,000

Where :

Buryatia (Russia), Mongolia, Inner Mongolia (China)

Dialects :

Fifteen dialects, grouped into Khori, Lower Uda, Alar-Tunka, Ekhirit-Bulagat, Bargut

Map of Russian and East Asia showing where the Buryat language is spoken in Russia, Mongolia, and China
 
 

Cover Image

Lake Baikal, Russia

Photo by Sergey Mind on Unsplash

Map

By Fobos92 - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=38252103

Resources for learning the Buryat language

How to Learn Russian eBook

The majority of the resources available for learning Buryat are in Russian.

One of the great things about learning Russian is that it makes learning languages like Buryat easier - simply because Buryat is mostly spoken in Russia, and most of the resources are therefore in Russian.

If you're interested in learning Russian, How to Learn Russian will guide you through the process in a fast and fun way.

Sale Price:£34.99 Original Price:£54.99
Purchase
  • All of the resources mentioned on the website and in the How to Learn Languages guides are resources I believe in. They're resources I've either found useful learning languages, or have researched for the How to Learn Languages website and guides. The overwhelming majority of these resources are not affiliate links.

    I only agree to affiliate links for resources I genuinely believe in. By having affiliate links for resources I believe in, I hope this can reduce the cost of paid resources for you, whilst also helping me to continue working on books, videos, documentaries, and How to Learn Languages.

    If you buy books linked in How to Learn Languages guides, on my websites, or social media channels, I’ll earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookshops. Any books that aren’t available from Bookshop.org have been linked to their relevant page on Goodreads.

    This italki link is also an affiliate link. If you pay for your first lesson on italki using this link, you’ll receive $10 italki credits, and I’ll earn a commission.

    Although the series aims to show anyone how to learn languages for free, it’s true that paid resources often help save time - both in terms of preparation and organisation. By having affiliate links for resources I believe in, I hope this can reduce the cost of paid resources for you, whilst also helping to make the development of more How to Learn Languages guides possible.

    Regardless of whether you use the affiliate links, thank you so much for your support. I really appreciate it.

Contact

Do you make videos or resources for learning a specific language? Feel free to get in touch so I can add links to your work on the relevant Get to Know page for that language, or in the relevant How to Learn Languages guide.

As well as helping people to learn languages, encouraging linguistic diversity, and raising awareness for the rights of indigenous peoples, I hope How to Learn Languages will also help to grow the audiences of anyone creating resources for learning languages.