In this day and age, there
are approximately 35 Turkic languages spoken by around
200 million people in a vast area. If you're wondering why there isn't
a specific number of Turkic languages, but “approximately 35”, it's
because the distinction between a dialect and a language varies
depending on who you ask. In this video,
we will cover all of the Turkic languages following in order from the most
to least commonly spoken ones. Grab your coffee or tea, lean back
and let's dive into the Turkic world. Turkish, my native language, is the most widely spoken Turkic language
worldwide. Primarily spoken by Turks, many other groups also use it as a native
or secondary language. In addition to Turks, Turkish
speaking groups include all ethnic minorities in Türkiye and Turkish diaspora
or communities outside of Türkiye. Minorities in Turkey include Kurds,
Laz, Circassians, Jews, Armenians, Greeks,
Albanians, Bulgarian, Zazas and others. There are Turkish speaking communities
in Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Kosovo,
Moldova, Iraq, Syria and Northern Cyprus. Additionally, the Turkish diaspora
in countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Sweden,
the UK, the US, Canada and others widely
speak Turkish. Out of the 7000 languages
spoken today across the globe, Turkish ranks 17th in the total number of speakers
and continues to spread steadily. Now let's examine the language profile,
a term I coined for this video. Turkish has used the Latin alphabet
since 1928. Between 90 to 100 million people worldwide speaks Turkish
as either a native or secondary language. Turkish belongs to the Oghuz branch
of the Turkic language family. Its status is safe,
meaning it's not endangered. Uzbek is the most widely spoken
Turkic language in Central Asia. It is primarily spoken by the Uzbek
people, a Turkic group inhabiting Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan,
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan. Like many Turkic people and Turkic
speaking groups, it's not easy to give an exact number
for the population. Therefore, we have to rely on data
from different sources. The population of Uzbekistan is 36 million,
29 million of whom are ethnic Uzbeks, who naturally speak
Uzbek as a native language. The rest consists of minorities
like the Tajiks, Kazakhs, Karakalpaks, Kyrgyz, Russians and others who mostly
speak Uzbek as a second language. Outside Uzbekistan, The highest Uzbek population
can be found in Afghanistan, where 8 to 11% of the country's population
consists of Uzbeks, which totals around 4 million people, In both Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan,
the Uzbek population is around 1 million. If we combine the Uzbeks in Kazakhstan,
Russia, Turkmenistan and Pakistan, we have an additional population
of close to 2 million Uzbeks. Now let's take a look at the language
profile of Uzbek. Today, the Latin script is
officially used to write Uzbek. The total number of Uzbek
speakers is between 35 to 45 million. It belongs to the Karluk
branch of the Turkic languages. Due to its high number of speakers, it's categorized as safe. Azerbaijani is spoken by
the Azerbaijani people, and is the official language
of Azerbaijan. However, the highest number of Azerbaijani
speakers is not in Azerbaijan but in Iran. The population of Azerbaijan is around
10 million, which corresponds to the number
of Azerbaijani speakers in the country. In Iran, Azerbaijani people
make up the largest ethnic group by far, with a population varying between 15 to 25
million people depending on the source. The Azerbaijanis in Iran primarily
inhabit the northwest lands of the country,
indicating that the Azerbaijanis are scattered homogeneously
throughout this region. Azerbaijani is also spoken by the
Azerbaijani minority in eastern Türkiye. Though there is no exact number for the population
of Azerbaijani people in the country. According to the 2014 population census,
there are around 230,000 Azerbaijanis living in southern Georgia,
where they also speak Azerbaijani. Other prominent
Azerbaijani groups can be found in Russia, Ukraine,
Kazakhstan, Germany and the US. Azerbaijani is officially written
in the Latin script in Azerbaijan, but in Iran
the Arabic script is mostly used. In total, there are between 25
to 35 million Azerbaijani speakers. This language belongs to the Oghuz branch
of the Turkic language family, and is documented
as safe as it's widely spoken by millions. Uyghur is the fourth most spoken
Turkic language. It is spoken by the Uyghur people,
the most populous Turkic group without a country. Uyghur people predominantly inhabit
the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of western China,
whose population is around 11.7 million according to the 2020 population census. In addition, there are small pockets
in the neighboring countries where the Uyghurs live. In Kazakhstan,
there are around 200,000 Uyghurs, and in Türkiye,
