INEL Projekt
@projektinel.bsky.social
Langzeitvorhaben der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Hamburg im Rahmen des Akademienprogramms
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/inel/
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/inel/
That was it for this week, but fear not - we will come back with even more exciting facts about the Ulcha in December!
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
That was it for this week, but fear not - we will come back with even more exciting facts about the Ulcha in December!
So they measure the size of the meshes in a net or the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer of a bear pretty much with their knuckles!
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
So they measure the size of the meshes in a net or the thickness of the subcutaneous fat layer of a bear pretty much with their knuckles!
Such units were used, for example, to measure animal skin or the height at which a trap had to be set.
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
Such units were used, for example, to measure animal skin or the height at which a trap had to be set.
...tawal “distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the middle finger”, mowlo~moglo “distance between the middle joint of the bent index finger and the tip of the thumb extended sideways.”
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
...tawal “distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the middle finger”, mowlo~moglo “distance between the middle joint of the bent index finger and the tip of the thumb extended sideways.”
The Ulcha have their own units of measurement and special words for them: daː “distance between the fingertips of both hands stretched out sideways”, ŋala “distance between the fingertips and the right shoulder”...
November 7, 2025 at 7:40 PM
The Ulcha have their own units of measurement and special words for them: daː “distance between the fingertips of both hands stretched out sideways”, ŋala “distance between the fingertips and the right shoulder”...
When you enter or exit a forest, you say “climb up into the forest” (dujsi toː-) and “climb down out of the forest” (dujidʼi əwu-). To the river, on the other hand, you always climb down (wajsi əwu-), and from the river you climb up (wajidʼi toː-).
November 6, 2025 at 8:55 AM
When you enter or exit a forest, you say “climb up into the forest” (dujsi toː-) and “climb down out of the forest” (dujidʼi əwu-). To the river, on the other hand, you always climb down (wajsi əwu-), and from the river you climb up (wajidʼi toː-).
When you say in Ulcha that you want to go hunting, you don't need to use the verb “to go.” Instead, you can add a special suffix -ŋd(ə), which means “to go to do something,” to the verb “to hunt” (bəjči-). For example: Bəjčiŋdisu “Let's go hunting!”
November 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
When you say in Ulcha that you want to go hunting, you don't need to use the verb “to go.” Instead, you can add a special suffix -ŋd(ə), which means “to go to do something,” to the verb “to hunt” (bəjči-). For example: Bəjčiŋdisu “Let's go hunting!”
There is a special verb (xuni-) to express the idea that you can get sick if you see delicious food without tasting it.
November 5, 2025 at 8:19 AM
There is a special verb (xuni-) to express the idea that you can get sick if you see delicious food without tasting it.
In Ulcha, a man addresses a younger person as “father” (am), while a woman addresses a younger person as “mother” (ən).
November 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM
In Ulcha, a man addresses a younger person as “father” (am), while a woman addresses a younger person as “mother” (ən).
In the Ulcha language, the same word (amban) is used for the devil (the evil spirit) and also for the tiger. To make it clear that you are referring to a tiger, you can say “Taiga devil” (purə ambani).
November 4, 2025 at 9:43 AM
In the Ulcha language, the same word (amban) is used for the devil (the evil spirit) and also for the tiger. To make it clear that you are referring to a tiger, you can say “Taiga devil” (purə ambani).
Here’s a link to the previous thread in case you want to refresh your knowledge about this fascinating language: bsky.app/profile/proj...
Hello, everyone! As you might remember, we recently published two corpora, so it’s high time we introduced you to the new languages we’ve taken aboard. And, of course, they are quite unique in nature.
November 3, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Here’s a link to the previous thread in case you want to refresh your knowledge about this fascinating language: bsky.app/profile/proj...
We hope you enjoyed this short thread. Next month we come back with more curiousities from the INEL languages!
October 10, 2025 at 12:07 PM
We hope you enjoyed this short thread. Next month we come back with more curiousities from the INEL languages!
The Kamas word for bear is “urga-aba” (big father, i.e. grandfather). This reflects a taboo widespread throughout Siberia against calling a bear by its “real” name. The Evenks also use “amaːkaː” (grandfather), while the Dolgans prefer the term “ebekeː” (grandmother).
October 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
The Kamas word for bear is “urga-aba” (big father, i.e. grandfather). This reflects a taboo widespread throughout Siberia against calling a bear by its “real” name. The Evenks also use “amaːkaː” (grandfather), while the Dolgans prefer the term “ebekeː” (grandmother).
The Kamas hunters were very skilled at imitating the calls of a male wild deer—the Altai wapiti or the Altai deer. They used one-meter-long pipes made of cedar wood and produced sounds by inhaling, which required extreme lung power.
