Bashkir language

Bashkir (UK: /bæʃˈkɪər/,[2] US: /bɑːʃˈkɪər/;[3] Bashkir: Башҡортса Bashqortsa, Башҡорт теле Bashqort tele, [bɑʂ'qʊ̞ɾt tɪ̞ˈlɪ̞] ⓘ[4]) is a Turkic language belonging to the Kipchak branch. It is co-official with Russian in Bashkortostan. It is spoken by approximately 1.6 million[5] native speakers in Russia, as well as in Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Estonia and other neighboring post-Soviet states, and among the Bashkir diaspora. It has three dialect groups: Southern, Eastern and Northwestern.

Bashkir
башҡорт теле (башҡортса)
bashqort tele (bashqortsa) or başqort tele (başqortsa)
باشقرد تلی
Bashkir in Cyrillic, Latin, and Arabic scripts
Pronunciation[bɑʂ'qʊ̞ɾt tɪ̞ˈlɪ̞] ⓘ
Native toBashkortostan (Russian Federation)
RegionVolga, Ural region
EthnicityBashkirs
Native speakers
2 million (2022)[1]
Turkic
Early form
Cyrillic (Bashkir alphabet)
Official status
Official language in
 Bashkortostan (Russia)
Regulated byInstitute of history, language and literature of the Ufa Federal research center the RAS
Language codes
ISO 639-1ba
ISO 639-2bak
ISO 639-3bak
Glottologbash1264
Linguasphere44-AAB-bg
Geographic distribution of Bashkir language in the Russian Empire according to 1897 census
Bashkir is classified as Vulnerable by the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger

Speakers
Bashkirs in Russia by administrative districts (raions) in 2010

Speakers of Bashkir mostly live in the republic of Bashkortostan (a republic within the Russian Federation). Many speakers also live in Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk, Orenburg, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk and Kurgan Oblasts and other regions of Russia. Minor Bashkir groups also live in Kazakhstan and other countries.

Classification

Bashkir together with Tatar belongs to the Bulgaric (Russian: кыпчакско-булгарская) subgroups of the Kipchak languages. These languages have a similar vocabulary by 94.9%,[6] and the common ancestor is the Volga Turki, which contributed to the renunciation of this pair of languages from other Turkic languages. However, Bashkir differs from Tatar in several important ways:

  • Bashkir has dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ in the place of Tatar (and other Turkic) /s/ and /z/. Bashkir /θ/ and /ð/, however, cannot begin a word (there are exceptions: ҙур - "zor" ([ðoɾ]) 'big', and the particle/conjunction ҙа - "za" ([ða]) or ҙә - "zə" ([ðæ])). The only other Turkic language with a similar feature is Turkmen. However, in Bashkir /θ/ and /ð/ are two independent phonemes, distinct from /s/ and /z/, whereas in Turkmen [θ] and [ð] are the two main realizations of the common Turkic /s/ and /z/. In other words, there are no /s/ and /z/ phonemes in Turkmen, unlike Bashkir which has both /s/ and /z/ and /θ/ and /ð/.
  • The word-initial and morpheme-initial /s/ is turned into /h/. An example of both features can be Tatar сүз süz [syz] and Bashkir һүҙ - höz [hɵð], both meaning "word".
  • Common Turkic /tʃ/ (Tatar /ɕ/) is turned into Bashkir /s/, e.g., Turkish ağaç [aˈatʃ], Tatar агач aghach [ɑˈʁɑɕ] and Bashkir ағас - ağas [ɑˈʁɑs], all meaning "tree".
  • The word-initial /ʑ/ in Tatar always corresponds to /j/ in Standard Bashkir, e.g., Tatar җылы zhïlï [ʑɤˈlɤ] and Bashkir йылы - yılı [jɯˈɫɯ], both meaning "warm". However, the eastern and northern dialects of Bashkir have the /j/ > /ʑ~ʒ/ shift.

The Bashkir orthography is more explicit. /q/ and /ʁ/ are written with their own letters Ҡ ҡ and Ғ ғ, whereas in Tatar they are treated as positional allophones of /k/ and /ɡ/, written К к and Г г.