the Uyghur population is around 50,000. Pakistan also has a high Uyghur population,
which is close to 200,000. However, the common perception
is that the Uyghurs in Pakistan are much more integrated into society
and mostly speak Urdu. Therefore, it's not easy to get an accurate number
about the Uyghur presence in this country. Today, Uyghurs are the second
largest minority in China. Unfortunately,
the Uyghur population in the country is living under extensive pressure
by the Chinese government. Especially in the last few years, the assimilation policy aimed towards
the Uyghurs is imposing severe restrictions on their religious, cultural,
economic and social lives. It is presumed that close to 1
million Uyghurs are currently being detained in labor camps in the Xingyang Uyghurs
Autonomous Region. In these camps,
officially called “Vocational education and training centers”
by the Chinese government, abominable horrors against the Uyghurs
take place. In these camps, the detained Uyghurs are required
to sing hymns praising the Chinese Communist Party
and write self-criticism essays. Other camp policies include Thousands,
perhaps tens of thousands, of Uyghur kids who are separated from
their parents are put in boarding schools where they are obligated
to adapt to the Chinese language, customs and way of thinking
and forced to forget their “Uyghurness”. As a result,
this has a serious negative impact on the Uyghur language
passing on to younger generations. Uyghur is written in the Arabic script. Around 13 million
people speak this language in total. It belongs to the Karluk
branch of the Turkic languages. Although it has a high number of speakers,
due to the reasons I've mentioned earlier,
the Uyghur language is classified as critically endangered, which is
the last stage before a language dies. Kazakh is spoken by the Kazakh people, a Turkic group primarily
inhabiting Kazakhstan. In addition,
Kazakh is spoken in surrounding countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Russia and China. According to the 2021 census,
Kazakhstan's population is 19.6 million and 80% of the Kazakh
nation is recorded to speak Kazakh as a native or second
language. China is home to the largest
Kazakh community outside of Kazakhstan, with more than 1.5 million
Kazakhs. Uzbekistan has around 800,000 and Russia has around
500,000 Kazakhs. In Mongolia, the Kazakhs are the largest
minority, with around 100,000 people, making up close to the 3% of the country's
population. Kazakh is currently written
with Cyrillic letters. However, the government has announced the transition process from Cyrillic
to Latin script for the Kazakh language. As of May 2024,
the deadline for this transition is 2025. The total number of Kazakh speakers across
the world is around 19 million. Kazakh belongs to the Kipchak branch. Its status is vulnerable. Before we move on to the next language. If you're enjoying this video
so far, please consider leaving a like and comment
and subscribing to this channel. Thank you. The Turkmen language is spoken
by the Turkmen people. The Turkmens are among the most populous
groups of Turkic people with a population of approximately
8 million. 4 million of Turkmens
live in Turkmenistan, 1.7 to 2 million Turkmens live in the northeast of Iran,
on the border with Turkmenistan. In Afghanistan,
between 2 to 3% of the population speaks Turkmen,
which is around 1.2 million people. The third largest community of Turkmens
outside of Turkmenistan is in Uzbekistan. In these small pockets
on the southern borders of the country, Turkmen is spoken by a little more
than 150,000 Turkmen people. Turkmen uses the Latin script today. In the past,
like most of the Turkic languages that were spoken within the borders of the Soviet Union,
Turkmen also used the Cyrillic script. Today, the Turkmen alphabet
that is officially used was created by taking inspiration
from the Turkish alphabet. The total number of Turkmen
speakers in the world today is between 7 to 8 million people. Turkmen belongs to the Oghuz
branch of the Turkic languages, which means that it is closer to Turkish
and Azerbaijani. The status of Turkmen is vulnerable. Tatar is spoken by the Tatar people, who are the second largest
ethnic group in Russia after the Russians. The Tatar population in Russia
is approximately 4.7 million people. The Tatars primarily inhabit the Republic
of Tatarstan in western Russia. In addition,
they also live in the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is another republic in Russia
that borders Tatarstan. Smaller Tatar groups are scattered
across other regions of Russia, primarily Moscow. As you might surmise, these are the areas
where Tatar is commonly spoken. Tatar officially uses the Cyrillic script. However, the Latin
alphabet is also used at times. The total number of Tatar speakers
is between 5 to 6 million people, including the Tatars in Russia and other Tatars who live in small pockets
