A report on Uyghur language

A signboard in front of the Military Museum of Xinjiang written in Uyghur (using Arabic script) and Standard Chinese
A sign in Ghulja, Xinjiang, written in Uyghur (using Arabic script) and Chinese (both Hanzi and Pinyin)
Internet café in Khotan oasis city in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Address written in Uyghur with the Arabic script.

Turkic language, written in a Uyghur Perso-Arabic script, with 25 million speakers, spoken primarily by the Uyghur people in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China.

- Uyghur language

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Uyghurs

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The Uyghurs ( or ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.

The Uyghurs ( or ), alternatively spelled Uighurs, Uygurs or Uigurs, are a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia.

A Uyghur girde naan baker
Uyghur man in traditional clothing, playing a tambur, a traditional Uyghur instrument.
A possible Tocharian or Sogdian monk (left) with an East Asian Buddhist monk (right). A fresco from the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, dated to the 9th or 10th century (Kara-Khoja Kingdom).
Uyghur hunter in Kashgar
Uyghur schoolchildren in Kashgar (2011)
Uyghur princes from Cave 9 of the Bezeklik Thousand Buddha Caves, Xinjiang, China, 8th–9th century AD, wall painting
An 8th-century Uyghur Khagan
Uyghur Khaganate in geopolitical context c. 820 AD
Chagatai Khanate (Moghulistan) in 1490
Ethnolinguistic map of Xinjiang in 1967
Map showing the distribution of ethnicities in Xinjiang according to census figures from 2000, the prefectures with Uyghur majorities are in blue.
Protesters Amsterdam with the Flag of East Turkestan
A Uyghur mosque in Khotan
Map of language families in Xinjiang
Leaf from an Uyghur-Manichaean version of the ‘‘Arzhang’’.
Uyghur Meshrep musicians in Yarkand
Wall painting at Bezeklik caves in Flaming Mountains, Turpan Depression.
Xinjiang carpet factory
Uyghur polu (پولۇ, полу)
Doppa Maker, traditional Uyghur hats, Kashgar
A Uyghur man having his head shaved in a bazaar. Shaving of head is now seen mostly among the older generation.
Uyghur girl in clothing made of fabric with design distinctive to the Uyghurs
Uyghur women on their way to work, Kashgar. 2011

In the Uyghur language, the ethnonym is written ئۇيغۇر in Arabic script, Уйғур in Uyghur Cyrillic and Uyghur or Uygur (as the standard Chinese romanization, GB 3304–1991) in Latin; they are all pronounced as.

Xinjiang

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Landlocked autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia.

Landlocked autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest of the country at the crossroads of Central Asia and East Asia.

Dzungaria (Red) and the Tarim Basin or Altishahr (Blue)
Northern Xinjiang (Junggar Basin) (Yellow), Eastern Xinjiang- Turpan Depression (Turpan Prefecture and Hami Prefecture) (Red) and Altishahr/the Tarim Basin (Blue)
Physical map showing the separation of Dzungaria and the Tarim Basin (Altishahr) by the Tien Shan Mountains
Map of Han Dynasty in 2 CE. Light blue is the Tarim Basin protectorate.
Old Uyghur/Yugur art from the Bezeklik murals
The Tarim Basin in the 3rd century AD
A Sogdian man on a Bactrian camel. Sancai ceramic statuette, Tang dynasty
Mongol states from the 14th to the 17th centuries: the Northern Yuan dynasty, Four Oirat, Moghulistan and Kara Del
The Dzungar–Qing Wars, between the Qing Dynasty and the Dzungar Khanate
The Battle of Oroi-Jalatu in 1756, between the Manchu and Oirat armies
The Qing Empire ca. 1820
Scene from the 1828 Qing campaign against rebels in Altishahr
Yakub Beg, ruler of Yettishar
19th-century Khotan Uyghurs in Yettishar
Kuomintang in Xinjiang, 1942
Governor Sheng Shicai ruled from 1933 to 1944.
The Soviet-backed Second East Turkestan Republic encompassed Xinjiang's Ili, Tarbagatay and Altay districts.
Close to Karakoram Highway in Xinjiang.
Pamir Mountains and Muztagh Ata.
Taklamakan Desert
Tianchi Lake
Black Irtysh river in Burqin County is a famous spot for sightseeing.
Kanas Lake
Largest cities and towns of Xinjiang
Statue of Mao Zedong in Kashgar
Nur Bekri, Chairman of the Xinjiang Government between 2007 and 2015
The distribution map of Xinjiang's GDP per person (2011)
Ürümqi is a major industrial center within Xinjiang.
Wind farm in Xinjiang
Sunday market in Khotan
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
Karakorum highway
This flag (Kök Bayraq) has become a symbol of the East Turkestan independence movement.
"Heroic Gesture of Bodhisattvathe Bodhisattva", example of 6th-7th-century terracotta Greco-Buddhist art (local populations were Buddhist) from Tumxuk, Xinjiang
Sogdian donors to the Buddha, 8th century fresco (with detail), Bezeklik, Eastern Tarim Basin
A mosque in Ürümqi
People engaging in snow sports by a statue of bodhisattva Guanyin in Wujiaqu
Christian Church in Hami
Catholic Church in Urumqi
Temple of the Great Buddha in Midong, Ürümqi
Taoist Temple of Fortune and Longevity at the Heavenly Lake of Tianshan in Fukang, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture
Emin Minaret
Id Kah mosque in Kashgar, largest mosque in China
Erkin Tuniyaz, the incumbent Chairman of the Xinjiang Government

