The Turkic languages are a group of languages spoken across Central Asia, West Asia, North Asia as well as Eastern Europe. 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: Number Branch Languages Status Native Speakers Majority Main Writing System1 Oghuz languages 8 Normal 121,000,000 Latin2 Karluk languages 4 Normal 43,500,000 Latin3 Kipchak languages 12 Normal 27,000,000 Cyrillic4 Siberian Turkic languages 9 Vulnerable 800,000 Cyrillic5 Argu languages 1 Vulnerable 50,000 Persian6 Oghuric languages 1 Vulnerable 1,200,000 CyrillicTotal Turkic languages 35 Normal 193,800,000 Latin
Turkic languages by the number of speakers
The Turkic languages are a language family of at least 35Dybo A.V., Chronology of Türkic languages and linguistic contacts of early Türks, Moscow, 2007, p. 766, (In Russian) documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:
Number Name Branch Status Native Speakers Main Country Main Writing System1 Turkish language Oghuz languages Normal 83,000,000 Latin2 Uzbek language Karluk languagesNormal 32,000,000 Latin3 Azerbaijani language Oghuz languagesNormal 30,000,000 Latin4 Kazakh language Kipchak languages Normal 19,000,000 Cyrillic5 Uyghur language Karluk languages Normal 13,000,000 Perso-Arabic6 Turkmen language Oghuz languages Normal 7,000,000 Latin7 Tatar language Kipchak languages Normal 5,500,000 Cyrillic8 Kyrgyz language Kipchak languages Normal 5,000,000 Cyrillic9 Bashkir language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 1,500,000 Cyrillic10 Chuvash language Oghuric languages Vulnerable 1,200,000 Cyrillic11 Qashqai language Oghuz languages Normal 1,000,000 Perso-Arabic12 Khorasani Turkic language Oghuz languages Vulnerable 1,000,000 Perso-Arabic13 Karakalpak language Kipchak languages Normal 650,000 Latin14 Crimean Tatar language Kipchak languages Severely endangered 600,000 Latin15 Kumyk language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 450,000 Cyrillic16 Karachay-Balkar language Kipchak languages Vulnerable 400,000 Cyrillic17 Yakut language Siberian Turkic languages Vulnerable 400,000 Cyrillic18 Tuvan language Siberian Turkic languages Vulnerable 300,000 Cyrillic19 Urum language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 200,000 Cyrillic20 Gagauz language Oghuz languages Critically endangered 150,000 Latin 21 Siberian Tatar language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 100,000 Cyrillic22 Nogai language Kipchak languages Definitely endangered 100,000 Cyrillic23 Dobrujan Tatar language Kipchak languages Severely endangered 70,000 Latin24 Salar language Oghuz languages Vulnerable 70,000 Latin25 Altai languages Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 60,000 Cyrillic26 Khakas language Siberian Turkic languages Definitely endangered 50,000 Cyrillic27 Khalaj language Argu languages Vulnerable 20,000 Perso-Arabic28 Äynu language Karluk languages Critically endangered 6,000 Perso-Arabic29 Western Yugur language Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 5,000 Latin30 Shor language Siberian Turkic languages Severely endangered 3,000 Cyrillic31 Dolgan language Siberian Turkic languages Definitely endangered 1,000 Cyrillic32 Krymchak language Kipchak languages Critically endangered 200 Hebrew33 Ili Turki language Karluk languages Severely endangered 100 Cyrillic34 Tofa language Siberian Turkic languages Critically endangered 100 Cyrillic35 Karaim language Kipchak languages Critically endangered 100 Cyrillic36 Chulym language Siberian Turkic languages Critically endangered 50 CyrillicTotal Turkic languages Common Turkic languages Normal 193,700,000 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:The Sounds of Tatar Spoken in Romania: The Golden Khwarezmian Language of the Nine Noble Nations (Academia.edu)
NumberNameStatusSpeakersMain Country1 Bashkir language Vulnerable 1,500,000 2 Chuvash language Vulnerable 1,200,000 3 Khorasani Turkic language Vulnerable 1,000,000 4 Crimean Tatar language Vulnerable 600,000 5 Kumyk language Vulnerable 450,000 6 Yakut language Vulnerable 400,000 7 Karachay-Balkar language Vulnerable 400,000 8 Tuvan language Vulnerable 300,000 9 Urum language Definitely endangered 200,000 10 Gagauz language Critically endangered 150,000 11 Siberian Tatar language Definitely endangered 100,000 12 Nogai language Definitely endangered 100,000 13 Dobrujan Tatar language Severely endangered70,000 14 Salar language Vulnerable 70,000 15 Altai language Severely endangered 60,000 16 Khakas language Definitely endangered 50,000 17 Khalaj language Vulnerable 20,000 18 Äynu language Critically endangered 6,000 19 Western Yugur language Severely endangered 5,000 20 Shor language Severely endangered 3,000 21 Dolgan language Definitely endangered 1,000 22 Krymchak language Critically endangered 200 23 Tofa language Critically endangered 100 24 Karaim language Critically endangered 100 25 Ili Turki language Severely endangered 100 26 Chulym language Critically endangered 50