in the surrounding countries. It belongs to the Kipchak language branch,
meaning that it's closer to Turkic languages such as Kazakh and Kyrgyz. Kyrgyz
is the official language of Kyrgyzstan. It is primarily spoken
by the Kyrgyz people in Kyrgyzstan, but there are also groups
of Kyrgyz speakers in Uzbekistan, China, Tajikistan,
Kazakhstan and Afghanistan. However, the Kyrgyz
population in Afghanistan is a very small part of the population. It is estimated that around 1000 Kyrgyz people live in the northeast
mountains of the country. Unfortunately,
I was not able to find any reliable data on what percentage of those 1000 Kyrgyz
people speak to Kyrgyz language. The Kyrgyz language that is spoken in Kyrgyzstan
officially uses the Cyrillic script. However, in China and Afghanistan,
the Arabic script is used to write this language. 4.5 million people speak
Kyrgyz as a first or second language. Kyrgyz belongs to the Kipchak branch,
and its status is vulnerable. With 1.3 million speakers, Bashkir is
the third most commonly spoken minority language
in Russia, after Tatar and Chechen. It is spoken by the Bashkir people, who,
as you might imagine, also constitute the third largest
minority group in Russia. Today, the Bashkirs primarily
inhabit the Republic of Bashkortostan, which is one of the republics
within the Russian Federation. Currently, there are a little more than 2
million Bashkirs in the world. 75% of the total Bashkir
population lives in Russia, and the rest are scattered
around the globe, mainly in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Bashkir uses the Cyrillic script. The total number of Bashkir speakers in the world
is 1.3 million, so virtually all Bashkir
speakers live in Russia. Bashkir belongs
to the Kipchak branch of Turkic languages, so it is closer to Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and Tatar. The status of the Bashkir
language is vulnerable. And we're continuing
with language 10: the Chuvash language. Spoken by the Chuvash people, who live in
the Chuvash Republic in Western Russia, this language is the 5th most spoken language in the country with around 1.1 million speakers. Also, the Chuvash people are the fourth
largest minority group in Russia. According to the 2021 census,
the Chuvash population in Russia is 1.06 million, which is pretty close
to the total number of Chuvash speakers. Unlike most of the Turkic groups, in this region,
the Chuvash are predominantly Orthodox. The Chuvash language has a very unique place
among the Turkic languages. The Turkic language family
branches look like this. We have Proto-Turkic, which is the
starting point of all Turkic languages. Proto-Turkic is divided into two branches:
Common Turkic and Oghur. All of the Turkic languages in this video,
except for Chuvash, are under the Common Turkic branch. The Oghur Turkic branch comprises the extinct Turkic languages
that were spoken in the past. The only language in the Oghur branch
that is not extinct is Chuvash, so this language is not really closely related to any of the languages
that we'll see in this video. And now let's see
the language profile of Chuvash. This language uses the Cyrillic script. It is spoken by around 1.1 million people. As mentioned earlier,
it belongs to the Oghur Branch. The status of Chuvash is vulnerable. We are leaving
Russia and heading south to Iran. Qashqai is the native language of the
Qashqai Turks who inhabit southwest Iran. The Qashqais are traditionally
nomadic pastoralists. Although most of them lead
a settled lifestyle today, the Qashqais still travel
seasonally with their flocks. Today, the Qashqais represent
such a significant part of modern day nomadic culture that the car brand Nissan
named its famous SUV Qashqai after them. The Perso-Arabic script is used to write
Qashqai. The Qashqai population in Iran
is presumed to be around 1 million, which is also the estimated
number of Qashqai speakers. It belongs to the Oghuz branch, therefore shares many similarities
with Azerbaijani and Turkish. The status of Qashqai is vulnerable. We continue with another Turkic language in Iran: Khorasani Turkic. This language is spoken by the Khorasani Turks
who reside in northeast Iran. Khorasani Turkic is a unique
blend of Azerbaijani, Turkish and Turkmen. Today, it is estimated that there are
nearly 1 million Khorasani Turks in Iran. Khorasani Turkic is not widely written, thus, it is primarily a spoken language. However, some individuals use
the Perso-Arabic script to write this language. It is challenging to determine the exact number
of Khorasani Turkic speakers. Out of approximately
1 million Khorasani Turks, it is presumed that between
400,000 to 800,000 people speak the
Khorasani Turkic language. It belongs to the Oghuz branch. Khorasani Turkic is classified as "Vulnerable". The Karakalpak language is spoken
by the Turkic group of Karakalpaks, who are native to the Autonomous
