4,500,000 (1995 official press). Formerly part of USSR. Capital: Ashgabat. 188,417 square miles. Literacy rate 98%. Also includes Armenian 32,000, North Azerbaijani 33,000, Bashkir 2,607, Belorussian 5,289, Brahui, Dargwa 1,599, Erzya 3,488, Western Farsi 8,000, Georgian 1,047, Karakalpak 2,542, Kazakh 80,000, Korean 3,493, Kurmanji 2,933, Lak 1,590, Lezgi 10,400, Lithuanian 224, Osetin 1,887, Rumanian 1,561, Russian 349,000, Tabassaran 177, Tajiki 1,255, Tatar 40,434, Udi 20, Ukrainian 37,118, Northern Uzbek 317,000. Data accuracy estimate: B. Muslim, Jewish (3,494), Christian. The number of languages listed for Turkmenistan is 3. Of those, 2 are living languages and 1 is extinct.
BALOCHI, WESTERN (BELUDZNI, BELUJI, BELUDZHI, BALUCHI, BALOCI, BALUCI) [BGN] 28,000 in Turkmenistan (1993); 4,842 in Tajikistan; 200,000 in Afghanistan (1979); 451,000 in Iran; 1,000,000 in Pakistan (1995); 1,670,000 in all countries. Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Northwestern, Baluchi. Turkmen is used as the literary language in Turkmenistan. Distinct from Eastern and Southern Balochi. Muslim. Bible portions 198$. Work in progress.
CHAGATAI (CHAGHATAY, JAGATAI) [CGT] Altaic, Turkic, Eastern. Extinct.
TURKMEN (TURKOMANS, TURKMENLER, TURKMANIAN, TRUKHMEN, TRUKHMENY, TURKMANI) [TCK] 3,430,000 in Turkmenistan (1995), 99% of the ethnic group of 3,465,000 (1995); 3,265 in Kazakhstan; 352 in Kyrghyzstan; 13,991 in Tajikistan; 228,000 in Uzbekistan; 1,000,000 in Iran (1995); 227,000 in Iraq; 500,000 in Afghanistan (1993); 925 in Turkey (1982); several thousand refugees in Pakistan; 5,397,500 in all countries. Also in USA and Germany. Altaic, Turkic, Southern, Turkmenian. Dialects: NOKHURLI, ANAULI, KHASARLI, NEREZIM, YOMUD, TEKE (TEKKE), GOKLEN, SALYR, SARYQ, ESARI, CAWDUR. The literary language is based on the dialect of the Teke; some dialects differ from it. Strong literary tradition. Cyrillic script used in Turkmenistan. 50% claim a good knowledge of Russian. Radio broadcasts in Turkmen in Turkmenistan and Iran. The so-called 'Turkmen' in Syria, and possibly Iraq and Jordan, actually speak an ancient form of Turkmen; so-called 'Turkmen' in Tibet may speak a different Turkic language. Dictionaries. Grammar. National language. Sand desert, narrow oases. Agriculturalists: cotton; stock breeders: sheep; carpet weavers; traditionally pastoralists: sheep; Gas, oil workers. Sunni Muslim. NT 1994. Bible portions 1880-1994.
Part of the Ethnologue, 13th Edition, Barbara F. Grimes, Editor.
Copyright © 1996, Summer Institute of Linguistics, Inc. All rights reserved.
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