List of Turkic languages

The Turkic languages are a group of languages spoken across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, East Asia and Siberia. Turkic languages are spoken as native languages by some 200 million people.

Turkic languages by subfamily

The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2022) and were rounded:[1][2]

Number Branch Languages Status Native Speakers Majority Main Writing System
1 Oghuz languages 8 Normal 121,000,000  Turkey Latin
2 Karluk languages 4 Normal 43,500,000  Uzbekistan Latin
3 Kipchak languages 12 Normal 27,000,000  Kazakhstan Latin
4 Siberian Turkic languages 9 Vulnerable 800,000  Russia Cyrillic
5 Argu languages 1 Vulnerable 50,000  Iran Persian
6 Oghuric languages 1 Vulnerable 1,200,000  Russia Cyrillic
Total Turkic languages 35 Normal 193,800,000  Turkey Latin

Turkic languages by the number of speakers

The Turkic languages are a language family of at least 35 [3] documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:[1][2]

  Turkish (38.26%)
  Uzbek (19.13%)
  Azerbaijani (13.04%)
  Uyghur (10.87%)
  Kazakh (3.04%)
  Turkmen (2.26%)
  Tatar (1.96%)
  Kyrgyz (0.6%)
  Bashkir (0.5%)
  Chuvash (0.62%)
  Other (8.68%)
Number Name Branch Status Native Speakers Main Country Main Writing System
1 Turkish language Oghuz languages Normal 83,000,000  Turkey Latin
2 Uzbek language Karluk languages Normal 32,000,000  Uzbekistan Latin
3 Azerbaijani language Oghuz languages Normal 30,000,000  Azerbaijan Latin
4 Uyghur language Karluk languages Normal 13,000,000  China Perso-Arabic
5 Kazakh language Kipchak languages Normal 19,000,000  Kazakhstan Cyrillic
6 Turkmen language Oghuz languages Normal 7,000,000  Turkmenistan Latin
7 Tatar language Kipchak languages Normal 5,500,000  Russia Cyrillic
8 Kyrgyz language Kipchak languages Normal 5,000,000  Kyrgyzstan Cyrillic
9 Bashkir language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 1,500,000  Russia Cyrillic
10 Chuvash language Oghuric languages Vulnerable 1,200,000  Russia Cyrillic
11 Qashqai language Oghuz languages Normal 1,000,000  Iran Perso-Arabic
12 Khorasani Turkic language Oghuz languages Vulnerable 1,000,000  Iran Perso-Arabic
13 Karakalpak language Kipchak languages Normal 650,000  Uzbekistan Latin
14 Crimean Tatar language Kipchak languages Severely endangered 600,000  Ukraine Latin
15 Kumyk language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 450,000  Russia Cyrillic
16 Karachay-Balkar language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 400,000  Russia Cyrillic
17 Yakut language Siberian Turkic languages Vulnerable 400,000  Russia Cyrillic
18 Tuvan language Siberian Turkic languages Vulnerable 300,000  Russia Cyrillic
19 Urum language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 200,000  Ukraine Cyrillic
20 Gagauz language Oghuz languages Critically endangered 150,000  Moldova Latin
21 Siberian Tatar language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 100,000  Russia Cyrillic
22 Nogai language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 100,000  Russia Cyrillic
23 Dobrujan Tatar language Kipchak languages Severely endangered 70,000  Romania Latin
24 Salar language Oghuz languages Vulnerable 70,000  China Latin
25 Altai languages Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 60,000  Russia Cyrillic
26 Khakas language Siberian Turkic languages Definitely endangered 50,000  Russia Cyrillic
27 Khalaj language Argu languages Vulnerable 20,000  Iran Perso-Arabic
28 Äynu language Karluk languages Critically endangered 6,000  China Perso-Arabic
29 Western Yugur language Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 5,000  China Latin
30 Shor language Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 3,000  Russia Cyrillic
31 Dolgan language Siberian Turkic languages Definitely endangered 1,000  Russia Cyrillic
32 Krymchak language Kipchak languages Critically endangered 200  Israel Hebrew
33 Ili Turki language Karluk languages Severely endangered 100  China Cyrillic
34 Tofa language Siberian Turkic languages Critically endangered 100  Russia Cyrillic
35 Karaim language Kipchak languages Critically endangered 100  Ukraine Cyrillic
36 Chulym language Siberian Turkic languages Critically endangered 50  Russia Cyrillic
Total Turkic languages Common Turkic languages Normal 193,700,000  Turkey Latin

Endangered Turkic languages

An endangered language, or moribund language, is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead language".