These names include Altishahr, the historical Uyghur name for the southern half of the region referring to "the six cities" of the Tarim Basin, as well as Khotan, Khotay, Chinese Tartary, High Tartary, East Chagatay (it was the eastern part of the Chagatai Khanate), Moghulistan ("land of the Mongols"), Kashgaria, Little Bokhara, Serindia (due to Indian cultural influence) and, in Chinese, "Western Regions".

A 1911 text in the Arabic alphabet

Uzbek language

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Turkic language that is the first official and only declared national language of Uzbekistan.

Turkic language that is the first official and only declared national language of Uzbekistan.

A 1911 text in the Arabic alphabet

Unlike other Turkic languages, vowel harmony is completely lost in Standard Uzbek, though it is (albeit somewhat less strictly) still observed in its dialects, as well as its sister Karluk language Uyghur.

Chagatai language

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Extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken in Central Asia and remained the shared literary language there until the early 20th century.

Extinct Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken in Central Asia and remained the shared literary language there until the early 20th century.

Lizheng gate in the Chengde Mountain Resort, the second column from left is Chagatai language written in Perso-Arabic Nastaʿlīq script.
Late 15th century Chagatai Turkic text in Nastaliq script.

Literary Chagatai is the predecessor of the modern Karluk branch of Turkic languages, which include Uzbek and Uyghur.

MS Windows Uyghur keyboard layout. Note that vowels are still using the older abjad from the Arabic script, and not the newer plain letters for vowels of the Uyghur Arabic alphabet (composed of pairs of Arabic letters, starting by an alef with hamza, that must be entered separately on this keyboard before the actual vowel). In fact, the keyboard is also based on the older Latin alphabet used for the mixed Uyghur New Script and does not allow entering all vowels correctly for the current Arabic alphabet.

Uyghur Arabic alphabet

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MS Windows Uyghur keyboard layout. Note that vowels are still using the older abjad from the Arabic script, and not the newer plain letters for vowels of the Uyghur Arabic alphabet (composed of pairs of Arabic letters, starting by an alef with hamza, that must be entered separately on this keyboard before the actual vowel). In fact, the keyboard is also based on the older Latin alphabet used for the mixed Uyghur New Script and does not allow entering all vowels correctly for the current Arabic alphabet.

The Uyghur Arabic alphabet (ئۇيغۇر ئەرەب يېزىقى) is a version of the Arabic alphabet used for writing the Uyghur language, primarily by Uyghurs living in China.

Asia in 600, showing the location of the Karluk tribes (modern-day east Kazakhstan).

Karluks

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The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs,, Qarluq, , Khallokh, قارلوق, Qarluq) were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribal confederacy residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh (Black Irtysh) and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains in Central Asia.

The Karluks (also Qarluqs, Qarluks, Karluqs,, Qarluq, , Khallokh, قارلوق, Qarluq) were a prominent nomadic Turkic tribal confederacy residing in the regions of Kara-Irtysh (Black Irtysh) and the Tarbagatai Mountains west of the Altay Mountains in Central Asia.

