Kipchak Language

Kipchak - The Kipchak language is the precursor language of a number of modern Turkic languages that are spoken in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia today. Kazakhs are remnants of Eastern Cuman-Kipchak tribes who lived in Northern Kazakhstan in the 10th century. So, their language originates from a more isolated form of earlier Kipchak. Bolgar-speaking Volga Bulgarians (later Kazan Tatars), Astrakhan Tatars, Balkars, Karachays, Kumyks, Cumans (later Crimean Tatars), Bashkirs and Mongolian aristocracy adopted the Kipchak language in the days of the Golden Horde.

The modern Northwestern branch of the Turkic language is often referred to as the Kipchak branch. The languages in this branch are mostly considered to be descendants of the Kipchak language, and the people who speak them may likewise be referred to as Kipchak peoples.

Karakalpak - Karakalpak is also a member of the Eastern Kipchak branch of Turkic languages, which includes Tatar, Kumyk, Nogai, and Kazakh. Due to its proximity to Uzbek, much of Karakalpak's vocabulary and grammar has been influenced by Uzbek. Like Turkish, Karakalpak has vowel harmony, is agglutinative and has no grammatical gender. Word order is usually subject–object–verb.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kipchak_language

Uzbek Language

Uzbek the official language of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is an Eastern Turkic language and is similar to a number of other eastern Turkic languages including Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen and Azerbaijani. There are currently some 23.5 million Uzbek speakers mainly in living in the Republic of Uzbekistan, but also amongst the diaspora and neighbouring states including Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey(Asia), Turkmenistan, Ukraine also Uzbek speakers found in Australia, China, Germany, Israel and the USA.

Uzbek belongs to the Qarluq family of Turkic languages, and consequently its lexicon and grammar are most closely linked to the Uighur language, while other influences arose from Persian, Arabic and Russian.

The influence of Islam, and by extension, Arabic, is evident in Uzbek, as well as the residual influence of Russian, from the time when Uzbekistan was under czarist and Soviet domination. Most of the Arabic words have found their way into Uzbek through Persian. Uzbek shares much Persian and Arabic vocabulary with neighboring languages such as Persian and its eastern dialects (Tajik and Dari).

The Uzbek language has many dialects, varying widely from region to region, but three main dialects, namely, Qarluq (spoken in the Ferghana Valley, Tashkent, the Kashka-Darya region, and in some parts of the Samarkand province). It contains a heavier admixture of Persian and Arabic), Kipchak (closely related to Kazakh/Karakalpak and spoken in Kashkadarya and Surkhandarya and in the regions around Bukhara and Samarkand) and Oghuz (closely related to Turkmen and spoken in Khorezm and Karakalpakstan) are differentiated. The commonly understood dialect Qarluq is used in mass media and in most printed material.

In Afghanistan a related but distinct and separate language (Grimes 1992), Southern Uzbek, is spoken by about 1.4 million people. It should also be noted that the term Uzbek has been used, especially in the early 20th century, to refer loosely to other Turkic languages in the region.

An early form of Uzbek, known as Chagatai Uzbek (after one of the sons of Genghis Khan) and written with the Arabic script, emerged as a literary language in the 14th century. A version of the Latin alphabet replaced the Arabic script in 1927, and was in turn replaced by the Cyrillic alphabet in 1940. Until 1992, Uzbek almost everywhere continued to be written using the Cyrillic alphabet. Today in Uzbekistan the Latin script has been officially re-introduced, although the use of Cyrillic is still widespread.

This profile focuses on Uzbek (or Northern Uzbek) as spoken in Uzbekistan.

LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION
Uzbek is a member of the Eastern Turkic (or Karlik) group of languages which also includes Uighur. Eastern Turkic is a subgroup of Common Turkic which also includes Turkish, Azerbaijani, Tartar, Kyrgyz, Kazakh, and others. The Turkic languages, and the Mongolian-Tungus (Manchu-Tungusic) languages of Siberia and northeastern China are major divisions of the Altaic family or phylum (see Ruhlen 1987).

