Kyrgyz

About Kyrgyz

Kyrgyz (кыргызча / قىرعىزچا‎) is a language spoken by 4 million people primarily in Kyrgyzstan and, to a lesser extent, in adjacent regions such as Kazakhstan, Xinjiang (China), Uzbekistan, & Tajikistan. In Kyrgyzstan, the language is co-official with Russian, which is the predominant language used in urban areas (especially Bishkek) while Kyrgyz is predominant in rural areas and small cities/towns, though even in these areas many people speak Russian as well. It is also an official language in Kizilsu Kyrgyz Autonomous Prefecture of China's Xinjiang province. It is a Turkic language and has many similarities with languages such as Turkish, Tatar, Kazakh, Azeri, & Uzbek. As a result of close ties culturally and economically, Kyrgyz has become increasingly mutually intelligible with Kazakh in recent decades.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)。Photography via Wikimedia Commons.