Republic of Karakalpakstan within the borders of Uzbekistan. Despite living in barren,
inhospitable lands for decades, they managed to preserve their identity
and create a beautiful culture. Today, the Karakalpaks are one of
the poorest groups in Uzbekistan. The Karakalpak language uses the Latin script. The total population of the Karakalpaks
is between 500,000 to 600,000, which also corresponds to the presumed
number of Karakalpak speakers. It belongs to the Kipchak branch and its status is
marked as "Vulnerable". Crimean Tatar is likely the most geographically
dispersed Turkic language. It is spoken by the Crimean Tatar people,
who have endured many hardships in history and have had to immigrate
several times to different places. Crimean Tatar should not be confused with the Tatar language
that we covered a few minutes ago. Although these two belong
to the same Turkic language branch, they are different languages. Today, the Crimean Tatar population
is between 600,000 to 700,000. Groups of Crimean Tatars
live quite far apart from each other. The largest group of Crimean Tatars
is in Crimea, with around 250,000 people. In addition, Uzbekistan has
150,000 to 200,000 Crimean Tatars. However, a small percentage of them
speaks this language, since the younger generations have
mostly integrated into the Uzbek society. In central Türkiye,
there are around 100,000 Crimean Tatars, only a few thousand of whom are said
to speak the Crimean Tatar language. Despite having relatively large
diasporas across various continents, Crimea is considered to be the heart
of the Crimean Tatar world. Due to the annexation of Crimea
by Russia in 2014 and the ongoing Russia Ukraine war, the future of the Crimean Tatars
seem uncertain and bleak. Crimean Tatar uses the Latin script. It is estimated that this language is spoken by between 400,000
to 600,000 people in the world. Crimean Tatar belongs
to the Kipchak branch and its status is
severely endangered. The Kumyk language is spoken by the Kumyk people, a Turkic group
inhabiting the Northern Caucasus. After Azerbaijani Turkish,
Kumyk is the second most widely spoken Turkic language
in the region. Out of over 190 ethnic groups in Russia,
the Kumyks have the 11th largest population, with 565,000 people. There are also small groups of Kumyks
in countries like Türkiye Uzbekistan, and Ukraine. However, in total
they add up to a few thousand people who are mostly assimilated
and do not commonly speak the language. Since 1938, Kumyk
has been using the Cyrillic script. According to the 2020 census, 400,000 people speak Kumyk in Russia, which is also roughly
the total number of global speakers. Kumyk belongs to the Kipchak branch,
and its status is vulnerable. Yakut also known as Sakha, is
the native language of the Yakut people, a Turkic group residing in the remote
Siberian lands of northern Russia. As of 2020,
with a population of 478,000, the Yakuts are the 16th largest
minority in Russia. Outside Russia, the Yakut
population is measured in hundreds, which does not constitute
a strong diaspora. Unlike many other
large Turkic groups in Russia, the Yakuts do not follow Islam,
but Russian Orthodoxy and shamanism. Due to their remote location
from the rest of the Turkic world, this language has been influenced
by Mongolian and Russian. Today, Yakut is also used among other
non-Turkic indigenous groups in the region, such as the Evenks, Evens, and
Yukaghirs as a lingua franca alongside Russian. The Yakut language
uses the Cyrillic script. Between 450,000 to 470,000
people speak Yakut in Russia. It belongs to the Siberian Turkic
branch of the Turkic language family. Its status is vulnerable. Karachay-Balkar is a Turkic language spoken in the northern Caucasus region,
in two republics within Russia: the Republic of Karachay–Cherkessia and
the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria. Karachay-Balkar is spoken by two Turkic groups,
the Karachays and the Balkars. These two groups share a similar heritage,
culture and language. Therefore, the language they speak
is seen as one. According to the 2020
census, the Karachay population in Russia is 226,000
and the Balkar population is 125,000. In addition to Russia, Türkiye also has a significant Karachay population,
which is around 20,000. However, outside these countries
there are no large Karachay communities. When it comes to the Balkars,
it would be safe to say that pretty much all of the Balkar population
in the world resides in Russia. Compared to the other Turkic languages
we have covered so far, Karachay Balkar does not have
a strong literary tradition. This language uses the Cyrillic script. I would like to mention that this is the case
for all of the Turkic languages in Russia, and except for the Crimean Tatar
that is spoken in annexed Crimea, all of them use the Cyrillic script. The total number of Karachay Balkar