LANGUAGE VARIATION
The major dialects recognized within Uzbek are Karluko, Chigile, Kypchak, Oghuz, Qurama, Lokhay, and Sart. Oghuz might be a dialect of Khorasani Turkish rather than a dialect of Uzbek (Grimes 1992). Some claim that at least twelve other dialects exist in addition to standard Uzbek, all of which differ considerably from the standard form in sound system, word formation, and vocabulary (Akiner 1989).

ORTHOGRAPHY

Nonstandard Uzbek had been written with a version of the Arabic alphabet ever since the Arab conquest of the ninth century (Fierman 1985). During the Timurid dynasty (late fifteenth century) Turkish, in the form of the Chaghatai dialect, became a literary language in its own right.(ED: In modern Uzbekistan, Chaghatai is called Old Uzbek).

Between 1926 and 1927, preliminary work was done in Uzbekistan to shift the alphabet from the Arabic to the Roman alphabet, which was adopted by the late 1920s. In 1940, the writing system underwent another shift from the Roman to the Cyrillic alphabet.

In September 1993 Uzbekistan announced plans to switch its alphabet from Cyrillic, which by that time had been in use for more than fifty years, to a script based on a modified Latin alphabet similar to that used in Turkey.

The official name of the country in Cyrillic was Uzbekiston, with a breve accent over the Cyrillic U; now in roman script the country is known as O`zbekiston, with an open quote after the O.

The use of O for what was formerly a long A is a feature of Uzbek phonetics. Many places have official names that are at variance with the more familiar spellings, e.g. the capital is Toshkent rather than Tashkent. The autonomous republic of Karakalpakstan is officially Qoraqalpog`iston Respublikasi (and the Kara-Kalpak people are Qoraqalpoq); and Nukus is Nuqus. (ED: Karakalpaks in Karakalpak language are called Qaraqalpaq and their capital Nukus is Nökis).

LINGUISTIC SKETCH
Like all of the Turkic languages, Uzbek is agglutinative, that is, grammatical functions are indicated by adding various suffixes to fixed stems. Separate suffixes on nouns indicate both gender and number, but there is no grammatical gender. There are five nominal cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, and ablative; number is marked by a plural suffix. Verbs agree with their subjects in case and number, and, as in nouns, separate identifiable suffixes perform these functions. There are also suffixes for tense, aspect, and mood.

Subject-Object -Verb word order in Uzbek is a typical Turkic characteristic, but other orders are possible under certain discourse situations. As a SOV language where objects precede the verb, Uzbek has post-positions rather than prepositions, and relative clauses that precede the verb.

Uzbek has 10 vowels, and 25 consonants. Unlike other Turkic languages, it only has a very reduced form of vowel harmony operating (whereby the vowels of suffixes must harmonize with the vowels of noun and verb stems; thus, for example, if the stem has a round vowel then the vowel of the suffix must be round, and so on.)  However, whereas the system is active in colloquial forms of the spoken language, it is poorly reflected in the written language.

Lexical influences include Arabic, Persian, Tajik, and modern Russian loan words.

HISTORY

The Uzbeks have played an important role in their region since the beginning of the fifteenth century, when present-day Uzbek began to take shape during the modern Turkic period. At that time, a strong cultural movement advocating the use of Uzbek emerged, which led to the creation of a rich Uzbek literature, a large part of which remains unstudied. The literary language of the period has Arabic and Tajik influences especially in the area of word borrowing.

The development of written Uzbek has undergone some dialectal shifts. The first post-revolutionary standard was based on the dialect of Turkistan (ED: Uzbek speaking area of southern Kazakhstan)(Comrie 1981), in the north of the Uzbek-speaking area. Subsequently it was decided to shift the standard dialect and base it on the dialect of the capital city, Tashkent. Thus, current standard Uzbek is based largely on the dialect of Tashkent and differs considerably from the earlier standard.