Labial vowel harmony in Bashkir is written explicitly, e.g. Tatar тормышым tormïshïm and Bashkir тормошом - turmuşum, both pronounced [tʊɾ.mʊˈʂʊm], meaning "my life".[7]

Orthography
Main article: Bashkir alphabet
Trilingual sign in Ufa Airport in Bashkir, Russian and English
Bashkir keyboard layout

After the adoption of Islam, which began in the 10th century and lasted for several centuries, the Bashkirs began to use Turki as a written language. Turki was written in a variant of the Arabic script.

In 1923, a writing system based on the Arabic script was specifically created for the Bashkir language. At the same time, the Bashkir literary language was created, moving away from the older written Turkic influences. At first, it used a modified Arabic alphabet. In 1930 it was replaced with the Unified Turkic Latin Alphabet, which was in turn replaced with an adapted Cyrillic alphabet in 1939.

The modern alphabet used by Bashkir is based on the Russian alphabet, with the addition of the following letters: Ә ә /æ/, Ө ө /ʏ/, Ү ү /ɵ/, Ғ ғ /ʁ/, Ҡ ҡ /q/, Ң ң /ŋ/, Ҙ ҙ /ð/, Ҫ ҫ /θ/, Һ һ /h/.[7]

А а Б б В в Г г Ғ ғ Д д Ҙ ҙ Е е Ё ё
Ж ж З з И и Й й К к Ҡ ҡ Л л М м Н н
Ң ң О о Ө ө П п Р р С с Ҫ ҫ Т т У у
Ү ү Ф ф Х х Һ һ Ц ц Ч ч Ш ш Щ щ Ъ ъ
Ы ы Ь ь Э э Ә ә Ю ю Я я
Letters and symbols of the Bashkir Cyrillic alphabet
Cyrillic version Pronunciation Notes
Аа[ɑ], [a]"A" is usually pronounced as [ɑ] in all syllables except last, in last syllable it is pronounced as [a].
Бб[b], [β][β] is the intervocal allophone.
Вв[v], [w][v] in Russian loanwords, [w] in Arabic and Persian loanwords.
Гг [g]
Ғғ[ʁ]
Дд[d]
Ҙҙ[ð]
Ее[jɪ], [ɪ]The letter is iotated at the beginning of a word, after a vowel or after a soft or hard sign.
Ёё[jɔ]Only used in Russian loanwords.
Жж[ʐ]Only occurs in loanwords and onomatopoeia
Зз[z]
Ии[e]
Йй[j]
Кк[k]
Ҡҡ[q]
Лл[l], [ɫ]In front vowel contexts occurs as apical [l], in back vowel contexts occurs as [ɫ].
Мм[m]
Нн[n]
Ңң[ŋ], [ɴ]In front vowel contexts occurs as [ŋ], in back vowel contexts occurs as [ɴ].
Оо[ʊ]
Өө[ʏ]
Пп[p]
Рр[ɾ]
Сс[s]
Ҫҫ[θ]
Тт[t]
Уу[o], [w]
Үү[ɵ], [w]
Фф[ɸ]
Хх[χ]
Һһ[h]
Цц[ts]
Чч[tɕ]
Шш[ʂ]Only occurs in loanwords and onomatopoeia.
Щщ[ɕː]
Ъъ[ʔ]Indicates the glottal stop in back vowel contexts, if placed after a vowel.
Ыы[ɯ]
Ьь[ʔ]Indicates the glottal stop in front vowel contexts, if placed after a vowel.
Ээ[ɪ]
Әә[æ]
Юю[jo]
Яя[jɑ], [ja]

Phonology

Vowels

Bashkir has nine native vowels, and three or four loaned vowels (mainly in Russian loanwords).[8]

Phonetically, the native vowels are approximately thus (with the Cyrillic letter followed by the usual Latin romanization in angle brackets):[9]