speakers is a little more than 274,000. It belongs to the Kipchak
branch, and its status is vulnerable. Spoken by the Tuvan people in the
Republic of Tuva in southern Russia, the Tuvan language is one of the most widely spoken
minority languages in the country. The Tuvans, indigenous to Siberia, are
the ninth largest Turkic group in Russia. Historically,
the Tuvans have been nomads, primarily engaged in animal husbandry and hunting. They are known for their seasonal
migration between pastures and living in yurts, a lifestyle also seen
among other Turkic people in the region. Almost all Tuvans live in Russia,
with a population of 295,000. According to the 2020 census, around 2300 Tuvans live in Mongolia. It is presumed that a few thousand
Tuvans also reside in China. However, despite extensive research,
I haven't been able to find any concrete data. The Tuvan language uses the Cyrillic script. In total, around
250,000 people speak Tuvan. It belongs to the Siberian Turkic branch. The status of Tuvan is vulnerable. Urum is perhaps the
most interesting language in this video. However, it is not often seen in most
Turkic language maps because some people consider it a dialect of Crimean Tatar,
while others don't. Urum is spoken by the Urum people,
who are Orthodox Greeks, primarily residing in the city of Mariupol
in Ukraine, or what remains of Mariupol
due to the ongoing Russia Ukraine war. There is also a small Urum-speaking population
in the city of Tsalka in Georgia. Before we move on, I would like to delve a little more
into the origins of the Urums. The more common view
accepted by the world and Greek scholars is that the Urum are descendants of the Greeks who immigrated
to Ukraine many centuries ago. They believe that following the Mongol
and Tatar invasions, a group of these Greeks adopted the Crimean Tatar language,
but preserved their Greek heritage. The view supported by Turkish scholars
is that the Urums are a Turkic people, descendants of the Crimean Tatars,
who adopted the religion and culture of the Greeks in this region, yet
to preserve their language. Over the years,
Urum developed its own characteristics and diverged from mainstream
Crimean Tatar. Therefore, today many sources
regard Urum as a separate language. Regardless of their background, the Urum people are a unique cultural
gem and deserve recognition. I was quite surprised to see that most sources
and maps don't even mention this language. Urum uses the Cyrillic script. It is almost impossible
to find an approximate range for the total number of Urum
people and Urum speakers. The numbers presented on various
internet sources vary greatly. The total number of Urum speakers is estimated
to be between 3000 to 180,000. It is presumed that in Ukraine
there are around 40,000 Urums, around 3000 of whom
speak the Urum language. In Georgia, the Urum population is
said to be a few thousand only. It is quite tricky to be honest so for this language, I would advise you to take
all these numbers with a grain of salt. Sources differ on the branch
to which Urum belongs. Some sources say Oghuz,
some say Kipchak. Its status is definitely endangered. The Gagauz language is the native
tongue of the Gagauz people, who are an Orthodox Turkic group, primarily living in Moldova’s
autonomous region of Gagauzia. According to 2014 census,
there are 126,000 Gagauz people in Moldova, which makes up 4.6% of the country's
population. The Gaguauz people have a very strong
national identity and heritage. 114,000 Gaguauz people
speak their language in Moldova. In addition to Moldova, a few small pockets in Ukraine that
are near the Moldovan border have a Gagauz population
around 30,000 people. However, it is assumed that
a few thousand of them speak the Gagauz language. Russia also has a Gagauz community,
whose number is a little more than 9200, around 3000 of whom speak
Gagauz. Türkiye also has a Gagauz population
of 10,000 people. However, they mostly consist of the Gagauz people,
who came to the country to work or study. Gagauz is written in Latin script. Total number of Gagauz
speakers is around 150,000. It belongs to the Oghuz branch,
therefore shows many similarities with Turkish. The status of Gagauz
is definitely endangered. Siberian Tatar is spoken
by the Siberian Tatar minority in Russia, who reside
in the country's central region. According to the 2021 census,
there are approximately 7000 Siberian Tatars in Russia. However, this figure may not accurately
represent the Siberian Tatar population. Since many Siberian Tatars
are reportedly documented as Tatars and Siberian Tatar speakers are recorded
as Tatar speakers, we must speculate
by considering various sources. It is estimated
that the actual number of Siberian Tatars is close to 200,000. Siberian Tatar uses the Cyrillic script. Around 100,000 people speak this language. It belongs to the Siberian Turkic
branch of the Turkic languages. Its status is definitely endangered. Let's leave the