26 endangered Turkic languages exist in World. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:[4][5][6]

Number Name Status Speakers Main Country
1 Bashkir language Vulnerable 1,500,000  Russia
2 Chuvash language Vulnerable 1,200,000  Russia
3 Khorasani Turkic language Vulnerable 1,000,000  Iran
4 Crimean Tatar language Vulnerable 600,000  Ukraine
5 Kumyk language Vulnerable 450,000  Russia
6 Yakut language Vulnerable 400,000  Russia
7 Karachay-Balkar language Vulnerable 400,000  Russia
8 Tuvan language Vulnerable 300,000  Russia
9 Urum language Definitely endangered 200,000  Ukraine
10 Gagauz language Critically endangered 150,000  Moldova
11 Siberian Tatar language Definitely endangered 100,000  Russia
12 Nogai language Definitely endangered 100,000  Russia
13 Dobrujan Tatar language Severely endangered 70,000  Romania
14 Salar language Vulnerable 70,000  China
15 Altai language Severely endangered 60,000  Russia
16 Khakas language Definitely endangered 50,000  Russia
17 Khalaj language Vulnerable 20,000  Iran
18 Äynu language Critically endangered 6,000  China
19 Western Yugur language Severely endangered 5,000  China
20 Shor language Severely endangered 3,000  Russia
21 Dolgan language Definitely endangered 1,000  Russia
22 Krymchak language Critically endangered 200  Israel
23 Tofa language Critically endangered 100  Russia
24 Karaim language Critically endangered 100  Ukraine
25 Ili Turki language Severely endangered 100  China
26 Chulym language Critically endangered 50  Russia

Extinct Turkic languages

Number Name Time of Extinct
- Proto Turkic Reconstructed language
1 Old Turkic 8th century
2 Old Anatolian Turkish 11th century
3 Pecheneg 12th century
4 Orkhon Turkic 13th century
5 Khazar 13th century
6 Old Uyghur 14th century
7 Khorezmian 14th century
8 Bulgar 14th century
9 Saryz 15th century
10 Middle Turkic 15th century
11 Kipchak 17th century
12 Cuman 1770
13 Old Tatar 19th century
14 Fergana Kipchak 1920s
15 Chagatai 1921
16 Ottoman Turkish 1928
17 Fuyu Girgis 20th century
18 Dukhan 21st century

Famous Turkic Dialects

Number Dialect Main Language
1 Rumelian dialect Turkish language
2 Cypriot dialect Turkish language
3 Afshar dialect Azerbaijani language
4 Sonqori dialect Azerbaijani language
5 Lop dialect Uyghur language
6 Baraba dialect Siberian Tatar language

Hypothetical ancestors

Hypothetical relation to other language families and their proto-languages

Ancestral

Geographical distribution of the Turkic languages. Dark Blue: Northeastern Common Turkic (Siberian Turkic languages); Green: Southeastern Common Turkic (Karluk languages); Orange: Northwestern Common Turkic (Kipchak languages); Red: Southwestern Common Turkic (Oghuz languages); Purple: Oghur languages

Common Turkic (Shaz Turkic / Z Turkic)

