Uzbek, Southern

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A language of Afghanistan

ISO 639-3
uzs
Alternate Names
O’zbek, Usbeki, Uzbak, Uzbeki
Autonym
ﯣزبېک‎ (o’zbek)
User Population

3,660,000 in Afghanistan, all users. L1 users: 3,120,000 in Afghanistan (2017 J. Leclerc), increasing. L2 users: 540,000 (2021 World Factbook). 1,000,000 monolinguals (2010). Total users in all countries: 5,296,100 (as L1: 4,756,100; as L2: 540,000).

Location

Badghis, Baghlan, Balkh, Faryab, Ghor, Jawzjan, Kunduz, Samangan, and Takhar provinces; Aqcha, Maimana, Saripul, and Sheberghan towns.

Language Maps
Language Status

2 (Provincial). Statutory language of provincial identity in Fariab, Jawzjan, Saripul, other northern provinces (2004, Constitution, Article 16(2)).

Classification
Turkic, Eastern
Dialects

None known. Somewhat intelligible of, but differences in grammar from, Northern Uzbek [uzn]. Many loan words from Dari [prs]. A member of macrolanguage Uzbek [uzb].

Typology

SOV; postpositions; noun head final; content q-word final; one prefix in words borrowed from Dari [prs], many suffixes (agglutinative); verbal affixation marks of person and number for subject and object; verb tense and aspect marked by suffixes; nontonal; no vowel harmony (unlike some other, closely-related Turkic languages).

Language Use

Vigorous. All domains. Used by all. Positive attitudes. Many also use Dari [prs], especially in urban areas. Also use Southern Pashto [pbt]. Used as L2 by Turkmen [tuk].

Language Development

Literacy rate in L1: 1%. Literacy rate in L2: 20% in Dari [prs]. L1 literacy in larger towns increasing among younger population. Taught as subject in some primary schools in grades 1–3, but without much success. The Afghanistan Ministry of Education has produced Southern Uzbek textbooks through twelfth grade. No use of these materials reported. Literature. Newspapers. Periodicals. TV. Videos. Dictionary. Grammar. Texts. Bible portions: 2004–2006.

Language Resources
OLAC resources in and about Uzbek, Southern
Writing

Arabic script, Naskh variant [Arab], used in print. Arabic script, Nastaliq variant [Aran], used in handwriting and for book titles.

Other Comments

Muslim.

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