Turkic group of languages: peoples

The 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 some kind of 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 - it practically has not changed for five millennia of its existence. The ancient writings of the Sumerians will still be as comprehensible to Kazakhs as modern books.

Spread

The Turkic language group is very numerous. If you look territorially, the people who communicate in similar languages live like this: in the west the border begins with Turkey, in the east by the autonomous region of China Xinjiang, in the north by the East Siberian Sea and in the south by Horasan.

Currently, the approximate number of people who own the Turkic language is 164 million, this number is almost equal to the entire population of Russia. At the moment, there are different opinions about how the group of Turkic languages is classified. Which languages stand out in this group, we will consider further. The main ones are: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Uighur, Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Balkarian, Karachai, Kumyk, Nogai, Tuvan, Khakass, Yakut and others.

Ancient Turkic-speaking peoples

We know that the Turkic group of languages is very widely spread across Eurasia. Peoples who say that in ancient times they were simply called Turks. Their main activity was cattle breeding and agriculture. But do not take all the modern peoples of the Turkic language group as descendants of the ancient ethnos. After thousands of years, their blood mingled with the blood of other ethnic groups in Eurasia, and now there are no native Turks.

The ancient peoples of this group are:

• Turkic people - tribes who settled in the mountainous Altai in the 5th century AD;
• Pechenegs - emerged at the end of the IX century and inhabited the area between Kievan Rus, Wengeria, Alanya and Mordovia;
• Polovtsy - by their appearance they drove out the Pechenegs, they were very freedom-loving and aggressive;
• Huns - emerged in the II-IV centuries and managed to create a huge state from the Volga to the Rhine, from them went the Avars and Hungarians;
• Bulgars - from these ancient tribes there were such peoples as Chuvash, Tatars, Bulgarians, Karachais, Balkars.
• Khazars - huge tribes that managed to create their own state and drive out the Huns;
• Turkic Oguzes - the ancestors of Turkmen, Azerbaijanis, lived in Seljuqia;
• 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 variant:

1. The Bulgarian group. The only existing representative is the Chuvash language.
2. The Yakut group is the easternmost of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Residents speak Yakut and Dolgan dialects.
3. South Siberian - this group represents the languages of peoples living mainly within the borders of the Russian Federation in the south of Siberia.
4. South-eastern, or Karluk. Examples are Uzbek and Uighur languages.
5. North-western, or Kypchak group - is represented by a large number of nationalities, many of whom live in their own independent territory, for example Tatars, Kazakhs, Kirghiz.
6. South-western, or Oguz. The languages of the group are Turkmen, Salarian, Turkish.

Next, let us consider which peoples of the Turkic language group live on the territory of the Russian Federation.

Yakutia

On its territory, the local population calls itself simply - saha. Hence the name of the region - the Republic of Sakha. Some representatives also settled in other neighboring areas. The Yakuts are the easternmost of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Culture and traditions were in ancient times borrowed from tribes living in the central steppe of Asia.

Khakasy

For this people the region is defined - the Republic of Khakassia. Here is the largest contingent of Khakassians - about 52 thousand people. A few thousand more moved to Tula and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.

Shorzi

The largest number of this nationality reached in the XVII-XVIII centuries. Now it is a small ethnos, which can be found only in the south of the Kemerovo region. To date, the number is very small, about 10 thousand people.

Tuvinians

Tuvintsev is divided into three groups, differing among themselves by certain features of the dialect. They inhabit the Republic of Tuva (Tuva). This is a few eastern of the peoples of the Turkic language group, living on the border with China.

Tofalars

This nationality has almost disappeared. According to the 2010 census, in some villages of the Irkutsk region 762 people were found.

Siberian Tatars

The eastern dialect of Tatar is a language that is considered to be national for Siberian Tatars. This is also a Turkic group of languages. The peoples of this group are densely settled throughout Russia. They can be found in rural areas of the Tyumen, Omsk, Novosibirsk and other areas.

Dolgan

A small group living in the northern regions of the Nenets Autonomous District. They even have their own municipal district - Taimyr Dolgano-Nenets. To date, the representatives of dolgans remained only 7.5 thousand people.

Altaians

The Turkic group of languages includes the lexicon of the population of the Altai Republic. Now in this area you can freely get acquainted with the culture and traditions of the ancient people.

Independent Turkic-speaking states

To date, there are six separate independent states, whose nationality is indigenous to the Turkic population. First of all, this is 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 on this territory.

Kyrgyz

The Turkic group of languages primarily includes Kyrgyz. And indeed, Kyrgyz or Kyrgyz are the most ancient representatives of the Turks who lived on the territory of Eurasia. The first mention of the Kirghiz is found in the thousand BC. E. Practically for all 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 the concept of "ashar", meaning joint work, close cooperation and rallying.

Kirghiz have long lived in steppe sparsely populated areas. This could not but affect some of the characteristics of the character. This people are extremely hospitable. When a new man came to the settlement, he told the news, which no one could hear before. For this guest was awarded the best treats. It is customary to honor the guests until now.

Kazakhs

The Turkic language group could not exist without the Kazakhs. This is the most numerous Turkic people, living not only in the homonymous state, but throughout the world.

Kazakh people's customs are very harsh. Children from childhood are brought up in strict rules, they are taught to be responsible and hardworking. For this nation, the concept of "dzhigit" is the pride of the people, a man who defends the honor of his fellow tribesman or his own, whatever happens.

In the guise of Kazakhs there is still a clear division into "white" and "black". In the modern world, this has long lost value, but the vestiges of the old concepts are still preserved. A feature of the appearance of any Kazakh is that it can simultaneously be similar to the European, and the Chinese.

The Turks

The Turkic group of languages includes Turkish. So historically, Turkey has always worked closely with Russia. And not always this relationship was 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 on the Black Sea. Over time, this enmity intensified, which in many ways affected the relationship between the Russians and the Turks.

The Turks are very peculiar. First of all, it can be seen from some of their features. They are hardy, patient and completely unpretentious in everyday life. Behavior in the representatives of the nation is very cautious. Even if they are angry, they will never express their displeasure. But then they can harbor anger and revenge. In serious matters, the Turks are very insidious. They can smile in the face, and behind the back to plot for their own benefit.

The Turks were very serious about their religion. Harsh Muslim laws prescribed every step in the life of the Turk. For example, they could kill an unbeliever and not be punished for that. This feature is connected with another feature - a hostile attitude towards non-Muslims.

Conclusion

Turkic-speaking peoples are the largest ethnic group on Earth. Descendants of ancient Turks settled on all continents, but most of all they live in the indigenous territory - in the mountainous Altai and in the south of Siberia. Many peoples managed to maintain their identity within the borders of independent states.