Languages of Kazakhstan
National or official language: Kazakh. 16,319,000 (1998
UN). Formerly part of USSR. Capital Akmola (Agmola). 1,000,000 square miles.
Also includes Armenian 19,000, Avar 959, North Azerbaijani 90,000, Bashkir
21,442, Belarusan 183,000, Chechen, Chuvash 22,871, Dargwa 636, Dungan, Erzya
34,371, Gagauz, Georgian 7,700, Greek 47,000, Judeo-Crimean Tatar,
Karachay-Balkar 2,714, Karakalpak, Kirghiz 9,612, Korean 103,000, Kumyk 554,
Kurmanji 25,000, Lak 617, Lezgi 2,570, Lithuanian 10,964, Low Mari 9,089, Nogai
155, Osetin 3,491, Polish 61,445, Pontic, Romanian 33,000, Russian 6,227,000,
Tabassaran 225, Tajiki 26,000, Tatar 328,000, Turkish, Turkmen 3,265, Udmurt
15,786, Ukrainian 898,000, Northern Uzbek 332,000. Information mainly from T.
Sebeok 1963; Z. Xiangru and R.F. Hahn 1989. Muslim, Jewish (27,689). The number
of languages listed for Kazakhstan is 6. Of those, all are living languages.
Diversity index 0.70.
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Spoken living languages
GERMAN, STANDARD
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[GER] 958,000 in Kazakhstan excluding Plautdietsch.
57% of ethnic Germans speak it as mother tongue. Classification:
Indo-European, Germanic, West, High German, German, Middle German, East
Middle German.
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ILI TURKI
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[ILI] Ili Valley near Kuldja, Xinjiang, China. There
may be none in Kazakhstan. Alternate
names: T'URK, TUERKE. Classification:
Altaic, Turkic, Eastern.
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KAZAKH
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[KAZ] 5,293,400 in Kazakhstan (1979 census), 40% of
the population, 98% speak Kazakh as mother tongue. Population total all
countries 8,000,000 (1999 WA). Alternate
names: KAZAK, KAISAK, KOSACH, QAZAQ. Dialects:
NORTHEASTERN KAZAKH, SOUTHERN KAZAKH, WESTERN KAZAKH. Classification: Altaic, Turkic, Western, Aralo-Caspian.
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PLAUTDIETSCH
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[GRN] 100,000 in Russia and Kazakhstan (1986).
Various locations including Alma Ata near the China border, beyond
Tashkent, and Kazakhstan. Alternate
names: LOW GERMAN. Classification:
Indo-European, Germanic, West, Low Saxon-Low Franconian, Low Saxon.
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ROMANI, SINTE
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[RMO] Kazakhstan (formerly Volga area until 1941). Alternate
names: SINTI, TSIGANE, MANUCHE, MANOUCHE. Classification:
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Indo-Aryan, Central zone, Romani, Northern.
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UYGHUR
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[UIG] 300,000 in Kazakhstan (1993), 86% speak it as
mother tongue. Taranchi dialect in Kazakhstan, Kashgar-Yarkand dialect in
Uzbekistan. Alternate names:
UIGHUR, UIGUIR, UYGUR, NOVOUYGUR. Dialects:
TARANCHI (KULJA), KASHGAR-YARKAND. Classification:
Altaic, Turkic, Eastern.
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