Khalaj language

Khalaj is a Turkic language spoken in Iran. Although it contains many old Turkic elements, it has become widely Persianized. Khalaj has about 150 words of uncertain origin.:32

Khalaj
خلج
Khalaj in the Persian Nasta'liq form
Native toIran
RegionDistributed throughout a number of villages in the Markazi Province from Qom to Ashtian and Tafresh
EthnicityKhalaj
Native speakers
19,000 (2018)
to 20,000
Dialects
  • Talx-āb:17
  • Xarrāb:18
  • Dāγān:20
Language codes
ISO 639-3klj
Glottologturk1303
ELPKhalaj
Map of the location of the Khalaj Language.

Surveys have found that most young Khalaj parents do not pass the language on to their children; only 5% of families teach their children the language.

Khalaj language is a descendant of an old Turkic language called Arghu. The 11th-century Turkic lexicographer Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first person to give written examples of the Khalaj language, which are mostly interchangeable with modern Khalaj.

Gerhard Doerfer, who rediscovered Khalaj, demonstrated that it was an independent branch from Common Turkic.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.