Siberian Turkic

Siberian Turkic languages
      • South Siberian
        • Altai Turkic
          • Northern Altai
            • Tuba
            • Kumandy/Qumanda
              • Turachak
              • Solton
              • Starobardinian
            • Chalkan (Kuu/Qu, Lebedin)
        • Chulym Turkic
          • Chulym
            • Lower Chulym (Küerik) (now believed extinct)
            • Middle Chulym
            • Upper Chulym
        • Sayan Turkic (dialect continuum)
          • Tofa
            • Tuha
            • Tsengel Tuvan
          • Tuvan
            • Western/Khemchik River (It is influenced by Altai)
            • Central (the geographical centrality of this dialect meant it was similar to the language spoken by most Tuvans, whether or not exactly the same). Forms the basis of the standard and literary language and includes:
              • Ovyur
              • Bii-Khem
            • Northeastern/Todzhi (it is spoken near the upper course of the Bii-Khem River by the Tozhu Tuvans. The speakers of this dialect utilize nasalization. It contains a large vocabulary related to hunting and reindeer breeding not found in the other dialects).
            • Southeastern (shows the most influence from the Mongolian language).
          • Taiga
        • Orkhon Turkic / Old Turkic / Old Uyghur (extinct) (not a direct ancestor of Uyghur, that descends from Karluk) (not synonymous with Proto-Turkic)
          • Yenisei Turkic
            • Khakas (Xakas tili)
            • Shor
              • Mrassu (basis for literary and standard Shor)
                • Upper Mrassu
              • Kondoma
                • Upper-Kondoma
            • Western Yugur or "Yellow Uighur" (direct descendant of Old Uyghur)
      • North Siberian

Karluk (Southeastern)

Karluk languages. Green: East Karluk; Red: West Karluk

Historically in Central Asia there was a distinction between sedentary, called Sart or Taranchi, and nomadic peoples (regardless of the ethnic group and language). Many times it was used confusingly because it was a generic word for several peoples and their languages (mainly Iranians or Turkics) and also because it had different meanings at different historical times (had shifting meanings over the centuries). Strictly it was not an ethnic or linguistic definition but one of a lifestyle. (strong Iranian substrate)

Kipchak (Northwestern)

Orange: South Kipchak (Aralo-Caspian); Red: North Kipchak (Uralo-Caspian); Green: West Kipchak (Ponto-Caspian)

Oghuz (Southwestern Turkic)

Orange: East Oghuz; Green; Azerbaijani; Red: Turkish; Purple: Gagauz; Light Blue: Qashqai; Greenish Blue: Salar
      • East Oghuz (Eastern)
        • Salar, an Oghuz language outlier strongly influenced by Karluk and Kipchak languages and also by non-Turkic languages like Tibetan and Chinese
          • Qinghai (Amdo) Salar
          • Ili Salar
        • Turkmen
          • Teke (Tekke) (basis of the standard Turkmen)
          • Nohurly
          • Ýomud
          • Änewli
          • Hasarly
          • Nerezim
          • Gökleň
          • Salyr
          • Saryk
          • Ärsary
          • Çowdur
          • Trukhmen
      • Transitional East-West Oghuz
      • West Oghuz (Western)
        • Azerbaijani (Azeri Turkic, has an Iranian substrate from the Old Azeri language, an Indo-European language
          • South Azerbaijani
            • Qarapapaq
            • Shahsavani (Shahseven)
            • Muqaddam
            • Baharlu (Kamesh)
            • Nafar
            • Qaragözlü
            • Pishaqchi
            • Bayatlu
            • Qajar
            • Tabrizi (basis of Standard South Azerbaijani but not identical)
            • Iraqi Turkmen (South Turkmen)
          • North Azerbaijani
            • Salyan
            • Lenkaran
            • Qazakh
            • Airym
            • Borcala
            • Terekeme
            • Qyzylbash
            • Nukha
            • Zaqatala (Mugaly)
            • Qabala
            • Yerevan
            • Ordubad
            • Ganja
            • Shusha (Karabakh)
            • Karapapak
            • Shirvan dialect
              • Baku dialect (basis of Standard North Azerbaijani, but not identical)
            • Shamakhi
            • Quba
            • Derbend
            • Nakhchivan
        • Transitional Turkish Azerbaijani-Turkish
          • Eastern Anatolian Turkish
            • Meskhetian Turkish
            • Hemshen Turkish
            • Eastern Anatolian Turkish Proper (Kars, Erzurum, other regions)
            • Zaza Turkish (Turkish spoken by Zazas, not to be confused with Zaza, which is an Iranian language, Zaza substrate)
            • Kurdish Turkish (Turkish spoken by Kurds, not to be confused with Kurdish which is an Iranian language, Kurdish substrate)
          • Northeastern Anatolian Turkish (Kuzeydoğu Anadolu Ağızları)
            • Laz Turkish (Turkish spoken by Laz, do not confuse with Laz which is a Kartvelian language)
            • Trebizond (Trabzon) Turkish
        • Old Anatolian Turkish (extinct)
          • Turkish
            • Anatolian dialects (Anadolu Ağızları)
              • Western Anatolian (Batı Anadolu Ağızları)
                • Central (Orta Anadolu)
                  • East central
                  • West Central
                • Mediterranean (Akdeniz)/South (Güney)
                  • Southwest (Güneybatı)
                  • Southeast (Güneydoğu)
                • Black Sea (Karadeniz)/North (Kuzey)
                  • Çorum, Çankırı
                  • East Black Sea Coast
                  • West Black Sea Coast
                  • Sakarya-Izmit
                • Aegean (Ege)/West (Batı)
                • Yörük (Nomadic Anatolian Turkish)
            • Istanbul dialect (İstanbul Türkçesi) (basis of Modern Standard Turkish but not identical)
            • Syrian Turkmen (Syrian Turkish)
            • Cypriot Turkish
            • Balkanic/Rumelian/Danubian
              • East Balkanic/East Rumelian/East Danubian
                • Edirne
              • West Balkanic/West Rumelian/West Danubian
            • Karamanli Turkish (Turkish of the Karamanlides, Turkish-speaking Greeks, Greek language substrate, not confuse with Cappadocian Greek, a mixed language, or the Cappadocian Greeks, although they are related) (almost extinct)
          • Balkan Gagauz Turkish (Balkan Turkic) (Rumeli Türkçesi)
            • Gajal
            • Gerlovo Turk
            • Karamanli
            • Kyzylbash
            • Surguch
            • Tozluk Turk
            • Yuruk
            • Macedonian Gagauz
            • Gagauz
              • Bulgar Gagauzi
              • Maritime Gagauzi
          • Ottoman Turkish(extinct) (not a direct ancestor of Anatolian Turkish but a heavily Persianized and Arabized Turkic language)
            • Fasih Türkçe (Eloquent Turkish): the language of poetry and administration, Ottoman Turkish in its strict sense
            • Orta Türkçe (Middle Turkish): the language of higher classes and trade
            • Kaba Türkçe (Rough Turkish): the language of lower classes.
      • South Oghuz
    • Pecheneg

