The Turkic Languages are spoken today in a vast geographical are stretching from the Balkans to the Arctic Ocean and from southern Iran to the Great Wall of China. There are currently over twenty literary languages in the group, the most important among them being Turkish (which has over seventy million speakers); other major languages covered are Azerbaijanian, Bashkir, Chuvash, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Tatar, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbek and Yakut. The Turkic Languages brings together detailed discussions of the historical development and specialised linguistic features of the languages in the Turkic family. The volume is divided into two: the first part provides an accessible overview of the grammatical traditions, subgrouping and writing systems of this language family, while the latter part of the book focuses on descriptions of the individual languages themselves. Each language description gives an overview of the language followed by detail on phonology, morphology, syntax, lexis and dialects. A uniform structure allows for easy typological comparison between the individual languages and each chapter has been written by a recognised expert in the field. Suggestions are made for the most useful sources of further reading and the work is comprehensively indexed. This new edition will include: Incorporation of new research in Turkic studies Completely new chapters on West Old Turkic, Transeurasian and Gagauz Thorough updating of all chapters, including fresh coverage of areas such as the state of Turkic in the Khwarezmian Empire, Khalaj, and the different dialects of Turkish Improved opening map and revised and new figures Revised appendix with integration of new scripts such as Azeri and Turkmen A new list with definitions of key linguistic terms This volume will be an invaluable resource for advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students of linguistics, Turcology and Near Eastern and Oriental Studies.
It will also be of interest to researchers and anyone with an interest in historical linguistics, linguistics anthropology and language development.