Uzbek, Northern
PrintPrimary tabs
A language of Uzbekistan
24,500,000 in Uzbekistan (2019 World Factbook). Ethnic population: 27,600,000 (2019 World Factbook). Total users in all countries: 27,745,270.
Widespread.
1 (National). Statutory national language (1995, Official Language Law (amended), 3561-XI, Article 1).
Karluk (Qarlug), Kipchak (Kypchak), Oghuz. Distinct from Southern Uzbek [uzs] of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Turkey. Russian [rus] influences in grammar, use of loanwords, and script. Oghuz may be a dialect of Khorasani Turkish [kmz] in Turkey rather than Uzbek. A member of macrolanguage Uzbek [uzb].
SOV; postpositions; noun head final; no articles; case-marking (5 cases); verb affixes mark person, number; passives; tense; comparatives; 24 consonant and 8 vowel phonemes; non-tonal; stress on final syllable; has lost its historical vowel harmony and its vowel system now resembles that of Tajiki.
Vigorous. Turks of Fergana and Samarkand speak Uzbek. Uzbek-speaking Roma communities in Russian central Asia. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Also use Russian [rus].
Literacy rate in L2: High. Taught in primary and secondary schools. Radio. TV. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 2016.
About a third urbanized. Much Persian influence in language and culture. Patrilineal. Sart is a pejorative name which had been used by the occupying Russians and by the Kazakhs (Allworth 1990). Muslim.