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Kazakh dialect

Kazakh

Also known as: Qazaqşa, Southern Kazakh

A Kipchak Turkic language and the official language of Kazakhstan. The Almaty-area variety, traditionally the southern standard. Currently transitioning from Cyrillic to a Latin-based alphabet.

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Frequently asked questions

What language is Kazakh?

Kazakh is a dialect of the Kazakh language.

Where is Kazakh spoken?

Kazakh is primarily spoken in Kazakhstan.

Which region is Kazakh associated with?

Kazakh is part of the Central Asia region on DialectAtlas.

Is Kazakh known by other names?

Yes — Kazakh is also referred to as Qazaqşa, Southern Kazakh.

What are the other dialects of Kazakh?

Kazakh also includes Northern Kazakh, Western Kazakh, Eastern Kazakh. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.

Other Kazakh dialects

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Nearby dialects

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Dungan

136 km away

A Sinitic language descended from late-19th-century Hui Muslim refugees who fled into the Russian Empire after the Qing-era Hui revolts. Written in Cyrillic, with substantial Russian, Persian, and Turkic loans.

Kyrgyz

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A Kipchak Turkic language and the official language of Kyrgyzstan. Carries the Manas oral epic, one of the longest oral epic traditions in world literature.

Koryo-mar

237 km away

The Korean variety of the Koryo-saram, descended from communities deported from the Soviet Far East in 1937 to Central Asia. A Hamgyŏng-derived dialect heavily influenced by Russian, now critically endangered.

Uzbek

668 km away

A Karluk Turkic language and the most-spoken Turkic language after Turkish. The official language of Uzbekistan, with substantial communities across Central Asia, Afghanistan, and the Caucasus.

Tajik

681 km away

The Persian variety spoken in Tajikistan, written in Cyrillic script with unique vocabulary influenced by Central Asia.

Wakhi

769 km away

A Pamir Iranian language spoken across the Wakhan Corridor where Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, and China meet. One of the most archaic Iranian languages, retaining features of Old Iranian lost everywhere else.

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