Khakas language
Encyclopedia
Khakas is a Turkic language
spoken by the Khakas
people, who mainly live in the southern Siberian Khakas Republic, or Khakassia
, in Russia
. The Khakas number 75,000, of whom 20,000 speak the Khakas language, most of whom are bilingual in Russian
.
Traditionally, the Khakas language is divided into several closely related dialects, which take their names from the different tribes: Sagay, Kacha
, Koybal, Beltir, and Kyzyl
. In fact, these names represent former administrative units rather than tribal or linguistic groups. The people speaking all these dialects simply referred to themselves as Tadar (i.e. Tatar). Shor, which was later on recognised as a Khakas dialect, is spoken by people who originally came from Shoria
, currently the Kemerovo
region.
The first major recordings of the Khakas language originate from the middle of the 19th century. The Finnish
linguist Matthias Castrén
, who travelled through northern and Central Asia between 1845–1849, wrote a treatise on the Koybal dialect, and recorded an epic. Wilhelm Radloff traveled the southern Siberia
n region extensively between 1859 and 1870. The result of his research was, among others, published in his four-volume dictionary, and in his ten volume series of Turkic
texts. The second volume contains his Khakas materials, which were provided with a German translation. The ninth volume, provided with a Russian translation, was prepared by Radloff's student Katanov, who was a Sagay himself, and contains further Khakas materials.
The Khakas literary language, which was developed only after the Russian Revolution of 1917
, is based on the central dialects Sagay and Kacha; the Beltir dialect has largely been assimilated by Sagay, and the Koybal dialect by Kacha.
In 1924, a Cyrillic alphabet
was devised, which was substituted by a Latin alphabet
in 1929, and replaced by a Cyrillic alphabet again in 1939.
The Khakas language is part of the northeastern conglomerate of Turkic languages, which includes Shor
, Chulym
, Tuva
, Tofa
, Sakha (Yakut), and Dolgan
.
Cyrillic alphabet:
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
spoken by the Khakas
Khakas
The Khakas, or Khakass , are a Turkic-speaking people, who live in Russia, in the republic of Khakassia in southern Siberia. They speak the Khakas language.The origin of the Khakas people is disputed...
people, who mainly live in the southern Siberian Khakas Republic, or Khakassia
Khakassia
The Republic of Khakassia or Khakasiya is a federal subject of Russia located in south-central Siberia. Its capital city is Abakan, which is also the largest city in the republic...
, in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The Khakas number 75,000, of whom 20,000 speak the Khakas language, most of whom are bilingual in Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
.
Traditionally, the Khakas language is divided into several closely related dialects, which take their names from the different tribes: Sagay, Kacha
Kacha
Kacha may refer to:*Kacha , an urban-type settlement in Crimea, Ukraine*Kacha , a mythological sage in Hinduism*Kacha Bira, one of the 77 woredas in the Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Region of Ethiopia...
, Koybal, Beltir, and Kyzyl
Kyzyl
-External links:*** in Kyzyl, Russia*...
. In fact, these names represent former administrative units rather than tribal or linguistic groups. The people speaking all these dialects simply referred to themselves as Tadar (i.e. Tatar). Shor, which was later on recognised as a Khakas dialect, is spoken by people who originally came from Shoria
Mountain Shoria
Mountain Shoria, Mountainous Shoria, or Gornaya Shoria is a territory in southern Siberia, Russia, east of the Altay Mountains. It is the southern part of Kemerovo Oblast. The indigenous population are the Shors people....
, currently the Kemerovo
Kemerovo Oblast
Kemerovo Oblast , also known as Kuzbass after the Kuznetsk Basin, is a federal subject of Russia , located in southwestern Siberia, where the West Siberian Plain meets the South Siberian mountains...
region.
The first major recordings of the Khakas language originate from the middle of the 19th century. The Finnish
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
linguist Matthias Castrén
Matthias Castrén
Matthias Alexander Castrén was a Finnish ethnologist and philologist.Castrén was born at Tervola, in Northern Finland, on the 20th of November...
, who travelled through northern and Central Asia between 1845–1849, wrote a treatise on the Koybal dialect, and recorded an epic. Wilhelm Radloff traveled the southern Siberia
Siberia
Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
n region extensively between 1859 and 1870. The result of his research was, among others, published in his four-volume dictionary, and in his ten volume series of Turkic
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...
texts. The second volume contains his Khakas materials, which were provided with a German translation. The ninth volume, provided with a Russian translation, was prepared by Radloff's student Katanov, who was a Sagay himself, and contains further Khakas materials.
The Khakas literary language, which was developed only after the Russian Revolution of 1917
Russian Revolution of 1917
The Russian Revolution is the collective term for a series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. The Tsar was deposed and replaced by a provisional government in the first revolution of February 1917...
, is based on the central dialects Sagay and Kacha; the Beltir dialect has largely been assimilated by Sagay, and the Koybal dialect by Kacha.
In 1924, a 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 devised, which was substituted by a Latin alphabet
Latin alphabet
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome...
in 1929, and replaced by a Cyrillic alphabet again in 1939.
The Khakas language is part of the northeastern conglomerate of Turkic languages, which includes Shor
Shor language
The Shor language is a Turkic language spoken by about 10,000 people in the Kemerovo Province in south-central Siberia. In the history of the Turkic states and China, Shors played an important role, mostly connected with their offshoot Shatuo. Presently, not all ethnic Shors speak Shor, and the...
, Chulym
Chulym language
Chulym , also known as Chulim, Chulym-Turkic, Küerik, Chulym Tatar or Melets Tatar is the language of the Chulyms. The name the people use to refer to themselves, and also to their language, is Ös, literally ‘self’ or ‘own’...
, Tuva
Tuvan language
Tuvan , also known as Tuvinian, Tyvan or Tuvin, is a Turkic language spoken in the Republic of Tuva in south-central Siberia in Russia. The language has borrowed a great number of roots from the Mongolian language and more recently from the Russian language...
, Tofa
Tofa language
Tofa, also known as Tofalar or Karagas, is one of the Turkic languages spoken in Russia's Irkutsk Oblast by the Tofalar. It is a moribund language: in 2001 only 28 people were reported to speak it....
, Sakha (Yakut), and Dolgan
Dolgan language
The Dolgan language is a Turkic language with around 5,000 speakers, spoken in the Taymyr Peninsula in Russia. Its speakers are known as the Dolgans.-Classification:...
.
Orthography
Latin alphabet:| A a | B b | C c | Ç ç | D d | Ә ә | F f | G g |
| I i | Į I I is the ninth letter and a vowel in the basic modern Latin alphabet.-History:In Semitic, the letter may have originated in a hieroglyph for an arm that represented a voiced pharyngeal fricative in Egyptian, but was reassigned to by Semites, because their word for "arm" began with that sound... į |
J j | K k | L l | M m | N n | |
| O o | Ө ө | P p | R r | S s | Ş ş | T t | |
| U u | V v | X x | Y y | Z z | Ь ь |
Cyrillic alphabet:
| А а | Б б | В в | Г г | Ғ ғ | Д д | Е е | Ё ё |
| Ж ж | З з | И и | Й й | I i | К к | Л л | М м |
| Н н | Ң ң | О о | Ö ö | П п | Р р | С с | Т т |
| У у | Ф ф | Х х | Ц ц | Ч ч | Ш ш | ||
| Щ щ | Ъ ъ | Ы ы | Ь ь | Ә ә | Ю ю | Я я |