Southern Altai (also known as Oirot, Oyrot, Altai and Altai proper) is a
Turkic language spoken in the
Altai Republic
The Altai Republic (; russian: Респу́блика Алта́й, Respublika Altay, ; Altai: , ''Altay Respublika''), also known as Gorno-Altai Republic, and colloquially, and primarily referred to in Russian to distinguish from the neighbour ...
, a
federal subject of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...
located in
Southern Siberia
South Central Siberia is a geographical region north of the point where Russia, China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia come together.
Regions of Asia
North Asia
The Four Corners
At approximately , the borders of Russia, China, Mongolia and Kaz ...
on the border with
Mongolia
Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...
. The language has some mutual intelligibility with the
Northern Altai language, leading to the two being traditionally considered as a single language. According to modern classifications—at least since the middle of the 20th century—they are considered to be two separate languages. Due to certain similarities with
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan
*Kyrgyz people
*Kyrgyz national games
*Kyrgyz language
*Kyrgyz culture
*Kyrgyz cuisine
*Yenisei Kirghiz
*The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China
...
, it has been grouped as the Kyrgyz–Kipchak subgroup with the
Kypchak languages which is within the Turkic language family.
The
written Altai is based on Southern Altai. According to some reports, however, it is rejected by Northern Altai children. Dialects include Altai Proper and Talangit.
[Raymond G. Gordon, Jr, ed. 2005. ''Ethnologue: Languages of the World''. 15th edition. Dallas: Summer Institute of Linguistics.]
References
External links
Ethnologue entry for Southern Altai
Turkic languages
Languages of Russia
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