Gagauz language
Encyclopedia
The Gagauz language is a Turkic language, spoken by the Gagauz people
, and the official language of Gagauzia
, Moldova
. There are two dialects, Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi. This is a different language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish
.
. Beginning in 1957, the Cyrillic alphabet
was used. The current Gagauz alphabet
is a Latin-based alphabet, modelled after the
Turkish alphabet
, with the addition of two letters: ⟨ä⟩ to represent the sound of [æ] (as ⟨ə⟩ in Azeri
) and ⟨ț⟩ to represent the sound [ts] (as in Romanian/Moldovan
).
Gagauz people
The Gagauz people are Turkic speaking group living mostly in southern Moldova , southwestern Ukraine , south-eastern Romania and northeastern Bulgaria. Unlike most other Turkic speaking people, the Gagauz are predominantly Orthodox Christians...
, and the official language of Gagauzia
Gagauzia
Gagauzia , formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia , is an autonomous region of...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
. There are two dialects, Bulgar Gagauzi and Maritime Gagauzi. This is a different language from Balkan Gagauz Turkish
Balkan Gagauz Turkish language
Balkan Gagauz Turkish is a Turkic language spoken in European Turkey, Greece, and in the Kumanovo and Bitola areas of the Republic of Macedonia. Dialects include Gajal, Gerlovo Turk, Karamanli, Kyzylbash, Surguch, Tozluk Turk, Yuruk, and Macedonian Gagauz. This is a different language from Gagauz...
.
Alphabet
Originally, it used the Greek alphabetGreek alphabet
The Greek alphabet is the script that has been used to write the Greek language since at least 730 BC . The alphabet in its classical and modern form consists of 24 letters ordered in sequence from alpha to omega...
. Beginning in 1957, the Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic alphabet
The Cyrillic script or azbuka is an alphabetic writing system developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School...
was used. The current Gagauz alphabet
Gagauz alphabet
The modern Gagauz alphabet, used for the Gagauz language, is a 32-letter Latin alphabet modelled on the Turkish alphabet.Previously, Gagauz used the Greek and until 1996 the Cyrillic script.-Letters:...
is a Latin-based alphabet, modelled after the
Turkish alphabet
Turkish alphabet
The Turkish alphabet is a Latin alphabet used for writing the Turkish language, consisting of 29 letters, seven of which have been modified from their Latin originals for the phonetic requirements of the language. This alphabet represents modern Turkish pronunciation with a high degree of accuracy...
, with the addition of two letters: ⟨ä⟩ to represent the sound of [æ] (as ⟨ə⟩ in Azeri
Azerbaijani alphabet
In the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Azerbaijani alphabet refers to a Latin alphabet used for writing the Azerbaijani language. This superseded a previous versions based on Cyrillic and Arabic scripts....
) and ⟨ț⟩ to represent the sound [ts] (as in Romanian/Moldovan
Romanian alphabet
The Romanian alphabet is a modification of the Latin alphabet and consists of 31 letters:The letters Q , W , and Y were officially introduced in the Romanian alphabet in 1982, although they had been used earlier...
).
Cyrillic alphabet
А а | Ä ä | Б б | В в | Г г | Д д | Е е | Ё ё |
Ж ж | Ӂ ӂ | З з | И и | Й й | К к | Л л | М м |
Н н | О о | Ö ö | П п | Р р | С с | Т т | У у |
Ӱ ӱ | Ф ф | Х х | Ц ц | Ч ч | Ш ш | Щ щ | Ъ ъ |
Ы ы | Ь ь | Э э | Ю ю | Я я |
Latin alphabet
А а | Ä ä | B b | C c | Ç ç | D d | Е е | F f |
G g | H h | I ı | İ i | J j | K k | L l | M m |
N n | O o | Ö ö | Р р | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t |
Ț ț | U u | Ü ü | V v | Y y | Z z |
See also
- GagauziaGagauziaGagauzia , formally known as the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Găgăuzia , is an autonomous region of...
- Pecheneg languagePecheneg languagePecheneg language is the extinct Turkic language spoken by the Pechenegs in Eastern Europe.It is most likely a member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic family, but the poor documentation to it and the absence of any descendant languages of Pecheneg has prevented linguists from making a definite...
- Krymchak languageKrymchak languageThe Krymchak language is a Turkic language spoken in Crimea by the Krymchak people. It is often considered to be a Crimean Tatar dialect. The language is sometimes referred to as Judeo-Crimean Tatar....
- Turkish languageTurkish languageTurkish is a language spoken as a native language by over 83 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Northern Cyprus with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo,...
- Urum languageUrum languageUrum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand people who inhabit a few villages in the Southeastern Ukraine and in diaspora communities worldwide. The Urum language is often considered a variant of the Crimean Tatar language....
- Khakas languageKhakas languageKhakas is a Turkic language spoken by the Khakas people, who mainly live in the southern Siberian Khakas Republic, or Khakassia, in Russia...
- Ottoman Turkish languageOttoman Turkish languageThe Ottoman Turkish language or Ottoman language is the variety of the Turkish language that was used for administrative and literary purposes in the Ottoman Empire. It borrows extensively from Arabic and Persian, and was written in a variant of the Perso-Arabic script...
- Kumyk languageKumyk languageKumyk is a Turkic language, spoken by about 365,000 speakers in the Dagestan republic of Russian Federation....
- Qashqai languageQashqai languageQashqai is a Turkic language spoken by the Qashqai people, an ethnic group living mainly in the Fars region of Iran. Estimates of the number of Qashqai speakers vary. Ethnologue gives a figure of one and a half million...
Further reading
- Ulutaş, İsmail. 2004. Relative clauses in Gagauz syntax. Istanbul: Isis Press. ISBN 9754282838
- Shabashov A.V., 2002, Odessa, Astroprint, "Gagauzes: terms of kinship system and origin of the people", (Шабашов А.В., "Гагаузы: система терминов родства и происхождение народа")