cold lands of Siberia and head south to Russia's
warmer regions. The Nogai language is
spoken by the Nogai people, a Turkic group who the descendants
of the Nogai Horde. The Nogai Horde was a confederation
founded by several Mongol and Turkic tribes between the 15th
and 17th centuries near the Caspian Sea. As a result, although the Nogais
are a Turkic ethnic group, they also have Mongol roots
to some extent. Today, almost all of the Nogai
population resides in Russia. According to the 2021 census, there are around
110,000 Nogais in Russia. The Nogai language uses
the Cyrillic script. Approximately 85,000 people in Russia
speak the Nogai language. It belongs to the Kipchak branch,
and its status is severely endangered. Now, we're taking a quick detour from Russia and heading west to Romania's
Black Sea coast. Dobrujan Tatar,
also known as Romanian Tatar, is spoken by the Tatar
population of Romania. Some sources claim that Dobrujan Tatar
is a dialect of Crimean Tatar, but others argue the opposite. To be honest, in this case
I went with my gut and decided to add it as a language to this video
because more sources refer to the Dobrujan Tatar
as a separate language. Here, I would like to mention
that the Turkish and Tatar populations of Romania
should not be seen as one group. All Romanian censuses and academic sources
document Turks and Tatars in Romania separately. Turkish is spoken by the Turks
here in the southernmost part of Romania. However, Tatar is spoken
a little further north. The population of Romanian Tatars
is between 20,000 to 50,000. Dobrujan Tatar uses the Latin script. The total number of its
speakers is around 20,000. This language
belongs to the Kipchak branch. Its status is severely endangered. Spoken
by the Salar people in central China, the Salar language is the fourth
most popular Turkic language in China. According to the 2020 census, there are 165,000 Salar people in China,
making them the fourth largest Turkic group in the
country following the Kyrgyz people. Today, the Salars are
predominantly Muslims and their main economic activities
are farming and husbandry. Both their language and culture
have significant Chinese and Tibetan influences. The Salar language does not have
a strong written tradition today, so for most of the Salar people
it's a spoken language. However, a small percentage of them use the Latin script
as well as the Chinese script. Between 60,000 to 70,000 people
speak Salar in China. It belongs to the Oghuz branch,
making it closely related to Turkish and Azerbaijani. The status of this language is vulnerable. Altai is spoken by the Altai Turks
in the Altai Republic of southern Russia. The Altai language has two dialects:
Southern Altai and Northern Altai, which are not mutually intelligible. Due to the isolated
location of their homeland, the Altai people have
successfully preserved their culture, language
and religion against outside influences. Today, a significant population
of the Altai people practice Shamanism, Buddhism, and Tengrism. A small percentage
follows Russian Orthodoxy. Islam never managed
to find a place in Altai society. The Altai population in Russia
was recorded as 83,000 in 2020. Since the Altai Republic is located
at the crossroads of Russia, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, there are small groups of Altai people
in Kazakhstan and Mongolia as well. However, in total this population is
estimated to be only a few thousand. Altai is written in the Cyrillic script. It is spoken
by between 50,000 to 60,000 people. Altai
belongs to the Siberian Turkic branch. The status of this language
is severely endangered. We are staying in the same region and
going a little west from the Altai homeland. The Khakas language is spoken
by the Khakas people, an indigenous Turkic
group who mostly live in the Republic of Khakassia
in southern Russia. The Khakas population in
Russia is approximately 61,000. There are also a few hundred
Khakas people in China and Ukraine. Just like the Altai people, the Khakas people were never influenced
by Islam. Today, a large percentage of the Khakas community
follow Russian Orthodoxy. There is also smaller Khakas population
who practices Shamanism. The Khakas language is
written in the Cyrillic script. Around 46,000 people speak this language. Khakas is a part of the Siberian
Turkic branch. The status of this language
is definitely endangered. Khalaj language is spoken by the Khalaj people
in the Markazi province of western Iran. Arguably, the Khalaj people
are the smallest Turkic group in Iran. Their population is presumed
to be around 40,000 to 50,000. Due to their small population, the Khalaj have been largely assimilated
into the Iranian society. However, they managed
to protect their language until this day. The Khalaj
people are predominantly Muslims. They mostly engage with animal husbandry. Khalaj is mostly a spoken language and