Front Back
Spread Rounded Spread Rounded
Close и ⟨i⟩
[ɪ]		 ү ⟨ü⟩
[y~ʉ]		 ы ⟨ı⟩
[ɯ]		 у ⟨u⟩
[ʊ]
Mid э, е ⟨e⟩
[e~ɘ]		 ө ⟨ö⟩
[ø̝~ɵ]		 о ⟨o⟩
[o~ɤ]
Open ә ⟨ä⟩
[æ]		 а ⟨a⟩
[ɑ]

In Russian loans there are also [ɨ], [ɛ], [ɔ] and [ä], written the same as the native vowels: ы, е/э, о, а respectively.[8]

Historical shifts

Historically, the Old Turkic mid vowels have raised from mid to high, whereas the Old Turkic high vowels have become the Bashkir reduced mid series. (The same shifts have also happened in Tatar.)[10][7]

Vowel Old Turkic Tatar Bashkir Gloss
*e /ɛ/ *et it it /it/ 'meat'
*ö /œ/ *söz süz hüz /hʏð/ 'word'
*o /ɔ/ *sol sul hul /huɫ/ 'left'
*i /i/ *it et et /ɪt/ 'dog'
*ï /ɤ/ *qïz qız qız /qɯð/ 'girl'
*u /u/ *qum qom qom /qʊm/ 'sand'
*ü /y/ *kül köl köl /køl/ 'ash'

Consonants
The consonants of Bashkir[8]
Bilabial Labio-
dental		 Dental Alveolar Post-
alveolar/
Palatal		 Velar Uvular Glottal
Nasals м ⟨m⟩
/m/		 н ⟨n⟩
/n/		 ң ⟨ñ⟩
/ŋ/		 ң ⟨ñ⟩
[ɴ]²
Plosives Voiceless п ⟨p⟩
/p/		 т ⟨t⟩
/t/		 к ⟨k⟩
[c]²		 к ⟨k⟩
/k/		 ҡ ⟨q⟩
/q/		 ь/ъ ⟨’⟩
/ʔ/¹
Voiced б ⟨b⟩
/b/		 д ⟨d⟩
/d/		 г ⟨g⟩
[ɟ]²		 г ⟨g⟩
/ɡ/
Fricatives Voiceless ф ⟨f⟩
/f/¹		 ҫ ⟨ś⟩
/θ/		 с ⟨s⟩
/s/		 ш ⟨ş⟩
/ʃ/		 х ⟨x⟩
/χ/		 һ ⟨h⟩
/h/
Voiced б ⟨b⟩
[β]²		 в ⟨v⟩
/v/¹		 ҙ ⟨ź⟩
/ð/		 з ⟨z⟩
/z/		 ж ⟨j⟩
/ʒ/		 ғ ⟨ğ⟩
/ʁ/
Trill р ⟨ɾ⟩
/r/
Approximants л ⟨l⟩
/l/		 й ⟨y⟩
/j/		 у/ү/в ⟨w⟩
/w~ɥ/
Notes
^¹ The phonemes /f/, /v/, /ʔ/ are found only in loanwords, and, in the case of /ʔ/, in a few native onomatopoeic words.
^² /β/ is an intervocal allophone of /b/, and it is distinct from /w/. /ɴ/ is an allophone of /ŋ/ in back vowel contexts. /c/ and /ɟ/ occur as allophones of /k/ and /g/ before /e/, and both occur only in front vowel contexts.
  • /θ, ð/ are dental [θ, ð], and /ɾ/ is apical alveolar [ɾ]. The exact place of articulation of the other dental/alveolar consonants is unclear.

