Alternate Names: Ili Turk, Tuerke, Tu’erke, T’urk
Status Notes: Language of recognized nationality: Uzbek.
Genealogy:
Demographics: 120 in China (1980 R. Hahn), decreasing. The language of about 30 families (Salminen 2007).
Language Use: Younger generations are shifting to Kazakh [kaz] or Uygur [uig] (Salminen 2007). Older adults. Also use Kazakh [kaz], Uyghur [uig].
Typology: SOV; vowel harmony; influenced greatly by Kazakh and Uyghur; has Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Russian loans.
Nation of Origin: China
Other Comments: Ethnically and linguistically distinct, discovered in 1956. Their oral history says they came from the Ferghana Valley (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan) about 200 years ago. Muslim (Sunni).