Nivkh language

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{{language |familycolor=Paleosiberian |name=Nivkh |nativename=нивхгу Nivxgu |states=Russia |region=Sakhalin Island, and along the Amur River |speakers=1,089 (1989 census) |family=Language isolate, but included in the group of Paleosiberian languages for classification convenience |iso2=mis|iso3=niv}}

Nivkh or Gilyak (ethnonym: Nivxi) is a language spoken in Outer Manchuria, in the basin of the Amgun, a tributary of the Amur, along the lower reaches of the Amur and on the northern half of Sakhalin. 'Gilyak' is the Manchu appellation. Its speakers are known as the Nivkhs.

Gilyak is a language isolate, i.e., it does not appear to be related to any other language. For classification convenience, it is included in the group of Paleosiberian languages. Recently it was included in the controversial Eurasiatic languages hypothesis by Joseph Greenberg.

The population of ethnic Nivkhs been reasonably stable over the past century, with 4,549 speakers counted in 1897, and 4,673 in 1989. However, the number of native speakers of the Nivkh language among these has dropped from 100% to 23.3% in the same period, so that there are now just over 1,000 first-language speakers left.

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