SOME USEFUL PHRASES IN UYGHUR FIVE REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD

LEARN MORE ABOUT UYGHURS

UYGHUR
.‫ مېنىڭ ئىسمىم جون‬،‫ياخشىمۇسىز‬
[jɑχˈʃɪmusɪz mɛˈnɪŋ ɪsˈmɪm ʤɑn] AND THEIR LANGUAGE
/Yakh-shimusiz, mening ismim Jon./ 1. Uyghur is spoken natively by over 11 million
Hi. My name is John. worldwide, mainly in the Xinjiang Uyghur
‫ئىسمىڭىز نېمە؟‬ Autonomous Region, but in other Central
[ˈɪsmɪŋɪz nɪˈmɛ] Asia countries as well, specifically Kazakhstan
/Ismingiz nime?/ and Uzbekistan.
What is your name?
2. As a member of the Altaic language family,
‫قانداق ئەھۋالىڭىز؟‬ Uyghur shares structural similarities to other
[qɑnˈdɑq ɛhˈwɑlɪŋɪz] Turkic languages such as vowel harmony and
/Qandaq eh-walingiz?/ subject–object–verb word order, and it is a
How are you doing? gateway to learning other Turkic languages,
such as Chaghatay.
.‫قانداق ئەھۋالىڭىز؟ مەن ئىندىيانادىن‬
[sɪz qɛyɛrˈdɪn mɛn ɪndiˈɑnɑdɪn] 3. Uyghur is the only major Turkic language to
/Siz qeyerdin? Men Indianadin./ still predominately use a Perso-Arabic writing
Where are you from? I am from Indiana. system.
‫ئازراق چاي ئىچەمسىز؟‬ 4. The Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of
[ɑzˈrɑq ʧɑɪ ˈɪʧɛmsɪz] the People’s Republic of China is the largest
/Azraq chay ichemsiz?/ Chinese administrative division and spans
Would you like some tea? 642,800 sq mi.
.‫ئېتىڭىز بەك چىرايلىقكەن‬ 5. Uyghur cuisine is a perfect blend of Central
[ˈɛtɪŋɪz bɛk ʧɪˈrɑɪlɪqkɛn] Asia and Chinese influeces. Using lots of
/Etingiz bek chirayliqken./ seasonings, fresh vegetables an assortment of
You have a beautiful horse. meats, including beef, chicken, fish, goose,
‫ھاجەتخانا قەيەردە؟‬ mutton, and camel!
[hɑˈʤɛt•χɑˌnɑ ˈqɛjɛrdɛ]
/Hajet-khana qeyerde?/
Where is the bathroom? ABOUT US
!‫كۆپ رەھمەت‬ The Center for Languages of the Central Asian Region
(CeLCAR) at Indiana University develops materials for
[køp rɛχˈmɛt] learning and teaching a wide variety of Central Asian
/Köp rekh-met!/ languages.
Thank you very much. For more information, go to www.iub.edu/~celcar.