Grammar

A member of the Turkic language family, Bashkir is an agglutinative, SOV language.[8][11] A large part of the Bashkir vocabulary has Turkic roots; and there are many loan words in Bashkir from Russian, Arabic and Persian sources.[7]

Russian Arabic Persian
in Bashkir Etymology Translation in Bashkir Etymology Translation in Bashkir Etymology Translation
минут (minut) from "минута" (minuta) minute ваҡыт (vaqıt) from "وَقْت" (waqt) time дуҫ (doś) from "دوست" (dost) friend
өҫтәл (üśtəl) from "стол" (stol) table, desk вәғәҙә (vəğəzə) from "وَعْدَ" (waʿda) promise һәр (hər) from "هر" (har) every
сыр (sır) from "сыр" (syr) cheese йәннәт (yənnət) from "جَنَّة" (janna) paradise көмбәҙ (kümbəz) from "گنبد" (gonbad) cupola

Plurality

The form of the plural suffix is heavily dependent on the letter which comes immediately before it. When it's a consonant, there is a four-way distinction between "л" (l), "т" (t), "ҙ" (z) and "д" (d); The vowel's distinction is two-way between "а" (after back vowels "а" (a), "ы" (ı), "о" (u), "у" (o)) and "ә" (after front vowels "ә" (ə), "е" (i), "и" (e), "ө" (ü), "ү" (ö)). Some nouns are also less likely to be used with their plural forms such as "һыу" (hıv, "water") or "ҡом" (qum, "sand").[7]

suffix consonant
-лар, -ләр after all vowels except for и (iy) баҡса (baqsa), "garden"

Pl.: баҡсалар (baqsalar)

 сәскә (səskə), "flower"

Pl.: сәскәләр (səskələr)

-тар, -тәр mostly after hard consonants - б (b), д (d), г (g), ф (f), х (x), һ (h), к (k), ҡ (q), п (p), с (s), ш (ş), ҫ (ś), т (t) дуҫ (doś), "friend"

Pl.: дуҫтар (dośtar)

 төҫ (tüś), "colour"

Pl.: төҫтәр (tüśtär)

-ҙар, -ҙәр after approximants and some others - ҙ (z), и (iy), р (r), у (v), й (y) тау (taw), "mountain"

Pl.: тауҙар (tavzar)

 өй (üy), "house"

Pl.: өйҙәр (üyzər)

-дар, -дәр after nasals and some others - ж (j), л (l), м (m), н (n), ң (ñ), з (ź) һан (han), "number"

Pl.: һандар (handar)

 көн (kön), "day"

Pl.: көндәр (kündər)

