Taz people
The Taz primarily live in Russia. They formed in the 1890s, from intermarriages between Udege, Nanai and Chinese. The Taz speak Russian and Northeast Mandarin, with loanwords from Udege and Nanai.
According to the Russian Census of 2002, the total Taz population numbered 276. Among these:
In Bashkortostan, four people identified themselves as Taz.
In Khabarovsk Krai, three people identified themselves as Taz - one male and two females, all of them living in urban areas.
In the 2010 Russian census the number of Taz in Russia dropped to 274.
The Taz dialect is Northeastern Mandarin, with minor influence from local Tungusic languages such as Nanai and Udege.
In the 1880s, there were a thousand speakers, but today the overwhelming majority of fluent speakers are elderly and Russian is the primary language of the Taz people.
