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Home , Old Uyghur, Old Uyghur alphabet, Uyghur language, Uyghur literature

SOME USEFUL PHRASES IN UYGHUR FIVE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD UYGHUR LEARN MORE ABOUT ياخشىمۇسىز، مېنىڭ ئىسمىم جون. [jɑχˈʃɪmusɪz mɛˈnɪŋ ɪsˈmɪm ʤɑn] AND THEIR LANGUAGE /Yakh-shimusiz, mening ismim Jon./ 1. Uyghur is spoken natively by over 11 million Hi. My name is John. worldwide, mainly in the Uyghur Autonomous Region, but in other Central ئىسمىڭىز نېمە؟ [ˈɪsmɪŋɪz nɪˈmɛ] Asia countries as well, specifically /Ismingiz nime?/ and . What is your name? 2. As member of the Altaic , Uyghur shares structural similarities to other قانداق ئەھۋالىڭىز؟ [qɑnˈdɑq ɛhˈwɑlɪŋɪz] such as and /Qandaq eh-walingiz?/ subject–object– word order, and it is a How are you doing? gateway to learning other Turkic languages, .such as Chaghatay قانداق ئەھۋالىڭىز؟ مەن ئىندىيانادىن. [sɪz qɛyɛrˈdɪn mɛn ɪndiˈɑnɑdɪn] 3. Uyghur is the only major Turkic language to /Siz qeyerdin? Men Indianadin./ still predominately use a Perso- writing Where are you from? am from Indiana. system. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of .4 ئازراق چاي ئىچەمسىز؟ [ɑzˈrɑq ʧɑɪ ˈɪʧɛmsɪz] the People’ Republic of is the largest /Azraq chay ichemsiz?/ Chinese administrative division and spans Would you like some tea? 642,800 sq mi. Uyghur cuisine is a perfect blend of Central .5 ئېتىڭىز بەك چىرايلىقكەن. [ˈɛtɪŋɪz bɛk ʧɪˈrɑɪlɪqkɛn] Asia and Chinese influeces. Using lots of /Etingiz bek chirayliqken./ seasonings, fresh vegetables an assortment of You have a beautiful horse. meats, including beef, chicken, fish, goose, !mutton, and camel ھاجەتخانا قەيەردە؟ [hɑˈʤɛt•χɑˌnɑ ˈqɛjɛrdɛ] /Hajet-khana qeyerde?/ Where is the bathroom? ABOUT US The Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University develops materials, online language كۆپ رەھمەت! [køp rɛχˈmɛt] courses, and mobile apps for learning and teaching a wide /Köp rekh-met!/ variety of Central Asian languages.

Thank you very much. For more information, go to www.iub.edu/~celcar.

,Eigenmann Hall, 1900 East 10th Street 718 خوش! [χoʃ] Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47406 /Khosh!/ Phone: (812) 856-1230 Fax: (812) 856-1206 Good-bye. -mail : [email protected] Center for Languages of the Special thanks goes to Niyaz Kurban Web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~celcar for his contributions to this pamphlet. Central Asian Region (CeLCAR) WHO ARE THE UYGHURS? adopted many (mostly ) from exchanging between Asian and European cultures. Persian, as well. Many words of Arabic origin have Traditionally, Uyghurs are a very family and As one of the oldest Central Asian Turkic people, also entered the language directly through Islamic community oriented society. Each individual the Uyghurs primarily live in Xinjiang after the introduction of around is identified with reference Autonomous Region, which is situated in the north the mid-10th century. Russian and Chinese are the to his or her family. And western corner of the People’s greatest influence in more recent times, however a Uyghur neighborhoods are Republic of China (PRC). As the number of loanwords of European origin have also traditionally divided into largest provincial unit in China, reached Uyghur through Russia’s influence over the mähällä, a primary source of the region also makes up about region during receent modern history. social services for its residents. one-sixth of the PRC’s total Furthermore, Members of area. Today, approximately 10 WHAT DOES UYGHUR USE? the mähällä call on each million Uyghurs, who make the other often for help and to largest non-Chinese population Until the late 8th century, Uyghur was written using the organize traditional cultural of China, live in the area as a Orkhon, or , alphabet. However, between the events and ceremonies for the bumper between China and 8th and the 16th centuries, Uyghur was written using community. Central Asian states. Some other an alphabet system known as , derived from Uyghur diasporas communities are also found in Sogdian (an Iranian language formerly spoken in today’s Uyghurs value the extremely rich cultural heritage Kazakhstan, , Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan and ). Unlike Sogdian, which from their Central Asian ancestors. Exceptional which counted a population about more than one was written from right to left in horizontal lines, the hospitality is a long lasting tradition among million. was written from left to right in Uyghurs for which they are continually praised by vertical columns. Uyghur has also been written with the all visitors. The Uyghurs are also well-known for , but mostly their talents in singing and dancing. The Twelve WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS UYGHUR? in Christian documents. The is the national oral epic of Uyghurs and includes performances of classical and folkloric Uyghur is an Altaic language belonging to the later Mongolian vertical was developed as an adoption song, music, and dance. In fact, Uyghur culture Karluk subdivision of the Turkic language family. has dozens of traditional musical instruments, It is spoken natively by approximately 11 million of the Uyghur script to write the . including different kids of strings, winds and people worldwide (not counting those who speak tambourines. Uyghur literature, which dates back it as a second language) and is an From the 16th century to the Orkhon inscriptions, includes folktales, of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), until the early 20th century, fables, jokes, poems, and proverbs. Other applied along with . However, due to Uyghur was written with a version of the Arabic arts for which Uyghurs are well-known include historical reasons, Mandarin Chinese is not spoken alphabet known as “Chagatay”. During the 20th century metal engraving, wood carving, gemstone cutting, widely in southern Xinjiang. Nowadays, the Uyghur a number of versions of the Latin and Cyrillic embroidery, and weaving. Traditional applied language is also used as even among were adopted to write Uyghur as the direct result of the arts are still highly valued, and used in people’s non-Uyghurs, such as Shibes, Wakhis, and Tajiks of continuous political changes over the region. However everyday life. Xinjiang, and even by some Russian and Daurs. the was unpopular, and in 1987 the was reinstated as the official script for Traditional Uyghur cuisine typically Uyghur is an with a subject includes lots of roasted object verb-word order. It has vowel harmony, which Uyghur in China. However, a Cyrillic based Uyghur alphabet is still used among the Uyghurs in other Central mutton, roasted fish, follows pretty consistent rules. Nouns are inflected and rice. Some signature for number and case, but not gender and Asian countries, along with the partial employment of Arabic script. dishes are läghmän (a like in many other languages. There are two numbers noodle dish), pilaf (a such as singular and plural, and six different cases rice dish), and similar to all other Turkic languages. are WHAT IS UYGHUR CULTURE LIKE? (seasoned and skewered conjugated for tenses, voices, aspects, and mood. meat roasted on a grill). The core of the is of Turkic Due to its location along the route of the ancient Because the majority origin, but due to the different kinds of language Silk Road, the Uyghur region became a crossroad of Uyghurs are Sunni Muslim, the food is contact through the history of the region, it has for trade and commercial exchange between predominately halal. the East and West, and therefore a melding and