Asia in 600, showing the location of the Karluk tribes (modern-day east Kazakhstan).

Karluks gave their name to the distinct Karluk group of the Turkic languages, which also includes the Uyghur, Uzbek and Ili Turki languages.

Central Asia

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Subregion of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north.

Subregion of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north.

Expanded definition of Central Asia. Core definition that includes the five post-Soviet states in dark green. Afghanistan, the most commonly added country to Central Asia, in green.
Three sets of possible boundaries for the Central Asia region (which overlap with conceptions of South and East Asia).
On the southern shore of Issyk Kul lake, Issyk Kul Region.
Central Asia map of Köppen climate classification.
Iranian-speaking people circa 170 BC. Eastern Iranian languages are in orange, Western Iranian languages are in red.
Uzbek men from Khiva, ca. 1861–1880
The Chinese Tang dynasty at its greatest extension, controlling large parts of Central Asia.
The Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1979
Mosque in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan
Saadi Shirazi is welcomed by a youth from Kashgar during a forum in Bukhara.
Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi in Hazrat-e Turkestan, Kazakhstan. Timurid architecture consisted of Persian art.
Kazakh man on a horse with golden eagle
GDP growth trends in Central Asia, 2000–2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 14.1
GDP in Central Asia by economic sector, 2005 and 2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030, Figure 14.2
GDP per capita development in Central Asia, since 1973
Trends in research expenditure in Central Asia, as a percentage of GDP, 2001–2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: 2030 (2015), Figure 14.3
Central Asian researchers by sector of employment (HC), 2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 14.5
Central Asian researchers by field of science, 2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 14.4
Scientific publications from Central Asia catalogued by Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded, 2005–2014, UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 14.6
Cumulative total of articles by Central Asians between 2008 and 2013, by field of science. Source: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 (2015), Figure 14.6
Ethnic map of Central Asia.
White areas are thinly-populated semi-desert.
The three northwest-tending lines are the Syr Darya and Amu Darya Rivers flowing from the eastern mountains into the Aral Sea and in the south the irrigated north side of the Kopet Dagh mountains.
Uzbek children in Samarkand
Children in Afghanistan
Tartar prostrating before Qianlong Emperor of China (1757).
Political cartoon from the period of the Great Game showing the Afghan Amir Sher Ali with his "friends" Imperial Russia and the United Kingdom (1878)
Islam Karimov (President, Uzbekistan) in the Pentagon, March 2002

Uzbek and Uyghur are spoken in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Xinjiang.

Kazakhstan

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Transcontinental landlocked country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe.

Transcontinental landlocked country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe.