Arghu

Oghur (Lir Turkic / R Turkic)

  • Proto-Oghur
    • Bulgar/Bolgar (extinct) (had a Uralic substrate)
      • Volga Bulgar (extinct)
      • Danube Bulgar (extinct in the 10th c. AD assimilated by the Slavic language of the Seven Slavic Tribes, that was close to Old Church Slavonic, but they chose the name Bulgarian as an ethnonym and also for their language because of the origins of much of their ruling class or political elite that was Turkic)
    • Khazar (extinct) (the language of the Khazars)

Possible Turkic languages (all extinct)

Unclassified languages that may have been Turkic or members of other language families

  • Hunnic / Xiongnu (?)
    • Hunnic / Hunnish - the language or languages of the Huns (there are several hypotheses about their language)
    • Xiongnu - the language or languages of the Xiongnu (may be the same as the Hunnic language, a closely related one, or not related at all) (there are several hypotheses about their language)
  • Jie - the language of the Jie (in today's Northern China), might be a dialect of the Xiongnu language. (possibly the earliest attested Turkic language, or a Yeniseian language)
  • Keraite - the language or languages of the Keraites (in today's Central Mongolia) (Mongolized after Temüjin, called Chinggis Khan, conquest in the 13th century) (Qarai Turks, the Kerey Kazakh group of the middle zhuz Argyns, the Kireis, a group of the Kyrgyz and many Torghut may descend from them) (there are several hypotheses about their language)
  • Old Naiman - the language or languages of the old Naimans (in today's Western and Southwestern Mongolia) (Mongolized after Temüjin, called Chinggis Khan, conquest in the 13th century) (Naiman, however, is the Mongol name for the numeral eight) (there are several hypotheses about their language)
  • Pannonian Avar - the language or languages of the Pannonian Avars (there are several hypotheses about their language)
  • Tuoba - the language of Tuoba and possible related to Turkic languages.[7]

