Kyrgyz (Kyrgyz tili / Кыргыз тили / قىرعىز ٴتىلى)

Kyrgyz or Kirghiz is a Turkic language with about 1.5 million speakers in Kyrghyzstan and China. Kyrghyz literature began to appear in about 1910, at which time it was written with the Arabic script. Between 1928 and 1940 it was written with the Latin alphabet, and from 1940 onwards it has been written with the Cyrillic alphabet.

Arabic alphabet for Kyrghyz (قىرعىز الفاۋىتى)

Arabic alphabet for Kyrghyz

Cyrillic alphabet for Kyrghyz (кыргыз алфавити)

Cyrillic alphabet for Kyrghyz

Sample text in Kyrghyz

Бардык адамдар өз беделинде жана укуктарында эркин жана тең укуктуу болуп жаралат. Алардын аң‐сезими менен абийири бар жана бири‐бирине бир туугандык мамилекылууга тийиш.

Transliteration

Bardyk adamdar öz bedelinde žana ukuktarynda zrkin žana teṇ ukuktuu bolup žaralat. Alardyn aṇ-sezimi menen abijiri bar žana biri-birine bir tuugandyk mamilekyluuga tijiš

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Recommended books

Links

Information about the Kyrgyz language
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyrgyz_language
http://www.lmp.ucla.edu/Profile.aspx?LangID=62&menu=004

Online Kyrghyz news and radio
http://www.azattyk.org/

Learning Kyrgyz (a blog)
http://kyrgyzcha.blogspot.com/

Related languages

Azerbaijani, Balkar, Bashkir, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Even, Evenki, Gagauz, Karakalpak, Kazak, Kumyk, Kyrghyz, Nanai, Tatar, Turkish, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbek, Yakut

Other languages written with the: Arabic and Cyrillic alphabets