Oroqen (/ˈɒrətʃɛn, ˈɒroʊ-/; 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.^[1] 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.

Geographic distribution

Oroqen is spoken in the following counties of China:^[1]

• Heilongjiang province
  • Da Hinggan Ling: Huma County and Tahe County
  • Heihe: Xunke County
  • Yichun: Jiayin County and Heihe City
• Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region
  • Hulunbuir: Oroqen Autonomous Banner

Dialects

• Birarchen
• Kumarchen
• Orochen
• Selpechen (in Heilongjiang)
• Gankui (in Inner Mongolia)

The Gankui dialect is used as the standard dialect for the Oroqen language.

Phonology

Consonants

• Allophones of /x/ are heard as [ɣ], [h].
• A bilabial /ɸ/ can also be heard as a labio-dental [f].
• A rhotic trill /r/ tends to sound as a tap [ɾ], when occurring word-finally.

Vowels

• /ə, əː/ are often heard as lower sounds [ɐ, ɐː].
• Short allophones of /o, u/ are heard as [ɵ, ʉ].^[2]