does not have a strong literary tradition. However, when it’s written,
both Latin and Arabic scripts are used. It is estimated that no more than 20,000
people speak this language today. Khalaj belongs to the Arghu
branch of the Turkic language family. Arghu language branch has one surviving
language only, and it's Khalaj. In addition, this branch has the smallest number
of speakers among all Turkic branches. The status of Khalaj is vulnerable. I was unsure whether to include Äynu in this video,
but let's do it. Äynu is a Turkic language
spoken by the Äynu people in Western China,
on the edge of the Taklamakan desert. Before we continue,
we need to clarify some mixed information about this language
and the Äynu people. The origins of the Äynu people
are disputed. Some argue that they're of Turkic origin,
while others assert that they're of Iranic origin. However,
the Turkic origin is more widely accepted. Today,
they're not recognized as a separate group by the Chinese government
and are counted as Uyghurs. Consequently, there's no solid data
on the number of Äynu people. The estimated population of Äynu people
in China ranges between 30,000 to 50,000. Almost all Äynus are trilingual,
speaking Äynu, Uyghur, and Mandarin. Äynu is heavily influenced by Persian. This language has Turkic grammar,
but predominantly Persian vocabulary. Some scholars view the Äynu language
as a cryptolect. Some sources mention that the Äynu people
speak this language when they wish to exclude outsiders
and maintain secretive conversations. Today, Äynu uses the Arabic script. In total, around
6000 people speak this language. It belongs to the Karluk
branch of the Turkic languages. Its status is critically endangered. Western Yugur is spoken
by the Yugur people in the Sunan-Yugur Autonomous
County in China's Gansu Province. Western Yugur should not be
confused with the Uyghur language, another Turkic language spoken in China, nor should the Yugur people
be confused with the Uyghurs, another Turkic ethnic
minority in China. According to the 2020 census,
the Yugur population in China is 14,300, making them one of the least
populous minorities in the country. Western Yugur has been isolated
from the rest of the Turkic world for nearly six centuries. It serves almost as a border language
between the other Turkic languages,
Mandarin, Mongolian, and Tibetan. Although Western Yugur has preserved
several archaic features from Old Turkic, it has also been significantly influenced
by Mandarin, Mongolian, and Tibetan. Today, the Yugur are primarily
engaged in animal husbandry and farming. They predominantly
follow Tibetan Buddhism. Western Yugur uses the Latin script. Approximately 4600 to 5000
people speak this language. Western Yugur belongs to the Siberian
Turkic branch. Its status is severely endangered. Shor is spoken by the Shor people, primarily in Russia's Kemerovo Oblast
and the Republic of Khakassia. As of 2020,
the Shor population is 10,500. The Shor have a unique background. Despite being considered
among the Turkic people in Russia, the Shors emerged centuries ago
as a result of the mixing of Turkic people with different groups in the region, such
as the Kets, Samoyeds, and Ugrians. Today, a considerable number of the Shors
follow Christianity and some Shors follow Tengrism. The Shor language is an interesting
amalgam of Turkic, Mongolian and Russian. The region where the Shors
historically lived was under Mongol rule for some periods
during the medieval years. This resulted in Shor borrowing
many words from the Mongolian language. Also, since the 19th century,
Russian has greatly influenced Shor. Shor is written in the Cyrillic script. Around 2900 people speak Shor. It belongs to the Siberian Turkic branch
and is categorized as severely endangered. Dolgan is the northernmost spoken
Turkic language. It is spoken in the central part of Russia
by the Dolgan people, whose population was recorded
as 8157 in the 2020 census. For years, Dolgan was considered to be a dialect of Yakut,
which we covered a few minutes ago. Despite having many similarities
and common points with Yakut, Dolgan has had a lot of influence
from Russian and Evenki, which is a Tungustic language
spoken in the same region. This influence might explain why,
in contemporary times, Dolgan is recognized as a separate language
rather than a Yakut dialect. There are different opinions
about the origins of the Dolgans, however, it is more commonly accepted
that they are Turkic people. Until the Soviet era,
the Dolgans followed a nomadic lifestyle. Just like many other
indigenous peoples of Siberia, their livelihood consisted of reindeer
husbandry, fishing, hunting and fur farming. Dolgan is written in the Cyrillic script. Approximately 1000
people speak this language. It belongs to the Siberian Turkic branch. The status of Dolgan
is definitely endangered. Krymchak is spoken by
