SOME USEFUL PHRASES IN UZBEK FIVE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD UZBEKWHO SPEAKS UZBEK? Salom. Mening ismim Jon. LEARN MORE ABOUT UZBEKS [sæˈlɑm. mɛˈniŋ isˈmim ʤɑn] AND THEIR LANGUAGE Uzbeks are the most numerous Turkic /Salom. Mening ismim Jon./ people in Central Asia. They predomi- Hi. My name is John. 1. Uzbek is spoken as a first or second language by 25 million people throughout Central Asian, most nantly mostly live in Uzbekistan, a land- Sizning ismingiz nima? notably in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, locked country of Central Asia that shares [sizˈniŋ ˈismiŋiz niˈma] Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Additionally, large /Sizning ismingiz nima?/ populations of Uzbek speakers can be found in borders with Kazakhstan to the west and What is your name? Australia, China, Germany, Israel, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, and the U.S. north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the Mening ismim Ahmad. east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan 2. A member of the Turkic language family, Uzbek [mɛˈniŋ isˈmim ahˈmad̪ ] to the south. Many Uzbeks can also be /Mening ismim Ahmad./ shares many structural similarities to languages such as Azerbaijan, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz, Tartar, and found in Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyr- My name is Ahmad. Turkish. But it is most closely related to Uyghur. gyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Yaxshimisiz? 3. Uzbeks are the largest ethnic group among the [jaχˈʃimisiz] post-Soviet Central Asian Republics. Uzbekistan Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of /Yakhshimisiz?/ has a population of 30 million, and Uzbeks form China. How are you doing? substantial minorities in the other four neighboring republics. Yaxshi, rahmat. [jaχˈʃiman rahˈmat̪] 4. Modern Standard Uzbek is the best foundation for /Yakhshi, rahmat./ learning Chaghatay Turkic, the language of world- I am good, thank you. famous poets like Navoi and the Babur nameh, the most revealing autobiography penned in the pre- Men sizni sevaman. modern Islamic world. [mɛn sizˈni sevaˈmæn] 5. Modern Uzbek is written using Latin script, so /Men sizni sevaman./ there is no new writing system to learn and no new I love you. fonts to download for typing! Plus Uzbek grammar Hojatxona qayerda? is very consistent. There is no grammatical gender (like French, Spanish, and Arabic have) and there [hoˈʤat̪χoˌna qaɪjerˈd̪ a] are no irregular verbs. /Hojatkhona kayerda?/ Where is the bathroom? ABOUT US Katta rahmat. The Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region [kæˈt̪ːa rahˈmat̪] (CeLCAR) at Indiana University develops materials for /Katta rahmat./ learning and teaching a wide variety of Central Asian languages. Thank you very much. For more information, go to celcar.indiana.edu. Xayr. [χaɪr] 238 Eigenmann Hall, 1900 East 10th Street, /Khayr./ Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47406 Good-bye. Phone: (812) 856-1230 Center for Languages of the E-mail : [email protected] Special thanks goes to Malik Hodjaev Website: https://celcar.indiana.edu for his contributions to this pamphlet. Central Asian Region (CeLCAR) WHO ARE THE UZBEKS AND been influenced by Persian, which served as a lingua Zoroastrianism and Buddhism. After the Arab franca throughout Central Asia for centuries. The invasion, people began converting to Islam as early WHERE DO THEY LIVE? main dialects of Uzbek lack “vowel harmony,” a as 8th century AD. Today, the majority of Uzbeks distinctive feature of most other Turkic languages. have a Sunni Muslim background. However, due to Uzbeks are the most numerous Turkic people in Moreover, Arabic words also make up much of the the Soviet past, Central Asia. They mostly live Uzbek vocabulary. Most of the international words Uzbek society is in Uzbekistan, a landlocked in Uzbek, such as telefon, mashina, and garaj, entered relatively secular. country of Central Asia that Uzbek through Russian. shares borders with Kazakhstan Traditionally, to the west and north, Uzbeks are a Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan WHAT ALPHABET DO UZBEKS USE? family and to the east, and Afghanistan community Throughout its history, the language used a number oriented society. and Turkmenistan to the of alphabets. Before 1928, the language was written south. Many Uzbeks can also Each individual in Perso-Arabic script. However, during the early is usually identified with reference to his or be found in Afghanistan, years of the Soviet Union, its vocabulary went Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, her family. Uzbek neighborhoods are usually divided through many changes. The language was codified into mahalla, a primary source of social services for Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and and standardized, with the dialects of major cities the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. community residents. Members of the mahalla call on of Tashkent and Fergana as the basis of standard each other for help, and together organize traditional Uzbek. In 1929, the alphabet was replaced by the cultural events and ceremonies. WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS UZBEK? new Latin alphabet, also known as Yanalif (Yangi alifbo – New Alphabet). One-third of the Uzbek population is farmers. Uzbeks Uzbek belongs to the Turkic group of languages, are well known for their fruits and vegetables, and which includes languages such as Kazakh, Turkish, Later, in 1940, the Latin even have annual competitions for the biggest and the Uyghur, and Tatar. Turkic languages have been script was abolished sweetest melons and cantaloupes. Other staple crops spoken across vast territory from the Balkans to and Uzbek switched include wheat, barley, corn and rice. Because of this China for many centuries. Within the Turkic group, to Cyrillic, as with influence, Uzbek cuisine is rich in breads and noodles. Uzbek and Uyghur form the Qarluq sub-branch. the majority of Soviet Additionally, mutton is very popular because of the written languages. Uzbek is predominantly spoken in the Republic of abundance of sheep in the area. In fact, Uzbekistan’s Uzbekistan, of which it is the sole official language. In 1993, after the signature dish, palov, is a course made from rice, Statistics show that 22 million of Uzbekistan’s collapse of the Soviet mutton, and grated carrots and onions. population of 30 million have Uzbek as their Union, the Latin script began to be reintroduced in a Uzbek craftsmanship varies enormously in style, first language. But many of Uzbekistan’s minority gradual fashion, and by 1995 was fully incorporated material, and populations, especially those who live in rural areas back as the official alphabet of use. ornamentation. of Uzbekistan, speak Uzbek as their second language. Today, Uzbek WHAT IS UZBEK CULTURE LIKE? craftsmen still Uzbek is an agglutinative language. Suffixes that practice ancient indicate only one meaning are attached to the word For many centuries, Central Asia has been the traditions of metal stem one after another in a set order. This process crossroads of numerous empires and cultures. Thus engraving, wood creates words that can be very long and sometimes the local people and their traditions have been carving, gemstone can correspond to a whole sentence in English. But influenced by cultures and civilizations from Greece cutting, embroidery, Uzbek doesn’t have the difficulties that inflecting to China, and from Middle East to Siberia for and weaving. Traditional applied arts are still languages have with grammatical gender and millennia. multiple systems of declension and conjugation. highly valued, and used in people’s everyday life. Before the Arab invasion of the modern territory Poetry, literature, and music form a daily part of life The vocabulary and even grammar of Uzbek have of Uzbekistan, the people in the area followed for many Uzbeks.