Western Yugur

Turkic (Siberian)

FamilyTurkic (Siberian) Speakers~3.6–5K L1 (critically endangered) ScriptUnwritten in native tradition; Latin romanization used in scholarship (Roos 2000). Speakers otherwise read/write Chinese. CountriesChina Official inNot official; regional/minority language in China with no official status

Western Yugur (also Saryg Yugur) is a Siberian Turkic language spoken by roughly 3,600–5,000 Yugur people in Sunan Yugur Autonomous County, Gansu, China. It is genealogically unrelated to Eastern Yugur, the Mongolic language spoken by another part of the same ethnic group, and is also distinct from modern Uyghur. Western Yugur is agglutinative, normally uses SOV word order, and preserves several archaic Turkic features while also showing long contact with Mongolic, Tibetan, and Chinese. It has no widely used native writing standard; scholarly works use Latin transcription, while speakers generally read and write Chinese. Intergenerational transmission is weakening, so the language is classified as threatened or shifting.

Where it is spoken

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87 core words in Western Yugur

Water

su

su

Fire

ot

ot

Sun

kün

kyn

Moon

aj

aj

Star

jɨltɨs

jɯltɯs

Night

tün

tyn

Rain

jaɣmər

jɑɣmər

Snow

qar

qar

Wind

jil

jil

Earth

torvaq

torβɑq

Stone

tas

tɑs

Mountain

taɣ

taɣ

Sea

taley

talej

Mother

ana

ana

Father

ača

atʃa

I

men

men

You

sen

sen

We

mɨs

mɯs

Name

at

at

Person

kise

kise

Head

paš

paʃ

Eye

köz

køz

Ear

qulaq

qulaq

Nose

qaŋrïq

qaŋrɯq

Mouth

aɣïs

aɣɯs

Tooth

tis

tis

Tongue

tel

tel

Hand

elïɣ

eliɣ

Foot

azaq

ɑzɑq

Heart

jörek

jørek

Bone

sɨmɨq

sɯmɯq

Blood

qan

qan

Love

—

—

Tree

terik

terik

Dog

ɨʂt

ɯʂt

Cat

—

—

Fish

paluq

pɑˈluq

Bird

qus

qus

Egg

oja

oja

House

jü

jy

Milk

süt

syt

Honey

bal

bal

Salt

tuz

tuz

Iron

temïr

temɯr

Eat

ji

ji

Drink

ɨš

ɯʃ

Sleep

uzu

uzu

One

per

per

Two

iške

iʃke

Three

üš

yʃ

Four

tört

tørt

Five

pes

pes

Hundred

jüz

jyz

Hello

—

—

Thank you

—

—

Good

jaqšɨ

jɑqʃɯ

New

jaŋï

jaŋɯ

Red

qïzïl

qɯˈzɯl

White

aq

ɑq

Black

qara

qɑˈrɑ

Green

jahsïl

jɑhˈsɯl

Sources

Words compared

Compared with languages in the same classification: Turkic (Siberian)

Meaning Western YugurKarakhanidNogaiOld TurkicTofaKumykShor
Water su /su/ suw /suw/ сув /suw/ 𐰽𐰆𐰉 /sub/ суғ /suɣ/ сув /suw/ суғ /suɣ/
Fire ot /ot/ ot /ot/ от /ot/ 𐰆𐱃 /ot/ от /ot/ от /ot/ от /ot/
Sun kün /kyn/ kün /kyn/ куьн /kyn/ 𐰚𐰇𐰤 /kyn/ хүн /xyn/ гюн /ɡyn/ кӱн /kyn/
Moon aj /aj/ ay /aj/ ай /aj/ 𐰀𐰖 /aj/ ай /aj/ ай /aj/ ай /aj/
Star jɨltɨs /jɯltɯs/ yulduz /julduz/ юлдыз /juldɯz/ 𐰖𐰆𐰞𐱃𐰆𐰕 /jultuz/ сылтыс /sɯltɯs/ юлдуз /julduz/ чылтыс /tʃɯltɯs/
Night tün /tyn/ tün /tyn/ кеше /keʃe/ 𐱅𐰇𐰤 /tyn/ тӱн /tyn/ гече /ɡetʃe/ тӱн /tyn/
Rain jaɣmər /jɑɣmər/ yağmur /jaɣmur/ ямгыр /jamˈɡɯr/ — — янгур /jaŋˈur/ нағбур /naɣˈbur/
Snow qar /qar/ qar /qar/ кар /qar/ 𐰴𐰺 /qar/ ӄар /qar/ къар /qar/ қар /qar/
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