October 9, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The Kamas hunters were very skilled at imitating the calls of a male wild deer—the Altai wapiti or the Altai deer. They used one-meter-long pipes made of cedar wood and produced sounds by inhaling, which required extreme lung power.
The Kamas used to collect wild lily bulbs and then boil and dry them in order to ground them into flour. This lily flour was either added to cooked meat or used to make a kind of porridge.
October 9, 2025 at 11:00 AM
The Kamas used to collect wild lily bulbs and then boil and dry them in order to ground them into flour. This lily flour was either added to cooked meat or used to make a kind of porridge.
We're happy to receive your feedback! Feel free to send your questions or comments to [email protected]
October 8, 2025 at 2:36 PM
We're happy to receive your feedback! Feel free to send your questions or comments to [email protected]
This is a result of fruitful collaboration between the original editors-in-chief Elizaveta Kotorova and Andrey Nefedov and the INEL member Elena Lazarenko. The dictionary data underwent substantial revision by the editors and is avaliable online at
inel.corpora.uni-hamburg.de/ket_dict/
inel.corpora.uni-hamburg.de/ket_dict/
October 8, 2025 at 2:36 PM
This is a result of fruitful collaboration between the original editors-in-chief Elizaveta Kotorova and Andrey Nefedov and the INEL member Elena Lazarenko. The dictionary data underwent substantial revision by the editors and is avaliable online at
inel.corpora.uni-hamburg.de/ket_dict/
inel.corpora.uni-hamburg.de/ket_dict/
Back in the day, the Kamas people were nomads who traveled with their reindeer. After most of the reindeer died of disease around 1850, the Kamas settled down and released the remaining animals into the forests.
October 8, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Back in the day, the Kamas people were nomads who traveled with their reindeer. After most of the reindeer died of disease around 1850, the Kamas settled down and released the remaining animals into the forests.
Apart from Plotnikova’s recordings of the Kamas speech, there is only a limited number of other
audio sources. The earliest recording of spoken Kamas is a copy of Kai Donner's wax cylinder from 1914
(archived at the University of Tartu): murdearhiiv.ut.ee/en/records/S...
audio sources. The earliest recording of spoken Kamas is a copy of Kai Donner's wax cylinder from 1914
(archived at the University of Tartu): murdearhiiv.ut.ee/en/records/S...
SU0233-01
Test
murdearhiiv.ut.ee
October 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Apart from Plotnikova’s recordings of the Kamas speech, there is only a limited number of other
audio sources. The earliest recording of spoken Kamas is a copy of Kai Donner's wax cylinder from 1914
(archived at the University of Tartu): murdearhiiv.ut.ee/en/records/S...
audio sources. The earliest recording of spoken Kamas is a copy of Kai Donner's wax cylinder from 1914
(archived at the University of Tartu): murdearhiiv.ut.ee/en/records/S...
Since the death of her aunt Matryona, Klavdiya Plotnikova had no one to talk to in her mother’s
tongue for 20 years. She only could speak Kamas to God and to her cow.
tongue for 20 years. She only could speak Kamas to God and to her cow.
October 7, 2025 at 11:11 PM
Since the death of her aunt Matryona, Klavdiya Plotnikova had no one to talk to in her mother’s
tongue for 20 years. She only could speak Kamas to God and to her cow.
tongue for 20 years. She only could speak Kamas to God and to her cow.
This month we start with Kamas, an extinct Samoyedic language, the last speaker of which - Klavdiya
Plotnikova - died in 1989. We published a corpus with Kamas data a while back -
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/en/inel/proj...
Plotnikova - died in 1989. We published a corpus with Kamas data a while back -
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/en/inel/proj...
Sub-project Kamas
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de
October 6, 2025 at 11:00 PM
This month we start with Kamas, an extinct Samoyedic language, the last speaker of which - Klavdiya
Plotnikova - died in 1989. We published a corpus with Kamas data a while back -
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/en/inel/proj...
Plotnikova - died in 1989. We published a corpus with Kamas data a while back -
www.slm.uni-hamburg.de/en/inel/proj...
Let’s begin with something entertaining. For the next few months, we will present various trivia
about several INEL-languages. Some of them may already be familiar to you from our earlier posts,
some will be brand-new
about several INEL-languages. Some of them may already be familiar to you from our earlier posts,
some will be brand-new
October 6, 2025 at 10:59 PM
Let’s begin with something entertaining. For the next few months, we will present various trivia
about several INEL-languages. Some of them may already be familiar to you from our earlier posts,
some will be brand-new
about several INEL-languages. Some of them may already be familiar to you from our earlier posts,
some will be brand-new