Official history says that the Turkic language originated in the first millennium BC, when the first tribes belonging to this group appeared. But, as modern research shows, the language itself arose much earlier. There is even an opinion that the Turkic language came from a certain proto-language, which was spoken by all the inhabitants of Eurasia, as in the legend of the Tower of Babel. The main phenomenon of the Turkic vocabulary is that it has not changed much over the five millennia of its existence. The ancient writings of the Sumerians will still be as clear to Kazakhs as modern books.
Distribution
The Turkic language group is very numerous. If you look geographically, peoples who communicate in similar languages live like this: in the west, the border begins with Turkey, in the east - with the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China, in the north - by the East Siberian Sea and in the south - by Khorasan.
Currently, the approximate number of people who speak Turkic is 164 million, this number is almost equal to the entire population of Russia. At the moment, there are different opinions about howthe group of Turkic languages is classified. Which languages stand out in this group, we will consider further. Basic: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Uighur, Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Balkar, Karachay, Kumyk, Nogai, Tuvan, Khakass, Yakut and others.
Ancient Turkic-speaking peoples
We know that the Turkic group of languages has spread very widely across Eurasia. The peoples who speak this way were simply called Turks in ancient times. Their main activity was cattle breeding and agriculture. But one should not perceive all modern peoples of the Turkic language group as descendants of an ancient ethnic group. As the millennia passed, their blood mixed with the blood of other ethnic groups of Eurasia, and now there are simply no indigenous Turks.
The ancient peoples of this group include:
- Turkuts - tribes that settled in the Altai Mountains in the 5th century AD;
- Pechenegs - arose at the end of the 9th century and inhabited the area between Kievan Rus, Hungary, Alania and Mordovia;
- Polovtsy - with their appearance they forced out the Pechenegs, they were very freedom-loving and aggressive;
- Huns - arose in the II-IV centuries and managed to create a huge state from the Volga to the Rhine, Avars and Hungarians went from them;
- Bulgars - from these ancient tribes originated such peoples as the Chuvash, Tatars, Bulgarians, Karachays, Balkars.
- Khazars are huge tribes that managed to create their own state and oust the Huns;
- Oghuz Turks - ancestorsTurkmens, Azerbaijanis, lived in Seljukia;
- Karluks - lived in Central Asia in the VIII-XV centuries.
Classification
The Turkic group of languages has a very complex classification. Rather, each historian offers his own version, which will differ from the other by minor changes. We offer you the most common option:
- Bulgarian group. The only currently existing representative is the Chuvash language.
- The Yakut group is the easternmost of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Residents speak Yakut and Dolgan dialects.
- South Siberian - this group includes the languages of peoples living mainly within the borders of the Russian Federation in southern Siberia.
- Southeastern, or Karluk. Examples are Uzbek and Uighur.
- Northwestern, or Kypchak group - represented by a large number of nationalities, many of which live on their own independent territory, such as Tatars, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz.
- Southwestern, or Oguz. The languages included in the group are Turkmen, Salar, Turkish.
Next, consider which peoples of the Turkic language group live on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Yakuts
On their territory, the local population simply calls themselves Sakha. Hence the name of the region - the Republic of Sakha. Some representatives also settled in other neighboring areas. The Yakuts are the most eastern of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Culture and traditions were in antiquityborrowed from tribes living in the central steppe of Asia.
Khakasians
For this people, an area is defined - the Republic of Khakassia. Here is the largest contingent of Khakasses - about 52 thousand people. Several thousand more moved to live in Tula and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Shors
This nation reached its largest number in the 17th-18th centuries. Now this is a small ethnic group that can be found only in the south of the Kemerovo region. To date, the number is very small, about 10 thousand people.
Tuvans
Tuvans are usually divided into three groups, which differ from each other in some features of the dialect. They inhabit the Republic of Tuva (Tyva). This is a small eastern of the peoples of the Turkic language group, living on the border with China.
Tofalars
This nation has almost disappeared. According to the 2010 census, 762 people were found in several villages of the Irkutsk region.
Siberian Tatars
The Eastern dialect of Tatar is the language that is considered to be the national language for the Siberian Tatars. This is also a Turkic group of languages. The peoples of this group are densely settled in Russia. They can be found in the countryside of the regions of Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk and others.
Debts
A small group living in the northern regions of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. They even have their own municipal district - Taimyrsky Dolgano-Nenetsky. To date, there are only 7.5 thousand representatives of the Dolgans left.
Altaians
The Turkic group of languages includesthemselves the lexicon of the population of the Republic of Altai. Now in this area you can freely get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the ancient people.
Independent Turkic-speaking states
Today, there are six separate independent states, whose nationality is the indigenous Turkic population. First of all, these are Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Of course, Turkey and Turkmenistan. And do not forget about Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan, which belong to the Turkic language group in exactly the same way.
The Uighurs have their own autonomous region. It is located in China and is called Xinjiang. Other nationalities belonging to the Turks also live in this territory.
Kyrgyz
The Turkic group of languages primarily includes Kyrgyz. Indeed, the Kirghiz or Kyrgyz are the most ancient representatives of the Turks who lived on the territory of Eurasia. The first mention of the Kirghiz are found in 1 thousand BC. e. Almost throughout its history, the nation did not have its own sovereign territory, but at the same time managed to preserve its identity and culture. The Kyrgyz even have such a concept as "ashar", which means joint work, close cooperation and unity.
The Kyrgyz have long lived in the steppe sparsely populated areas. This could not but affect some of the features of character. These people are extremely hospitable. When a new person used to arrive in the settlement, he would tell news that no one could hear before. For this, the guest was awarded the besttreats. It is still customary to honor guests sacredly.
Kazakhs
The Turkic language group could not exist without the Kazakhs. This is the most numerous Turkic people living not only in the state of the same name, but throughout the world.
Folk customs of the Kazakhs are very severe. Children from childhood are brought up in strict rules, they are taught to be responsible and hardworking. For this nation, the concept of "jigit" is the pride of the people, a person who, at all costs, defends the honor of his fellow tribesman or his own.
In the appearance of the Kazakhs, there is still a clear division into "white" and "black". In the modern world, this has long lost its meaning, but the remnants of the old concepts are still preserved. A feature of the appearance of any Kazakh is that he can simultaneously look like both a European and a Chinese.
Turks
The Turkic group of languages includes Turkish. It so happened historically that Turkey has always closely cooperated with Russia. And these relations were not always peaceful. Byzantium, and later the Ottoman Empire, began its existence simultaneously with Kievan Rus. Even then there were the first conflicts for the right to rule the Black Sea. Over time, this enmity intensified, which largely influenced the relationship between Russians and Turks.
Turks are very peculiar. First of all, this can be seen in some of their features. They are hardy, patient and completely unpretentious ineveryday life. The behavior of the representatives of the nation is very cautious. Even if they are angry, they will never express their dissatisfaction. But then they can hold a grudge and take revenge. In serious matters, the Turks are very cunning. They can smile in the face, and plot intrigues behind their backs for their own benefit.
The Turks took their religion very seriously. Severe Muslim laws prescribed every step in the life of a Turk. For example, they could kill an unbeliever and not be punished for it. Another trait associated with this feature is a hostile attitude towards non-Muslims.
Conclusion
Turkic-speaking peoples are the largest ethnic group on Earth. The descendants of the ancient Turks settled on all continents, but most of them live in the indigenous territory - in the Altai Mountains and in the south of Siberia. Many peoples managed to preserve their identity within the borders of independent states.