Source: http://www.omniglot.com/writing/uzbek.htm

(ED: Uzbek is spoken widely in Karakalpakstan, particularly in the South of the Republic)
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The Altai - The ancestral homeland of the Turkic Peoples

The Turkic peoples are thought to have originated in the areas in and around the Altai Mountains of Siberia. Gradually they spread out and occupied large tracks of Siberia and Central Asia. In time groups emerged from within the Turkic horde, amongst whom are the Karluk (Uygur and Uzbek), Kipchak (Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Karakalpak and Tatar) and Oghuz (Turkmen, Azeri and Turks).  It is also regarded as the homeland of other nationalities Mongolians, Koreans and even Hungarians. The Ural-Altaic languages to whom all the groups (Turks, Mongols, Koreans and Hungarians) speak are named after the region.

Altai Mountains

The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. They stretch for 1,200 miles across southwestern Mongolia from Siberia plain to the Gobi Desert. The mountains are of moderate height. There are several peaks over 4,500 meters. Those that are higher than 3,000 meters are snowcapped throughout the year. The region is rich in lakes and streams. The Ob, Irtysh and Yenisei all have their sources in the Altai. The Altai people live mainly in the broad plateaus, steppes and valleys of the ranges, where water is plentiful. The Altai complex of mountain ranges embraces the water divide mountains for all of Asia: the South Altai, the Inner Altai and the east Altai. The Mongolian Altai is connected to this mountain complex, rising to the southeast of the Siberian Altai region.

A varied region it has many landscapes forests, steppes, wild rivers, lakes, deserts, snow capped mountains and abundant wildlife.  The climate is continental with extremes in temperatures occurring between the summer and the winter. The mountains help to mitigate the extremes to some extent by causing a winter temperature inversion that produces an island of winter temperatures that are warmer than those in the Siberian taiga to the north and the Central Asian and Mongolian steppes to south and east. Even so temperatures drop as low as -48°C in the winter. The mountains are a gathering point for precipitation in a region that otherwise is dry. The most rain falls in July and August, with another smaller period of rain in late autumn. The western Altai receives around 50 centimeters of precipitation a year. The eastern Altai receives less: around 40 centimeters a year.

 Snow leopard

Natural vegetation in the region includes steppe grasses, shrubs and bushes and light forests of birch, fir, aspen, cherry, spruce, and pines, with many clearings in the forest. These forest merge with a modified taiga. Among the animals are hare, mountain sheep, several species of deer, bobac, woodchucks, lynx, polecats, snow leopards, wolves, bears, argali sheep, siberian ibex, mountain goats and deer. Bird species include pheasants, ptarmigan, goose, partridge, Altai snowcocks, owls, snipes and jays. In the streams and rivers are trout, grayling and the herring-like sig.

Siberian ibex

Karakalpakstan

Flag of Karakalpakstan

Coat of Arms of Karakalpakstan

The northwestern third of Uzbekistan constitutes the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. Karakalpakstan (Kara-Kalpakstan) is known as Qaraqalpaqstan in Karakalpak, Qoraqalpoghistan in Uzbek and Karakalpakiya in Russian. It is an autonomous republic within Uzbekistan, situated southeast and southwest of the Aral Sea and extends across roughly 164,900 square kilometers.

It is bordered on the east by the rest of Uzbekistan and to the north and east by Kazakhstan, and to the south by Turkmenistan. The Aral Sea extends from Kazakhstan into the northeastern corner of the republic. On the east Karakalpakstan occupies the western half of the Kyzylkum Desert, a vast plain covered with shifting sands. The central part consists of the valley and delta of the Amu Darya (river), a low-lying area intersected by watercourses and canals. The west the republic includes the southeastern part of the Ustyurt Plateau, a slightly undulating area characterized by flat summits rising to some 958 feet (292 m) above sea level. The climate is marked by cool winters and hot summers. Average rainfall is only 75 to 100 mm (3-4 inches).

