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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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Hypothetical relation to other language families and their proto-languages

Ancestral

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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

Siberian Turkic

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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)

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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)

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

Oghuz (Southwestern Turkic)

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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
        • 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

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Possible Turkic languages (all extinct)

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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

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Constructed languages

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  • Jalpi Türk language (crh) is a constructed language created by Ismail Gasprinsky in the 19th century.
  • Ortatürk 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

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References

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  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.

Further reading

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  • Hahn, Reinhard F. "Zhōngguó Tūjué yŭzú yŭyán cíhuìjí Collected glossaries of China's Turkic languages." (1992): 124-128.
  • 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.
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