!‫خوش‬ 718 Eigenmann Hall, 1900 East 10th Street,

[χoʃ]
/Khosh!/
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47406
Phone: (812) 856-1230 Fax: (812) 856-1206 Center for Languages of the
Central Asian Region (CeLCAR)
Good-bye. E-mail : [email protected]
Special thanks goes to Niyaz Kurban Web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~celcar
for his contributions to this pamphlet.
WHO ARE THE UYGHURS? adopted many loanwords (mostly nouns) from
Persian, as well. Many words of Arabic origin have
exchanging between Asian and European cultures.
Traditionally, Uyghurs are a very family and
As one of the oldest Central Asian Turkic people, also entered the language directly through Islamic community oriented society. Each individual
the Uyghurs primarily live in Xinjiang Uyghur literature after the introduction of Islam around is identified with reference
Autonomous Region, which is situated in the north the mid-10th century. Russian and Chinese are the to his or her family. And
western corner of the People’s greatest influence in more recent times, however a Uyghur neighborhoods are
Republic of China (PRC). As the number of loanwords of European origin have also traditionally divided into
largest provincial unit in China, reached Uyghur through Russia’s influence over the mähällä, a primary source of
the region also makes up about region during receent modern history. social services for its residents.
one-sixth of the PRC’s total Furthermore, Members of
area. Today, approximately 10 WHAT ALPHABET DOES UYGHUR USE? the mähällä call on each
million Uyghurs, who make the other often for help and to
largest non-Chinese population Until the late 8th century, Uyghur was written using the organize traditional cultural
of China, live in the area as a Orkhon, or Old Turkic, alphabet. However, between the events and ceremonies for the
bumper between China and 8th and the 16th centuries, Uyghur was written using community.
Central Asian states. Some other an alphabet system known as Old Uyghur, derived from
Uyghur diasporas communities are also found in Sogdian (an Iranian language formerly spoken in today’s Uyghurs value the extremely rich cultural heritage
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia Uzbekistan and Tajikistan). Unlike Sogdian, which from their Central Asian ancestors. Exceptional
which counted a population about more than one was written from right to left in horizontal lines, the hospitality is a long lasting tradition among
million. Old Uyghur alphabet was written from left to right in Uyghurs for which they are continually praised by
vertical columns. Uyghur has also been written with the all visitors. The Uyghurs are also well-known for
their talents in singing and dancing. The Twelve
WHAT KIND OF LANGUAGE IS UYGHUR? Syriac alphabet, but mostly
in Christian documents. The Muqams is the national oral epic of Uyghurs and
later Mongolian vertical script includes performances of classical and folkloric
Uyghur is an Altaic language belonging to the song, music, and dance. In fact, Uyghur culture
Karluk subdivision of the Turkic language family. was developed as an adoption
of the Uyghur script to write has dozens of traditional musical instruments,
It is spoken natively by approximately 11 million including different kids of strings, winds and
people worldwide (not counting those who speak the Mongolian language.
tambourines. Uyghur literature, which dates back
it as a second language) and is an official language From the 16th century to the Orkhon inscriptions, includes folktales,
of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), until the early 20th century, fables, jokes, poems, and proverbs. Other applied
along with Mandarin Chinese. However, due to Uyghur was written with a version of the Arabic arts for which Uyghurs are well-known include
historical reasons, Mandarin Chinese is not spoken alphabet known as “Chagatay”. During the 20th century metal engraving, wood carving, gemstone cutting,
widely in southern Xinjiang. Nowadays, the Uyghur a number of versions of the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets embroidery, and weaving. Traditional applied
language is also used as lingua franca even among were adopted to write Uyghur as the direct result of the arts are still highly valued, and used in people’s
non-Uyghurs, such as Shibes, Wakhis, and Tajiks of continuous political changes over the region. However everyday life.
Xinjiang, and even by some Russian and Daurs. the Latin alphabet was unpopular, and in 1987 the
Arabic script was reinstated as the official script for Traditional Uyghur cuisine typically
Uyghur is an agglutinative language with a subject includes lots of roasted
object verb-word order. It has vowel harmony, which Uyghur in China. However, a Cyrillic based Uyghur
alphabet is still used among the Uyghurs in other Central mutton, roasted fish,
follows pretty consistent rules. Nouns are inflected and rice. Some signature
for number and case, but not gender and definiteness Asian countries, along with the partial employment of
Arabic script. dishes are läghmän (a
like in many other languages. There are two numbers noodle dish), pilaf (a
such as singular and plural, and six different cases
similar to all other Turkic languages. Verbs are WHAT IS UYGHUR CULTURE LIKE? rice dish), and kebabs
(seasoned and skewered
conjugated for tenses, voices, aspects, and mood. meat roasted on a grill).
The core lexicon of the Uyghur language is of Turkic Due to its location along the route of the ancient Because the majority
origin, but due to the different kinds of language Silk Road, the Uyghur region became a crossroad of Uyghurs are Sunni Muslim, the food is
contact through the history of the region, it has for trade and commercial exchange between predominately halal.
the East and West, and therefore a melding and