This article is about a major branch of the Turkic languages. For other uses, see
Oghuz.
The Oghuz languages are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family, spoken by approximately 108 million people. The three languages with the largest number of speakers are Turkish, Azerbaijani and Turkmen, which, combined, account for more than 95% of speakers of this sub-branch.
Quick Facts Ethnicity, Geographic distribution ...
Close
Kara-Khanid scholar Mahmud al-Kashgari, who lived in the 11th century, stated that the Oghuz language was the simplest among all Turkic languages.[1]
Swedish turcologist and linguist Lars Johanson notes that Oghuz languages form a clearly discernible and closely related bloc within the Turkic language family as the cultural and political history of the speakers of Oghuz languages has linked them more closely up to the modern age. Western Oghuz languages are highly mutually intelligible with each other and the Crimean Tatar language, which, though genetically Kipchak Turkic rather than Oghuz, has been heavily influenced by Turkish over several centuries.[2]
The Oghuz languages currently spoken have been classified into three categories based on their features and geography: Western, Eastern, and Southern.
Two further languages, Crimean Tatar and Urum, are Kipchak languages, but have been heavily influenced by the Oghuz languages.
The extinct Pecheneg language was probably Oghuz, but as it is poorly documented, it is difficult to further classify it within the Oghuz family; it is therefore usually excluded from classification.[5]
The Oghuz languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of the features are shared with other Turkic languages, and others are unique to the Oghuz family.
Swedish turcologist and linguist Lars Johanson notes that Oghuz languages form a clearly discernible and closely related bloc within the Turkic language family as the cultural and political history of the speakers of Oghuz languages has linked them more closely up to the modern age.[6]
Unique features
- Voicing of stops (e.g. Anatolian Turkish gök < Ottoman گوك gök < Proto-Turkic kȫk, "sky"; Anatolian dağ < Ottoman طاغ dağ < PTrk tāg "mountain")
- Loss of q/ɣ after ɯ/u (e.g. quru < quruq, "dry", sarɯ < sarɯɣ, "yellow")
- Change in form of participial from -gan to -an
The remarkable similarity between Oghuz languages may be demonstrated through a sentence, which employs a verbal noun in the dative as a link between the main verb and auxiliary. This feature is universally shared by all Oghuz languages.[7] Turcologist Julian Rentzsch uses this particular sentence in his work titled "Uniformity and diversity in Turkic inceptive constructions":[8]
English: ‘The dead man rose, sat down and began to speak.’
- Turkish: Ölü doğrulup oturdu ve konuşmaya başladı.
- Turkmen: Öli ýerinden galyp oturdy-da, geplemäge başlady.
- Azerbaijani: Ölü durub oturdu və danışmağa başladı.
- Khorezmian turkic: Öli turıp otırdı dan, gəpləməyə balada.
- Gagauz: Ölü oturdu da bašladï lafetmää.
D. T. Potts, (2014), Nomadism in Iran: From Antiquity to the Modern Era, p. 177
Robbeets, Martine (2020). The Oxford Guide to the Transeurasian Languages. Oxford University Press. p. 393.
Danver, Steven (2015). The Native People of the World, An Encyclopedia of Groups, Cultures and Contemporary Issues, Volume 1–3. Routledge. p. 565. ISBN 9780765682222. "Historically, all of the Western or Oghuz Turks have been called Turkmen or Turkomen... In the 7th century C.E., they migrated from their ancestral homeland in the Altay mountains westward..." Баскаков, Н. А. Тюркские языки, Москва 1960, с. 126–131.
Julian Rentzsch, "Uniformity and diversity in Turkic inceptive constructions", Johannes Gutenberg University, p. 270
Julian Rentzsch, "Uniformity and diversity in Turkic inceptive constructions", Johannes Gutenberg University, pp. 270–271