Tajik

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A language of Tajikistan

ISO 639-3
tgk
Alternate Names
Tadzhik, Tajiki, Tajiki Persian, “Galcha” (pej.)
Autonym
тоҷикӣ‎ (Tojiki)
User Population

6,380,000 in Tajikistan (2012 UNSD). Ethnic population: 7,520,000 (2017). Total users in all countries: 8,195,120.

Location

Widespread.

Language Maps
Language Status

1 (National). Statutory national language (1994, Constitution, Article 2).

Classification
Indo-European, Indo-Iranian, Iranian, Western, Southwestern, Persian
Dialects

4 groups of small dialects; no distinct boundaries. Dialect blending into Dari Persian [prs] in Afghanistan.

Typology

SOV; verb affixes mark person, number; tense and aspect; causatives; 27 consonant and 6 vowel phonemes; nono-tonal; stress on final syllable.

Language Use

Also use Northern Uzbek [uzn]. Also use Russian [rus].

Language Development

Literature. Radio. Bible: 1992–1999.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Tajik
Writing

Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab], used until 1928. Cyrillic script [Cyrl], used since 1940, primary usage. Hebrew script [Hebr], used by Bukharan Jews in Uzbekistan. Latin script [Latn], used between 1928–1940.

Other Comments

Russian sources refer to Persian dialects in Afghanistan as Tajiki. So-called Tajiki in China is actually Shugni [sgh] or Wakhi [wbl]. Some Tajiki-speaking Roma communities in Russian central Asia. Muslim.

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