The official history says that the Turkic language arose 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 a certain proto-language spoken by all the inhabitants of Eurasia, as in the legend of the Tower of Babel. The main phenomenon of Turkic vocabulary is that it has not practically changed over the five millennia of its existence. The ancient writings of the Sumerians will still be as clear to the Kazakhs as modern books.
Spread
The Turkic language group is very numerous. If you look territorially, people speaking similar languages live like this: in the west, the border begins with Turkey, in the east - the Xinjiang Autonomous Okrug of China, in the north - the East Siberian Sea and in the south - Khorasan.
Currently, the approximate number of people who speak Turkic 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. What languages stand out in this group, we will consider further. The main ones: Turkish, Azerbaijani, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Karakalpak, Uigur, Tatar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Balkar, Karachay, Kumyk, Nogai, Tuva, Khakass, Yakut and others.
Ancient Turkic-speaking peoples
We know that a Turkic group of languages spread very widely throughout Eurasia. The peoples saying so were called simply in ancient times - the Türks. Their main activity was cattle breeding and agriculture. But one should not perceive all modern peoples of the Turkic language group as descendants of an ancient ethnos. After millennia, their blood mixed with the blood of other ethnic groups in Eurasia, and now there are simply no indigenous Turks.
The ancient peoples of this group include:
- Turkuts - tribes that settled in the Altai mountains in the 5th century AD;
- Pechenegs - arose at the end of the 9th century and inhabited the region between Kievan Rus, Hungary, Alania and Mordovia;
- Polovtsy - the Pechenegs were supplanted by their appearance; they were very freedom-loving and aggressive;
- Huns - arose in the II-IV centuries and managed to create a huge state from the Volga to the Rhine, Avars and Hungarians went from them;
- Bulgars - such peoples as the Chuvashs, Tatars, Bulgarians, Karachays, Balkars came from these ancient tribes.
- Khazars - huge tribes who managed to create their own state and oust the Huns;
- Oghuz Turks - the ancestors of the Turkmens, Azerbaijanis, lived in Seljukia;
- 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 in minor changes. We offer you the most common option:
- Bulgarian group. The only existing representative is the Chuvash language.
- The Yakut group is the easternmost of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Residents speak Yakut and Dolgan dialects.
- South Siberian - in this group are the languages of peoples living mainly within the borders of the Russian Federation in southern Siberia.
- Southeast, or Karluk. Examples are Uzbek and Uyghur.
- The northwestern or Kypchak group is represented by a large number of nationalities, many of which live in their own independent territory, for example, Tatars, Kazakhs, and Kyrgyz.
- Southwest, or Oguz. The languages included in the group are Turkmen, Salar, and Turkish.
Next, we consider what peoples of the Turkic language group live in the territory of the Russian Federation.
Yakuts
On its territory, the local population calls itself simply - Sakha. Hence the name of the region - the Republic of Sakha. Some representatives also settled in other neighboring areas. Yakuts are the easternmost of the peoples of the Turkic language group. Culture and traditions were borrowed in ancient times from tribes living in the central steppe part of Asia.
Khakasy
For this people, a region is defined - the Republic of Khakassia. Here is the largest contingent of Khakasses - about 52 thousand people. A few thousand more moved to live in Tula and the Krasnoyarsk Territory.
Shors
This nationality reached its greatest numbers in the 17th-18th centuries. Now it is a small ethnic group that can be found only in the south of the Kemerovo region. Today the number is very small, about 10 thousand people.
Tuvans
Tuvans are usually divided into three groups, differing among themselves in some 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, 762 people were found in several villages of the Irkutsk region.
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 others.
Dolgans
A small group living in the northern regions of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug. They even have their own municipal district - Taimyr Dolgan-Nenets. To date, only 7.5 thousand people remain representatives of the Dolgans.
Altai people
The Turkic group of languages includes the vocabulary 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
Today, there are six separate independent states, whose nationality is the indigenous Turkic population. First of all, it 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 the same way.
Uigurs have their own autonomous okrug. 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. Indeed, the Kyrgyz or Kyrgyz are the most ancient representatives of the Turks living in Eurasia. The first mention of the Kyrgyz found in 1 thousand BC. e. Almost throughout its history, the nation did not have its own sovereign territory, but at the same time managed to maintain its identity and culture. The Kirghiz even have such a concept of “ashar”, meaning collaboration, close cooperation and unity.
The Kyrgyz have long lived in the sparsely populated territories. This could not but affect some features of the character. These people are extremely hospitable. When a new man arrived in the settlement before, he told the news that no one could have heard before. For this, the guest was awarded the best treats. Holy venerable guests accepted and still.
Kazakhs
A Turkic language group could not exist without Kazakhs. This is the largest Turkic people living not only in the state of the same name, but also around the world.
The folk customs of the Kazakhs are very severe. Children from childhood are brought up in strict rules, taught to be responsible and hardworking. For this nation, the concept of "dzhigit" is the pride of the people, a person, at all costs protecting the honor of his fellow tribe or his own.
In the appearance of the Kazakhs, there is still a clear division into "white" and "black". In the modern world, this has long lost its significance, but the remnants of old concepts are still preserved. The peculiarity of the appearance of any Kazakh is that at the same time it can be similar to both a European and a Chinese.
Turks
The Turkic language group includes Turkish. So historically, Turkey has always worked closely with Russia. And not always these relations were peaceful. Byzantium, and later the Ottoman Empire, began to exist simultaneously with Kievan Rus. Already then there were the first conflicts for the right to rule in the Black Sea. Over time, this enmity intensified, which greatly influenced the relationship between Russians and Turks.
Turks are very peculiar. First of all, this can be seen in some of their features. They are hardy, patient and completely unpretentious in everyday life. The behavior of representatives of the nation is very cautious. Even if angry, they will never express their displeasure. But then they can harbor anger and take revenge. In serious matters, the Turks are very insidious. They can smile in the face, and behind intrigues to plot for their own benefit.
Turks took their religion very seriously. Severe Muslim laws prescribed every step in the life of a Turk. For example, they could kill an unbeliever and not be punished for it. Another feature is associated with this feature - a hostile attitude towards non-Muslims.
Conclusion
Turkic-speaking peoples are the largest ethnic group on Earth. The descendants of the ancient Turks settled on all continents, but most of all they live in the indigenous territory - in the Altai mountains and in the south of Siberia. Many peoples have managed to maintain their identity within the borders of independent states.