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.
Northern Kazakh
Also known as: Astana Kazakh
The Kazakh of northern Kazakhstan around Astana and Pavlodar. Closer to Tatar in several lexical and phonological features, with stronger Russian-contact influence.
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Frequently asked questions
What language is Northern Kazakh?
Northern Kazakh is a dialect of the Kazakh language.
Where is Northern Kazakh spoken?
Northern Kazakh is primarily spoken in Kazakhstan.
Which region is Northern Kazakh associated with?
Northern Kazakh is part of the Central Asia region on DialectAtlas.
Is Northern Kazakh known by other names?
Yes — Northern Kazakh is also referred to as Astana Kazakh.
What are the other dialects of Kazakh?
Kazakh also includes Kazakh, Western Kazakh, Eastern Kazakh. Each variety has its own vocabulary, pronunciation, and cultural context.
Other Kazakh dialects
See on the atlas →Atyrau Kazakh
The Kazakh of western Kazakhstan around Atyrau and Aktobe. The dialect group with the most extensive contact features from Tatar and Bashkir; transitional toward the Volga Kipchak varieties.
Semey Kazakh
The Kazakh of eastern Kazakhstan around Öskemen and Semey, near the Altai border. Carries contact features from Mongolic Oirat and Russian.
Nearby dialects
See on the atlas →189 km away
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797 km away
The Kazakh of eastern Kazakhstan around Öskemen and Semey, near the Altai border. Carries contact features from Mongolic Oirat and Russian.
813 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.
877 km away
The Russian varieties of Western and Central Siberia, descended from northern-Russian settlers. Distinguished by retained okanye, a conservative lexicon, and contact features from indigenous Siberian languages.
919 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.
948 km away
The Russian of the Ural region around Yekaterinburg and Perm. Mixes Northern and Central Russian features with contact influence from local Finno-Ugric and Turkic languages.