Turkmen language facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Turkmen
Türkmençe, Türkmen dili, Түркменче, Түркмен дили, تورکمن ﺗﻴلی, تورکمنچه
Native to	Turkmenistan, Iran, Afghanistan, Stavropol krai (Russia)
Native speakers	ca. 4 million  (1998)
Language family	Turkic Oghuz Turkmen
Official status
Official language in	Turkmenistan
Linguasphere	part of 44-AAB-a
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Turkmen is a language spoken mainly in Turkmenistan. It is the official language of that country. About 7 million people speak Turkmen in Turkmenistan. Many other people also speak Turkmen in nearby countries. Around 380,000 speakers live in northwestern Afghanistan. Another 500,000 speakers are found in northeastern Iran.

Turkmen is part of the Turkic languages family. This family includes languages like Turkish and Azerbaijani. It belongs to a smaller group within Turkic languages called Oghuz languages.

Famous Turkmen Writers

One of the most important Turkmen poets was Magtymguly Pyragy. He lived in the 1700s. His poems are still very famous and loved by many people in Turkmenistan today. He is seen as a national hero.

Images for kids

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  Areas where modern Oghuz languages are spoken

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  Magtymguly Pyragy on a special coin from Turkmenistan

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  Learn more about languages for kids!