Approximate extent of Scythia within the area of distribution of Eastern Iranian languages (shown in orange) in the 1st century BC
Cuman–Kipchak confederation in Eurasia circa 1200. The Kazakhs are descendants of Kipchaks, Nogais and other Turkic and medieval Mongol tribes
Ural Cossacks skirmish with Kazakhs (the Russians originally called the Kazakhs "Kirgiz")
Map of the Kazakh Territory in 1903
Stanitsa Sofiiskaya, Talgar. 1920s
Young Pioneers at a Young Pioneer camp in Kazakh SSR
The International Conference on Primary Health Care in 1978, known as the Alma-Ata Declaration
The Monument of Independence, Republic Square, Almaty
Satellite image of Kazakhstan (November 2004)
The Kazakh Steppe is part of the Eurasian Steppe Belt (in on the map)
Karaganda Region
Kazakhstan map of Köppen climate classification
Corsac fox
Ak Orda Presidential Palace
Parliament of Kazakhstan
Nur Otan Headquarters in Nur-Sultan
President Nazarbayev with U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in 2012
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev with 
Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2019
Member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)
Kazakhstan Republican Guard
A Kazakhstan Sukhoi Su-27
Downtown Nur-Sultan
GDP per capita development, since 1973
A proportional representation of Kazakhstan exports, 2019
Aktau is Kazakhstan's only seaport on the Caspian Sea
A map of Kazakhstan's imports, 2013
Kazakhstan has the largest proven oil reserves in the Caspian Sea region.
Grain fields near Kokshetau
Map of Kazakhstan railway network
Train 22 Kyzylorda – Semipalatinsk, hauled by a Kazakhstan Temir Zholy 2TE10U diesel locomotive. Picture taken near Aynabulak, Kazakhstan
Borovoe, view from Mount Bolectau
A ski resort in Almaty
Astana Expo 2017 "Nur Alem" Pavilion
Almaty
Trends in research expenditure in Central Asia, as a percentage of GDP, 2001–2013. Source: UNESCO Science Report: 2030 (2015), Figure 14.3
Group of Kazakhstan physicists in collaboration with Uzbek researchers working at the ion accelerator DC-60
Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world's oldest and largest operational spaceport
Population pyramid, 2020
Central Asian ethnolinguistic patchwork, 1992
Kazakhstanis on a Lake Jasybay beach, Pavlodar Region
Ascension Cathedral in Almaty
Khazret Sultan Mosque is the biggest mosque in Kazakhstan
Kazakh National University of Arts
A Kazakhstan performer demonstrates the long equestrian heritage as part of the gala concert during the opening ceremonies of the Central Asian Peacekeeping Battalion
Kanysh Satpayev, one of the founders of Soviet era metallogeny, principal advocate and the first president of Kazakhstan Academy of Sciences
1965 Soviet stamp honouring Kazakh essayist and poet Abai Qunanbaiuly
Nowruz on stamp of Kazakhstan
A-Studio was created in 1982 in Almaty, then called Alma-Ata, hence called "Alma-Ata Studio"
Astana Arena opened in 2009
Nikolai Antropov
International Astana Action Film Festival, 2010
Timur Bekmambetov, a notable Kazakh director

Other minority languages spoken in Kazakhstan include Uzbek, Ukrainian, Uyghur, Kyrgyz, and Tatar.

Arabic

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Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE.

Semitic language that first emerged in the 1st to 4th centuries CE.

Safaitic inscription
The Namara inscription, a sample of Nabataean script, considered a direct precursor of Arabic script.
Arabic from the Quran in the old Hijazi dialect (Hijazi script, 7th century AD)
The Qur'an has served and continues to serve as a fundamental reference for Arabic. (Maghrebi Kufic script, Blue Qur'an, 9th-10th century)
Coverage in Al-Ahram in 1934 of the inauguration of the Academy of the Arabic Language in Cairo, an organization of major importance to the modernization of Arabic.
Taha Hussein and Gamal Abdel Nasser were both staunch defenders of Standard Arabic.
Flag of the Arab League, used in some cases for the Arabic language
Flag used in some cases for the Arabic language (Flag of the Kingdom of Hejaz 1916–1925).The flag contains the four Pan-Arab colors: black, white, green and red.
Different dialects of Arabic
Arabic calligraphy written by a Malay Muslim in Malaysia. The calligrapher is making a rough draft.

Arabic is also an important source of vocabulary for languages such as Amharic, Azerbaijani, Baluchi, Bengali, Berber, Bosnian, Chaldean, Chechen, Chittagonian, Croatian, Dagestani, Dhivehi, English, German, Gujarati, Hausa, Hindi, Kazakh, Kurdish, Kutchi, Kyrgyz, Malay (Malaysian and Indonesian), Pashto, Persian, Punjabi, Rohingya, Romance languages (French, Catalan, Italian, Portuguese, Sicilian, Spanish, etc.) Saraiki, Sindhi, Somali, Sylheti, Swahili, Tagalog, Tigrinya, Turkish, Turkmen, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Visayan and Wolof, as well as other languages in countries where these languages are spoken.

A diagram illustrating vowel harmony in Finnish.

Vowel harmony

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Assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class .

Assimilatory process in which the vowels of a given domain – typically a phonological word – have to be members of the same natural class .

A diagram illustrating vowel harmony in Finnish.
Finnish vowel harmony and case agreement exemplified by mahdollisissa yllättävissä tilanteissa ("in possible unexpected situations"): mahdollinen takes -ssa, yllättävä takes -ssä and tilanne, with a neutral vowel first but a back vowel second, takes -ssa.

The one exception is Uzbek, which has lost its vowel harmony due to extensive Persian influence; however, its closest relative, Uyghur, has retained Turkic vowel harmony.