Uzbek language

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Uzbek

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File:WIKITONGUES- Nataev speaking Uzbek.webm Uzbek language

The Uzbek language (Oʻzbek tili or Oʻzbekcha) is a Turkic language and the official language of Uzbekistan. It is spoken by approximately 32 million people, primarily in Uzbekistan, but also in parts of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Russia. Uzbek belongs to the Karluk branch of the Turkic language family.

History

The Uzbek language has evolved through several stages, influenced by various languages and cultures. The earliest form of Uzbek, known as Chagatai, was a literary language used in Central Asia from the 14th to the 20th century. Chagatai was heavily influenced by Persian and Arabic. In the 1920s, the Soviet Union introduced a Latin-based alphabet for Uzbek, which was later replaced by a Cyrillic alphabet in the 1940s. Since Uzbekistan's independence in 1991, there has been a gradual shift back to a Latin-based alphabet.

Phonology

Uzbek phonology is characterized by vowel harmony, a common feature in Turkic languages. The language has six vowel phonemes: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/, /u/, and /ø/. Consonant clusters are relatively rare, and the language tends to favor open syllables.

Grammar

Uzbek grammar is agglutinative, meaning that it uses suffixes to indicate grammatical relationships and functions. The basic word order is subject-object-verb (SOV). Nouns do not have gender, and there are no definite or indefinite articles. Verbs are conjugated to indicate tense, mood, and aspect.

Nouns

Nouns in Uzbek can take various suffixes to indicate case, number, and possession. The primary cases are nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, locative, and ablative.

Verbs

Uzbek verbs are marked for tense (past, present, future), mood (indicative, imperative, conditional), and aspect (perfective, imperfective). The language also uses auxiliary verbs to form compound tenses and moods.

Dialects

Uzbek has several dialects, which can be broadly categorized into three groups: Northern, Southern, and Central. The Northern dialects are spoken in the regions bordering Kazakhstan, the Southern dialects are found near the Afghan border, and the Central dialects are spoken in the heart of Uzbekistan, including the capital, Tashkent.

Writing System

Uzbek is currently written in a Latin-based alphabet, which was officially adopted in 1993. The alphabet consists of 29 letters, including three digraphs: ch, sh, and ng. The Cyrillic alphabet is still used by some older generations and in certain regions.

Culture and Literature

Uzbek has a rich literary tradition, with notable works dating back to the Chagatai period. One of the most famous poets in Uzbek literature is Alisher Navoi, who wrote extensively in Chagatai. Modern Uzbek literature continues to thrive, with contributions from various poets, novelists, and playwrights.

Related Pages

• Turkic languages
• Uzbekistan
• Chagatai language
• Alisher Navoi
• Tashkent
• Cyrillic script
• Latin alphabet