Declension table
[7] suffix consonant alteration (see the "plurality" table) after the plural suffix examples
Nominative
Genitive -нең"н" (n), "д" (d), "т" (t) and "ҙ" (z)-ҙеңтелдең (tildiñ), "the language's"
-ның -ҙың баштың (baştıñ), "the head's"
-ноң -ҙың тоҙҙоң (tuzzuñ), "the salt's"
-нөң -ҙең төштөң (tüştüñ), "the dream's"
Dative -гә-гәтелгә (tilgə), "(to) the language"
-кә төшкә (tüşkə), "(to) the dream"
-ға -ға тоҙға (tuzğa), "(to) the salt"
-ҡа башҡа (başqa), "(to) the head"
Accusative -не"н" (n), "д" (d), "т" (t) and "ҙ" (ź)-ҙетелде (telde), "the language"
-ны -ҙы башты (baştı), "the head"
-но -ҙы тоҙҙо (tuzzu), "the salt"
-нө -ҙе төштө (tüştü), "the dream"
Locative -лә"л" (l), "д" (d), "т" (t) and "ҙ" (z)-ҙәтелдә (tildə), "in the language"
-ла -ҙа башта (başta), "in the head"
Ablative -нән"н" (n), "д" (d), "т" (t) and "ҙ" (z)-ҙәнтелдән (tildən), "from the language"
-нан -ҙан баштан (baştan), "from the head"
Declension of pronouns[7]
Interrogative pronounsPersonal pronouns
CasewhowhatSingularPlural
Iyou (thou)he, she, itweyouthey
Nominative кем
kim		нимә
nemə		мин
men		һин
hen		ул
ol		беҙ
biz		һеҙ
hiz		улар
olar
Genitive кемдең
kimdiñ		нимәнең
neməniñ		минең
meniñ		һинең
heniñ		уның
onıñ		беҙҙең
bizziñ		һеҙҙең
hizziñ		уларҙың
olarzıñ
Dative кемгә
kimgə		нимәгә
neməgə		миңә
meñə		һиңә
heñə		уға
oğa		беҙгә
bizgə		һеҙгә
hizgə		уларға
olarğa
Accusative кемде
kimdi		нимәне
neməni		мине
meni		һине
heni		уны
onı		беҙҙе
bizzi		һеҙҙе
hizzi		уларҙы
olarzı
Locative кемдә
kimdə		нимәлә
nemələ		миндә
mendə		һиндә
hendə		унда
onda		беҙҙә
bizzə		һеҙҙә
hizzə		уларҙа
olarza
Ablative кемдән
kimdən		нимәнән
nemənən		минән
menən		һинән
henən		унан
onan		беҙҙән
bizzən		һеҙҙән
hizzən		уларҙан
olarzan
Demonstrative pronouns[7]
CaseSingularPlural
thisthatthesethose
Nominative был
bıl		ошо
uşu		шул
şol		теге
tigi		былар
bılar		ошолар
uşular		шулар
şolar		тегеләр
tigilər
Genitive бының
bınıñ		ошоноң
uşunuş		шуның
şonıñ		тегенең
tiginiñ		быларҙың
bılarzıñ		ошоларҙың
uşularzıñ		шуларҙың
şolarzıñ		тегеләрҙең
tigilərziñ
Dative быға
bığa		ошоға
uşuğa		шуға
şoğa		тегегә
tigigə		быларға
bılarğa		ошоларға
uşularğa		шуларға
şolarğa		тегеләргә
tigilərgə
Accusative быны
bını		ошоно
uşunu		шуны
şonı		тегене
tigini		быларҙы
bılarzı		ошоларҙы
uşularzı		шуларҙы
şolarzı		тегеләрҙе
tigilərzi
Locative бында
bında		ошонда
uşunda		шунда
şonda		тегендә
tigində		быларҙа
bılarza		ошоларҙа
uşularza		шуларҙа
şolarza		тегеләрҙә
tigilərzə
Ablative бынан
bınan		ошонан
uşunan		шунан
şonan		тегенән
tiginən		быларҙан
bılarzan		ошоларҙан
uşularzan		шуларҙан
şolarzan		тегеләрҙән
tigilərzən

References
  1. Bashkir at Ethnologue (25th ed., 2022) closed access
  2. Longman, J.C. (2008). Longman Pronunciation Dictionary (3 ed.). Pearson Education ESL. ISBN 978-1405881173.
  3. "Bashkir". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d.
  4. Bashkir
  5. Том 5. «Национальный состав и владение языками». Таблица 5. Владение языками населением наиболее многочисленных национальностей
  6. Миллиард Татар -- Братья навек: татарский и башкирский языки совпадают на 95 процентов
  7. B.Tuysin, K. Shafikov, I. Khanov -- Bashkirskiy jazyk -- Ufa: Bashkirsiy Gosudarstvennyy Universitet RB, 2022 -- 1 glava -- 7 S
  8. Berta, Árpád (1998). "Tatar and Bashkir". In Johanson, Lars; Csató, Éva Á. (eds.). The Turkic languages. Routledge. pp. 283–300. ISBN 9780415082006.
  9. Poppe, Nicholas N. (1964). Bashkir Manual. (Research and Studies in Uralic and Altaic Languages, 68.). Bloomington: Indiana University.
  10. Johanson, Lars (1998). "The History of Turkic". In Johanson, Lars; Csató, Éva Á. (eds.). The Turkic languages. Routledge. p. 92. ISBN 9780415082006.
  11. "Overview of the Bashkir Language". Learn the Bashkir Language & Culture. Transparent Language. Retrieved 4 November 2011.

Further reading
  • Poppe, Nicholas (1997) [1964]. Bashkir Manual. Routledge. p. 186. ISBN 978-0-7007-0836-9.
  • Грамматика современного башкирского литературного языка (in Russian). Москва: Наука. 1981.
  • Дмитриев, Н. К. (1948). Грамматика башкирского языка (in Russian). Из-во АН СССР.
Bashkir edition of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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