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Ethnologue > Web version > Country index > Asia > Turkey (Asia) > Turkish

Turkish

A language of Turkey (Asia)

ISO 639-3: tur

Population	46,300,000 in Turkey (1987). Population total all countries: 50,750,120.
Region	Widespread in Turkey as L1 or L2. Also in Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Netherlands, Romania, Russian Federation (Asia), Serbia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uzbekistan.
Alternate names	Anatolian, Türkçe, Türkisch
Dialects	Danubian, Eskisehir, Razgrad, Dinler, Rumelian, Karamanli, Edirne, Gaziantep, Urfa. Danubian is west; other dialects east.
Classification	Altaic, Turkic, Southern, Turkish
Language use	Official language. Karamanli are Turkish-speaking Greeks.
Language development	Fully developed. Bible: 1827–1941.
Writing system	Latin script, used since 1928 or 1929.
Comments	SOV. Muslim.

Also spoken in:

Bulgaria

Language name	Turkish
Population	747,000 in Bulgaria (2001 census).
Region	South, Kurdzhali Province and neighboring areas, along the Danube; various regions east.
Alternate names	Osmanli, Turki
Dialects	Danubian, Razgrad, Dinler, Macedonian Turkish.
Comments	The Turkish language is gradually being replaced by Bulgarian [bul], although Islam and ethnic identity remain strong. Natural growth has been balanced by emigration to Turkey. Muslim.

Cyprus

Language name	Turkish
Population	177,000 in Cyprus (1995).
Region	Nearly all in north Cyprus.
Language map	Cyprus
Alternate names	Osmanli
Language use	National language.
Comments	Muslim.

Greece

Language name	Turkish
Population	128,000 in Greece (1976 WA).
Region	Thrace and Aegean regions.
Language map	Greece and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Alternate names	Osmanli
Comments	Turkish population in Greece remains fairly constant, because of steady emigration to Turkey. Muslim, Christian.

Macedonia

Language name	Turkish
Population	200,000 in Macedonia (1982).
Language map	Greece and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Alternate names	Osmanli
Dialects	Macedonian, Dinler.
Comments	Muslim (Sunni and Bektashi).

Romania

Language name	Turkish
Population	28,700 in Romania (2002 census).
Region	Southeast along the Danube.
Alternate names	Osmanli
Dialects	Danubian.
Comments	Muslim.

Uzbekistan

Language name	Turkish
Population	197,000 in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan (based on 1979 census, not counting 56,000 ‘Turks of Fergana’, who speak an Uzbek dialect).
Alternate names	Osmanli
Dialects	Danubian, Eskisehir, Razgrad, Dinler, Rumelian, Karamanli, Edirne, Gaziantep, Urfa.
Language use	Meskhetian Georgians, Khemshel Armenians, and Kurds in Uzbekistan speak Turkish [tur]. Also use Azerbaijani [azj].
Comments	Muslim (Sunni).

Entries from the SIL Bibliography about this language:

Academic Publications

HAGBERG, Lawrence R., author. 2006. An autosegmental theory of stress.  

KAYE, Alan S., author. 2001. Review of: The Turkish language reform: a catastrophic success, by Geoffrey Lewis.

WATTERS, James K., author. 1987. An investigation of Turkish clause linkage.

WATTERS, James K., author. 1993. "An investigation of Turkish clause linkage."