Karakalpaks are Turkic-speaking people who live mostly within the Autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. Politically the Republic is part of Uzbekistan, and occupies the arid and sparsely inhabited northwest region of the country. Karakalpakstan’s total population is around 1.5 million, of which just over a third identify themselves as ethnically Karakalpak. Uzbeks and Kazakhs comprise most of the remaining 60% of the population along with small numbers of Turkmens and Russians.  Like many other Turkic peoples, Karkalpaks are of obscure origin. However what is known is that contemporary Karakalpaks are the descendants of Turkic tribes—Kytai, Kongyrat, Kipchak, Keneges, Mangyt, Muyten—that formed a confederacy at the end of the 15th century and settled along the lower part of the Syr Darya River, in what is now Kazakhstan. Later they migrated south toward the Aral Sea, following the delta of the Amu Darya to reach their current territory.The first historical reference to them dates from the end of the 16th century. During the 18th century they settled in the Amu Darya region, came partly under Russian rule in 1873, and by 1920 were totally incorporated into the Soviet Union.

Established as an autonomous oblast (province) of the Kazakh A.S.S.R. in 1925, Karakalpakstan came under the administration of the Russian S.F.S.R. in 1930 and two years later was constituted as an autonomous republic. In 1936, while retaining its status, it was made a part of the Uzbek S.S.R. and became part of Uzbekistan with that country’s independence in 1991.

About one-half of the population is urban. Nukus, the capital, Xojeli, Beruniy, Takhiatosh, Chimbay, Turtkul, and Altykyl are the chief settlements. Total Pop. (2007 est.) 1,678,191.

Photo: Nukus City

Map of Karakalpakstan : District / District capital
1 Amudarya District Man'g'it
2 Beruniy District Beruniy
3 Shimbay District Shimbay
4 Ellikqala District Bostan
5 Kegeyli District Kegeyli
6 Moynaq District Moynaq
7 No'kis District Aqman'g'it
8 Qonliko‘l District Qanliko‘l
9 Qon'irat District Qon'irat
10 Qarao'zek District Qarao'zek
11 Shomanay District Shomanay
12 Taxtako‘pir District Taxtako‘pir
13 To'rtko‘l District To‘rtko‘l
14 Xojeli District Xojeli
Republican Capital : Nukus

Districts in Uzbek, Karakalpak and Russian and Capital in Russian

1 Amudaryo A’muda’rya Амударьинский (Мангит)
2 Beruniy Beruniy Берунийский (Беруни)
3 Chimboy Shimbay Чимбайский (Чимбай)
4 Elliqala Ellikqala лликкалинский (Бустан)
5 Kegeyli Kegeyli Кегейлийский (Кегейли)
6 Mo’ynoq Moynaq Муйнакский (Муйнак)
7 Nukus No’kis Нукусский (Акмангит)
8 Qanliko’l Qanliko’l Канлыкульский (Канлыкуль)
9 Qo’ng’irot Qon’irat Кунградский (Кунград)
10 Qorao’zak Qarao’zek Караузякский (Караузяк)
11 Shumanay Shomanay Шуманайский (Шуманай)
12 Taxtako’pir Taxtako’pir Тахтакупырский (Тахтакупыр)
13 To’rtko’l To’rtko’l Турткульский (Турткуль)
14 Xo’jayli Xojeli Ходжейлийский (Ходжейли)
capital Nukus No’kis г. Нукус

The economy is predominantly agricultural. The industrial sector, while limited, includes light manufacturing, refineries that process oil from nearby petroleum fields, several building-materials plants that utilize the abundant limestone, gypsum, asbestos, marble, and quartzite of the area, and a power station in Takhiatosh. Cotton is cultivated along the Amu Darya and in its delta and is processed in mills located in Chimbay, Kungrad, Beruni, Takhtakupyr, Xojeli, and Mangit.

A well-developed system of irrigation canals supplies water from the Amu Darya to the crops. Besides cotton, crops include alfalfa, rice, and corn (maize) are grown in the delta. Cattle and Karakul sheep are raised in the Kyzylkum Desert.

Agricultural farmlands particularly those lands in the lower Amu Darya and near the Aral Sea have become salinized owing to the effects of over-irrigation. The shrinkage of the Aral Sea has also eliminated most of the republic’s fisheries and resulted in a much harsher climate and a shorter growing season.

Transport facilities in the republic include a railway from Kungrad to Turkmenabat in Turkmenistan, motor roads that link several cities of the republic, and air connections with Moscow, Tashkent and other cities.

Source: Encyclopædia Britannica
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