Oghuz language
| Oghuz | |
|---|---|
| Southwestern Turkic | |
| Geographic distribution |
 |
| Linguistic classification |
Turkic
|
| Subdivisions | |
| Glottolog | oghu1243 (Oghuz + Kipchak + Uzbek) |
The Oghuz languages are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family, spoken by approximately 150 million people.
The term "Oghuz" is applied to the southwestern branch of the Common Turkic languages, in reference to the Oghuz Turks who migrated from the Altai Mountains to Central Asia in the 8th century, and further expanded to the Middle East and to the Balkans as separate tribes.
The Oghuz languages currently spoken have been classified into three groups, based on their features:
An outlying language, Salar, is spoken by about 70,000 people in China.
Two further languages, Crimean Tatar and Urum, are Kypchak languages, but have been heavily influenced by the Oghuz languages.
The extinct Pecheneg language was probably Oghuz, but as it is poorly documented, it is difficult to further classify it within the Oghuz family.
The Oghuz languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of these features are shared with other Turkic languages; others are unique to the Oghuz family.
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Wikipedia