Ili Turki language
Ili Turki is a Turkic language spoken primarily in China. There were approximately 120 speakers of this language as of 1982.
Classification
Ili Turki appears to belong to the Chagatay group of Turkic languages, although it exhibits a number of features that suggest a Kipchak substratum.[1] [2]
A comparison of Ili Turki's Chagatay and Kipchak features is shown below:
Kipchak & Chagatay features in Ili Turki
| |
Kazakh (Kipchak) |
Ili Turki |
Uzbek (Chagatay) |
English |
| *G > w after low vowels |
taw |
taw |
tɒɣ |
mountain |
| Genitive assimilation |
tyje+niŋ / et+tiŋ |
tʉjæ+nin / et+tin |
tʉjæ+niŋ / et+niŋ |
of the camel / of the meat |
| *G > w > Ø after high vowels |
sarɨ |
sarɨq |
sarɨq |
yellow |
| Loss of geminate consonants |
seɡiz |
sekkiz |
sækkiz |
eight |
Geographic Distribution
Ili Turki is in China's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture along the Ili River and its tributaries and in Yining. There may be some speakers in Kazakhstan. Ili Turki has no official status in either country.
Sounds
Consonants
Vowels
References
- ^ Zhào Xiāngrú and Reinhard F. Hahn (1989). "The Ili Turk People and Their Language". Central Asiatic Journal 33 (3/4): 261–285.
- ^ Reinhard F. Hahn (1991). "An Annotated Sample of Ili Turki". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiorum Hungaricae 45 (1): 31–53.
See also
External links