Oghuz languages
Encyclopedia
The Oghuz languages, a major branch of the Turkic language family
, are spoken by more than 110 million people in an area spanning from the Balkans to China
.
family.
An outlying language, Salar
, is spoken by about 70,000 people in China.
Two languages, Crimean Tatar
and Urum
are historically Kypchak languages
, but have been so heavily influenced by Oghuz languages that it is difficult to classify them definitively as either Oghuz or Kypchak.
The extinct Pecheneg language
is likely Oghuz, but as it is poorly documented, it is difficult to further classify it within the Oghuz family.
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
, are spoken by more than 110 million people in an area spanning from the Balkans to China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Linguistic features
The Oghuz languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of these features are shared with other Turkic languages; others are unique to the OghuzOghuz
Oghuz may refer to:*an early Turkic word for "tribe", see Oghuz * Oghuz languages, a major branch of the Turkic language family.* Oghuz Turks, the Turkic groups speaking Oghuz languages* Oghuz Khan, a legendary and semi-mythological Turkic khan....
family.
Unique features
- Voicing of stops before front vowels (e.g. gör- < kör- "to see")
- Loss of q/ɣ after ɨ/u (e.g. quru < quruq "dry", sarɨ < sarɨɣ "yellow")
- Change in form of participial -gan- to -an-
Classification
The Oghuz languages may be broken down into three main groups, based on geography and shared features:- a Western group, including
- Turkish, including TurkishTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
, Ottoman TurkishOttoman Turkish languageThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
, GagauzGagauz languageThe Gagauz language is a Turkic language, spoken by the Gagauz people, and the official language of Gagauzia, Moldova. There are two dialects, Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi. This is a different language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish....
, Balkan Gagauz TurkishBalkan Gagauz Turkish languageBalkan Gagauz Turkish is a Turkic language spoken in European Turkey, Greece, and in the Kumanovo and Bitola areas of the Republic of Macedonia. Dialects include Gajal, Gerlovo Turk, Karamanli, Kyzylbash, Surguch, Tozluk Turk, Yuruk, and Macedonian Gagauz. This is a different language from Gagauz...
, and the language of the Meskhetian TurksMeskhetiansMeskhetian Turks, also known as Ahıska Turks are the former Turkish inhabitants of Meskheti , along the border with Turkey. They were deported to Central Asia during November 15–25, 1944 by Joseph Stalin and settled within Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. Of the 120,000 forcibly deported... - Azerbaijani, including the northern and southern varieties of AzerbaijaniAzerbaijani languageAzerbaijani or Azeri or Torki is a language belonging to the Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the Azerbaijani people, primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran...
, the languages of the Iraqi TurkmenIraqi TurkmenThe Iraqi Turkmen are an ethnic group who mainly reside in northern Iraq. Estimates of their numbers vary dramatically, in accordance with Iraq's assimilation policies no realistic and independent census results have been revealed regarding the Iraqi Turkmen population...
of Iran and Iraq, Qashqa'iQashqai languageQashqai is a Turkic language spoken by the Qashqai people, an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars region of Iran. Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary. Ethnologue gives a figure of one and a half million...
, and AfsharAfshar languageAfshar or Afshari, is a Turkic language spoken in Turkey, Syria, parts of Afghanistan and Iran. It is considered by many to be a dialect of Turkish... - Turkmen group, including TurkmenTurkmen languageTurkmen is the national language of Turkmenistan...
, Khorasani TurkishKhorasani Turkish languageKhorasani Turkic , or Qizilbash Turkic , is a language variety in the Turkic language family. It is spoken in northern Khorasan in Iran. Khorasani Turkic speakers can also speak Persian.-Geographic Distribution:...
in Iran, and the Oghuz dialect of UzbekUzbek languageUzbek is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It has about 25.5 million native speakers, and it is spoken by the Uzbeks in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia... - a southern group, including dialects of Iran (KashkayQashqai languageQashqai is a Turkic language spoken by the Qashqai people, an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars region of Iran. Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary. Ethnologue gives a figure of one and a half million...
, Sonqori, Aynallu etc.) and Afghanistan (Afshar).
- Turkish, including Turkish
An outlying language, Salar
Salar language
Salar is a Turkic language spoken by the Salar people, who mainly live in the provinces of Qinghai and Gansu in China; some also live in Ghulja, Xinjiang...
, is spoken by about 70,000 people in China.
Two languages, Crimean Tatar
Crimean Tatar language
The Crimean Tatar language is the language of the Crimean Tatars. It is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea, Central Asia , and the Crimean Tatar diasporas in Turkey, Romania, Bulgaria...
and Urum
Urum language
Urum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand people who inhabit a few villages in the Southeastern Ukraine and in diaspora communities worldwide. The Urum language is often considered a variant of the Crimean Tatar language....
are historically Kypchak languages
Kypchak languages
The Kypchak languages , are a major branch of the Turkic language family spoken by more than 12 million people in an area spanning from Lithuania to China....
, but have been so heavily influenced by Oghuz languages that it is difficult to classify them definitively as either Oghuz or Kypchak.
The extinct Pecheneg language
Pecheneg language
Pecheneg language is the extinct Turkic language spoken by the Pechenegs in Eastern Europe.It is most likely a member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic family, but the poor documentation to it and the absence of any descendant languages of Pecheneg has prevented linguists from making a definite...
is likely Oghuz, but as it is poorly documented, it is difficult to further classify it within the Oghuz family.