Altai languages facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Altai
Gorno–Altai алтайдыҥ тилин, алтай тил
Native to	Russia
Region	Altai Republic, Altai Krai, Kemerovo Oblast
Ethnicity	Altai, including Chelkans, Telengits, Tubalars
Native speakers	57,000, including Northern Altai  (2010 census)e25 (may not all be fluent)
Language family	Turkic Common Turkic Siberian Turkic or Kipchak Southern Siberian or Kyrgyz–Kipchak Altai
Writing system	Cyrillic
Official status
Official language in	Russia  Altai Republic
This page contains IPA phonetic symbols in Unicode. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Unicode characters.

Altai (Altay: Алтай тил, romanized: Altay til) is a group of Turkic languages. People speak it officially in the Altai Republic, which is part of Russia. The main way of speaking Altai is based on the Southern Altai language. This version is also taught to people who speak the Northern Altai language. Before 1948, these languages were called Oyrot.

Most Altai speakers live in the Altai Republic. A smaller group of speakers also lives in the nearby Altai Krai.

Understanding the Altai Language

The Altai language is part of the larger Turkic language family. Because it is in the Altai Mountains, it has been influenced by other languages around it. This has made its exact place within the Turkic family a topic of discussion among language experts.

Some experts group Altai with languages like Shor and Khakas languages. They call this group "Northern Turkic." Other experts see similarities with Kyrgyz. They place Altai in a group called "Kyrgyz–Kipchak."

Official Use

Altai is an official language in the Altai Republic. It shares this status with the Russian language. The official version of Altai is based on the Southern Altai language. This is the language spoken by a group of people called the Altay-Kiži. In recent years, this official language has also started to be used in the northern parts of the Altai Republic.

Different Ways of Speaking Altai

Even though Altai is often seen as one language, the Southern Altai and Northern types are quite different. People who speak one might not fully understand the other. Because of these differences, many language experts now consider them two separate languages.

The written form of Altai is based on Southern Altai. However, children who speak Northern Altai sometimes find it hard to use. In 2006, a special alphabet was made for the Kumandy type of Northern Altai. This alphabet uses the Cyrillic script and is used in the Altai Krai.

Here are the main types of Altai:

• Southern Altai
  • Altai proper
    • Mayma
  • Telengit
    • Tölös
    • Chuy
  • Teleut
• Northern Altai
  • Tuba
  • Kumandy
    • Turachak
    • Solton
    • Starobardinian
  • Chalkan (also known as Kuu or Lebedin)

How Altai is Written

Altai has used different writing systems over time. From 1928 to 1938, it was written using the Latin script. Since 1938, it has used the Cyrillic script. This Cyrillic alphabet includes all the letters from the Russian alphabet, plus 9 extra letters. These extra letters help to write sounds unique to Altai.

Sometimes, the letter Ÿ is used instead of Ӱ.

Early Cyrillic Alphabets

The very first writing system for Altai was created by missionaries in the 1840s. It was based on the Cyrillic alphabet and used mainly for church books. The first Altai alphabet book was published in 1868. This early alphabet changed often.

After the 1917 revolution, publishing in Altai started again in 1921. They used an alphabet similar to the missionaries' version. New letters were added to help write Russian words that were borrowed into Altai.

Latin Alphabet (1928–1938)

Later, a Latin alphabet was adopted for Altai. The final version of this alphabet was published in 1931.

Modern Altai Alphabet

In 1938, a new Cyrillic alphabet was designed for Altai. This alphabet included all 33 Russian letters and some special letters for Altai sounds. Over time, this alphabet was improved to better represent all the sounds of the Altai language.

The letters Ё, Ю, and Я are still used in modern Altai. However, they are mainly for words borrowed from Russian. For native Altai words, different letter combinations are used to make similar sounds. For example, kaya and koyon are now written as kai͡a and koi͡on.

Modern Southern Altai Cyrillic with Names

Pronouns in Altai

Altai has six personal pronouns, which are words like "I," "you," and "they."

Here are the personal pronouns in the standard Southern Altai dialect:

These pronouns change their form depending on how they are used in a sentence. This is called declension.

Here is how the pronouns change in the standard Southern Altai dialect:

Pronouns can be different in other Altai dialects. For example, here are the pronouns in the Qumandin dialect:

See Also

In Spanish: Idioma altái para niños

• Telengits, Teleuts (names of related ethnic groups)
• Turkic peoples