the Krymchak people, a Jewish group primarily
living in Israel and Crimea. There are around 2000
Krymchaks in the world. Approximately 1200 Krymchaks live in Israel,
and 800 to 900 of them reside in Crimea. Although the Krymchak community
is larger in Israel, Krymchak language is not widely spoken
by the Israeli Krymchak people. Most Krymchak speakers are in Crimea. Presumably,
this Jewish group lived alongside the Crimean Tatars for centuries
and ended up adopting their Turkic speech. Some sources regard Krymchak
as a dialect of Crimean Tatar. However, the more commonly accepted
view asserts that it began as a Crimean Tatar dialect and then developed
into a separate language. The Krymchak language uses
the Cyrillic script. Although it is challenging
to find information on this, it would be safe to say that between 100
to 200 people speak this language today. Krymchak belongs to the Kipchak branch
and its status is critically endangered. Karaim is spoken by the Karaite people, a group of Crimean Tatars
who follow Karaite Judaism. They have been living in several
different parts of Eastern Europe for centuries, primarily
in Lithuania and Ukraine. Today, the Karaite population
is estimated to be around 2000. Karaim has three dialects:
the Crimean dialect, spoken in Crimea; the Trakai-Vilnus dialect,
spoken in Lithuania; and the Lutsk-Halych dialect,
spoken in Ukraine. The Crimean and Lutsk-Halych dialects
of Karaim are considered to be almost extinct. Since Crimea
was annexed by Russia in 2014, this region was also added
to the Russian population census in 2021. According to the results,
there are 500 Karaite people, and 45 Karaim speakers in Crimea. The second most
significant Karaim speaking community is in the town of Trakai
in Lithuania. The 2021 Lithuanian population census shows
that there are 192 Karaites in Lithuania. It is presumed
that the number of Karaim speakers is between
20 to 40 in Lithuania. Although the Hebrew script was
commonly used in the past, today the situation is different. The Karaims in Lithuania
use the Latin script, and those in Ukraine
use the Cyrillic script. The total number of Karaim
speakers is around 80. This language
belongs to the Kipchak branch. The status of Karaim
is critically endangered. Ili Turki is spoken by the Ili Turks, who reside in the Ili Kazakh Autonomous
Prefecture in western China. The Ili Turks are not recognized
as a separate ethnic group in China, but as Uyghurs. Regrettably, we do not have extensive
sources about this language and people. Today, there are around
30 Ili Turk families with a population of
approximately 120 people. Ili Turki uses the Latin script,
although it is almost exclusively a spoken language. The number of Ili Turki
speakers is unknown, so I'm unable to provide an estimate. However, a rough
guess would be a few dozen speakers. Ili Turki belongs to the Karluk branch. Its status is critically endangered. Tofa, also known as Tofalar,
is spoken by the Tofa people, who inhabit three remote
villages in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast. Just like the Dolgan language,
we mentioned earlier, Tofa is an interesting amalgam of Turkic,
Russian and Mongolian. Despite being a Turkic language,
the soon-to-be-extinct tongue has had a lot of influence
from Mongolian and Russian. In the medieval ages, the Tofa people had a lot of contact
with the Mongols, which resulted in this language borrowing hundreds
of loanwords from medieval Mongolian. In addition, Tofa has many loanwords
from Russian as well. Similar to almost all of the Turkic groups
in the region, the Tofas are traditionally nomads,
and they have been engaging in reindeer husbandry,
hunting and fishing for centuries. Today, Tofa is spoken mostly
by the elders of the Tofa community. The younger generation speaks Russian
and does not learn their native language. Tofa uses Cyrillic letters. The total number of Tofa
speakers is between 9 to 30. It is a part of the Siberian
Turkic branch. The status of this language
is critically endangered. Chulym, also known as “Ös tili”,
is spoken by the Chulym people. The Chulyms are a Turkic people,
who inhabit central Russia. Chulym is considered to be the most
endangered of all Turkic languages. Additionally, the Chulym people
have one of the smallest populations among Turkic people. According to the 2021 population
census results in Russia, there are 382 Chulyms and only 47 of them
speak the Chulym language. However, some linguists claim
that only a dozen people out of those 47
are actually fluent at a native level. It seems unlikely
that Chulym will survive this century. Linguists predict that by the late
2030s, Chulym will possibly become extinct. Chulym is written in the Cyrillic script. In total, 47 people speak this language. Chulym belongs to the Siberian Turkic
branch, and its status is critically endangered. However, some scholars already
consider this language as extinct.