Possible Mixed languages

Constructed languages

  • Jalpi Türk language (crh) is a constructed language created by Ismail Gasprinsky in the 19th century.
  • Ortatürk (tt) is a constructed language created by Baxtiyar Kärimov between 1993-2008.
  • Öztürkçe is a semi-constructed, purified and controlled version of Turkish language.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Turkic". Ethnologue. Retrieved 18 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Welcome to Glottolog 5.0". Retrieved 2024-03-12.
  3. ^ Dybo A.V., Chronology of Türkic languages and linguistic contacts of early Türks, Moscow, 2007, p. 766, "Хронология тюркских языков и лингвистические контакты ранних тюрков (Chronology of Turkic languages and linguistic contacts of the early Turks)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-03-11. Retrieved 2005-03-11. (In Russian)
  4. ^ "UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in danger".
  5. ^ "Atlas of languages in danger | United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization".
  6. ^ The Sounds of Tatar Spoken in Romania: The Golden Khwarezmian Language of the Nine Noble Nations (Academia.edu)
  7. ^ Holcombe, Charles (2001). The Genesis of East Asia: 221 B.C. - A.D. 907. p. 132.
  • Akhatov G. Kh. 1960. "About the stress in the language of the Siberian Tatars in connection with the stress of modern Tatar literary language" .- Sat *"Problems of Turkic and the history of Russian Oriental Studies." Kazan. (in Russian)
  • Akhatov G.Kh. 1963. "Dialect West Siberian Tatars" (monograph). Ufa. (in Russian)
  • Baskakov, N.A. 1962, 1969. Introduction to the study of the Turkic languages. Moscow. (in Russian)
  • Boeschoten, Hendrik & Lars Johanson. 2006. Turkic languages in contact. Turcologica, Bd. 61. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-05212-0
  • Clausen, Gerard. 1972. An etymological dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Deny, Jean et al. 1959–1964. Philologiae Turcicae Fundamenta. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
  • Dolatkhah, Sohrab. 2016. Parlons qashqay. In: collection "parlons". Paris: L'Harmattan.
  • Dolatkhah, Sohrab. 2016. Le qashqay: langue turcique d'Iran. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (online).
  • Dolatkhah, Sohrab. 2015. Qashqay Folktales. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (online).
  • Johanson, Lars & Éva Agnes Csató (ed.). 1998. The Turkic languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-08200-5.
  • Johanson, Lars (1998). "The history of Turkic". pp. 81–125.
  • Johanson, Lars (1998). "Turkic languages". Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
  • Menges, K. H. 1968. The Turkic languages and peoples: An introduction to Turkic studies. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
  • Öztopçu, Kurtuluş. 1996. Dictionary of the Turkic languages: English, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Uighur, Uzbek. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-14198-2
  • Samoilovich, A. N. 1922. Some additions to the classification of the Turkish languages. Petrograd.
  • Schönig, Claus. 1997–1998. "A new attempt to classify the Turkic languages I-III." Turkic Languages 1:1.117–133, 1:2.262–277, 2:1.130–151.
  • Starostin, Sergei A., Anna V. Dybo, and Oleg A. Mudrak. 2003. Etymological Dictionary of the Altaic Languages. Leiden: Brill. ISBN 90-04-13153-1
  • Voegelin, C.F. & F.M. Voegelin. 1977. Classification and index of the World's languages. New York: Elsevier.

External links

  • Interactive map of Turkic Languages
  • Endangered Turkic languages
  • Chart of Turkic languages
  • Turkic Languages Verb Comparison
  • Turkic Inscriptions of Orkhon Valley, Mongolia
  • Turkic Languages: Resources – University of Michigan
  • Map of Turkic languages
  • Classification of Turkic Languages
  • Online Uyghur–English Dictionary
  • List of Turkic languages at Curlie
  • Turkic language vocabulary comparison tool / dictionary
  • A Comparative Dictionary of Turkic Languages Open Project
  • The Turkic Languages in a Nutshell with illustrations.
  • Swadesh lists of Turkic basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh-list appendix)
  • Conferences on Turkic languages processing: Astana, Kazakhstan, 2013, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014, Kazan, Tatarstan, 2015
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