Ili Turki language

Last updated
Ili Turki
İlı turkeşi
И̇лı туркес̧и
ي̇لي تۋركەسي
Native to Xinjiang, China; Kazakhstan
Ethnicity Ili Turks
Native speakers
30 families (2007, China) [1]
moribund in Kazakhstan
Language codes
ISO 639-3 ili
Glottolog ilit1241
ELP Ili Turki
Lang Status 40-SE.svg
Ili Turki is classified as Severely Endangered by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger
This article contains IPA phonetic symbols. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters. For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA.
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in China Ili.png
Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture in China

Ili Turki is an endangered [2] Turkic language spoken primarily in China, of the Karluk branch of Turkic. In 2007, it was reported that there were around 30 families using it in China. Speakers are shifting to Kazakh or Uyghur.

Contents

Geographic distribution

Ili Turki is spoken in China's Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture along the Ili River and its tributaries and in Yining. There may be some speakers in Kazakhstan. Ili Turki has no official status in either country.

Classification

Ili Turki appears to belong to the Karluk group of Turkic languages, although it exhibits a number of features that suggest a Kipchak substratum. [3] [4]

A comparison of Ili Turki's Karluk and Kipchak features is shown below:

Kipchak & Chagatay features in Ili Turki
  Kazakh (Kipchak)Ili Turki Uzbek (Karluk)English
*G > w after low vowelstawtawtɒɣmountain
Genitive assimilationtyje+niŋ / et+tiŋtʉjæ+nin / et+tintʉjæ+niŋ / et+niŋof the camel / of the meat
*G > w > Ø after high vowelssarɨsarɨqsarɨqyellow
Loss of geminate consonantsseɡizsekkizsækkizeight

Phonology

Consonants

Consonants of Ili Turki
Bilabial Alveolar Palatal Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasal m n ŋ  
Plosive voiceless p t k q  
voiced b d ɡ
Fricative voiceless s ʃ χ h
voiced z ʁ
Tap ɾ
Approximant l j w

Vowels

Vowels of Ili Turki
Front Central/Back
unrounded rounded
Close i ɨ ʉ
Mid e ɵ
Open æ ɑ

Vocabulary

No.Ili Turki
1bir
2ekki
3ʉtʃ
4tɵrt
5beʃ
6altə
7jetti
8sekkiz
9tɵqqʉz
10ɵn

See also

References

  1. Ili Turki at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) Closed Access logo transparent.svg
  2. Moseley, Christopher, ed. (2007). Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages. London: Routledge.
  3. Zhào, Xiāngrú; Hahn, Reinhard F. (1989). "The Ili Turk People and Their Language". Central Asiatic Journal . 33 (3/4): 261–285. JSTOR   41927706.
  4. Hahn, Reinhard F. (1991). "An Annotated Sample of Ili Turki". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 45 (1): 31–53. JSTOR   23658071.