Extinct Turkic languages NumberNameTime of Extinct- Proto Turkic Reconstructed language1 Old Turkic 8th century2 Old Anatolian Turkish 11th century3 Pecheneg 12th century4 Orkhon Turkic 13th century5 Khazar 13th century6 Old Uyghur 14th century7 Khorezmian 14th century8 Bulgar 14th century9 Middle Turkic15th century 10 Mamluk-Kipchak16th century11 Cuman177012 Volga Türki19th century13 Fergana Kipchak1920s14 Chagatai192115 Ottoman Turkish192816 Fuyu Girgis20th century17 Soyot20th century18 Dukhan21st century
Well-known Turkic Dialects
NumberDialectMain Language1 Rumelian dialect Turkish language2 Cypriot dialect Turkish language3 Afshar dialect Azerbaijani language4 Sonqori dialect Azerbaijani language5 Lop dialect Uyghur language6 Baraba dialect Siberian Tatar language
Ancestral
Proto-Turkic
Common Turkic (Shaz Turkic / Z Turkic)
Siberian Turkic
South Siberian Altai Turkic Northern Altai Tubalar Kumandin/Qumanda Turachak Solton Starobardinian Chelkan (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 Dukha or Tsaatan - spoken by the Dukha people of Tsagaan-Nuur county of Khövsgöl Province (nearly extinct) Soyot-Tsaatan language spoken in the Okinsky District in Buryatia; now they speak the Buryat language) (Samoyedic Uralic substrate; people shifted first to a Turkic language and after to a Mongolian one - Buryat) (extinct) 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) Sagay/Saghay Kacha/Qaça Kamas Turk (Samoyedic Uralic substrate; people shifted to a Turkic language) Koibal Kamas (extinct) Beltir Kyzyl/Qizil Fuyu Kyrgyz (could be a dialect of Khakas) 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 Yakut Central Western Lena Eastern Lena Aldan Peripheral Northwestern Northeastern Dolgan (Dulğan) (Samoyed Uralic and Evenki Tungusic substrates) Eastern – Khatanga Central – Avam Western – Yenisei, Norilsk
Karluk (Southeastern)
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)
Chagatai or Turki (Jağatāy) (literary language of medieval Golden Horde in much of Central Asia) (extinct) Pre-classical Chagatai (1400–1465) Classical Chagatai (1465–1600) Post-classical Chagatai (1600–1921) Khorezmian Turkic (it was a literary language of the medieval Golden Horde of Central Asia and parts of Eastern Europe) (extinct) East Uyghur (not a direct descendant of the language called Old Uyghur, Old Turkic or Orkhon Turkic) Eastern: Spoken in an area stretching from Qarkilik towards north to Qongköl Central: Spoken in an area stretching from Kumul towards south to Yarkand Southern: Spoken in an area stretching from Guma towards east to Qarkilik Lop (Ľor télé) (could be a distinct language) Khoton (extinct) Ili Turki (Kipchak substrate) West Uzbek (Karluk Uzbek, Sart Uzbek – Sedentary and Urban Uzbek, “Modern Uzbek”) (strong Iranian substrate from Sogdian and Persian languages) Northern Uzbek (Oʻzbekcha / Oʻzbek tili) Ferghana Uzbek (not the same as Kipchak Uzbek) Tashkent Uzbek Chimkent/Shymkent-Turkestan Uzbek Surkhandarya Uzbek Khorezm Uzbek Southern Uzbek / Afghan Uzbek (strong Iranian substrate from Bactrian language and heavily Persianized) (many are bilingual in Dari / Dari Persian / East Persian / Afghan Persian)
Kipchak (Northwestern)
Kipchak (extinct) South Kipchak (Aralo-Caspian Turkic) Kipchak-Nogai Steppe dialect of Crimean Tatar Dobrujan Tatar (Tatarşa / Tatar tílí) Fergana Kipchak (Kipchak Uzbek / ”Old Uzbek”) (nomadic and semi-nomadic Turkic of the regions of Fergana, Samarkand, Bukhara and Turkistan) (extinct) Kazakh (Qazaqsha / Qazaq tili) Eastern Kazakh Southern Kazakh Northern Kazakh Western Kazakh Karakalpak (Qaraqalpaq tili) (closer to Kazakh) (Iranian Kwarazmian and Turkic Kwarazmian substrates) Northeastern Karakalpak Southwestern Karakalpak Fergana Valley Karakalpak? Nogai Karanogay-Nogai Proper Karanogay or Qara-Nogai (literally "Black Nogai"; "Northern Nogai"), spoken in Dagestan Central Nogai or Nogai Proper, in Stavropol Aqnogai (White or Western Nogai), by the Kuban River, its tributaries in Karachay–Cherkessia, and in the Mineralnye Vody District. Qara-Nogai and Nogai Proper are very close linguistically, whereas Aqnogai is more different. Kyrgyz-Kypchak Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzcha / Kyrgyz tili) Northern Kyrgyz (basis of standard Kyrgyz) Southern Kyrgyz Pamir Kyrgyz Southern Altai Altai proper Mayma Telengit Tölös Chuy Teleut Siberian Tatar Eastern Siberian Tatar Tom Tatar Baraba Tatar Western Siberian Tatar Tobol-Irtysh Tatar North Kipchak (Uralo-Caspian/Volga-Ural Turkic) (has some Uralic substrate) Old Tatar / Old Bashkir (Volga Turki) (extinct) Bashkir (Bashqortsa / Bashqort tele) Southern Dim Egän (Zigan) Eyek-Haqmar Middle Örşäk (Urshak) Eastern Arğayaş Qyźyl Meyäs Halyot (Salyoğot) Northwestern Tanyp Ğäynä (dialect of Perm Bashkirs) Qariźel Lower Ağiźel Middle Ural Tatar (Tatarça / Tatar Tele) Central/Middle (Kazan) (basis of the standard literary Tatar) Nagaibak Western (Mişär or Mishar) West Kipchak (Kipchak-Cuman/Ponto-Caspian Turkic) Cuman (Polovtsian/Folban/Vallany/Kun) (extinct) Armeno-Kipchak (extinct)