The Uighur language is a Turkish (or Turkic) dialect spoken by over 10 million Uighur people in Central Asia including 9 million in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China (also known as East Turkestan). The Uighur and Uzbek (another Turkish dialect spoken by the people of Uzbekstan) languages are extremely close. As matter of fact, a lot of linguists still argue about whether or not these two dialects are different at all. So, if you speak Uzbek, you don't have to learn Uighur, you are an Uighur speaker as well.

The pronunciation of the most Uighur alphabet can be found in English language except 'gh' and 'kh'. The 'gh' pronounced from the back of the throat, it sounds more close to the 'r' in French pronunciation of word 'France'. The 'kh' is probably a unique sound for Turkish language only. It is pronounced by holding the breath and burst out 'k' sounds from the back of throat. It is crucial that you practice these two sounds with the guidance of a native Uighur speaker if you wish to accurately pronounce it. However, a Uighur is ready to accept 'g' and 'k' for the place of 'gh' and 'kh' when they realize you are a foreigner. (You may listen to the pronunciation of 'gh', 'kh' by clicking here.)

The current Uighur alphabet is derived from Arabic that was introduced during the Chaghatay Empire when Uighurs were converted to Islam. During the 70s, Chinese linguists introduced Latin alphabet named Uighur New Alphabet (or Uighur Latin Alphabet) to Uighur language which was used in China for over 15 years until late 80’s. Since Latin alphabet and English alphabet are very close to each other, it would be very straightforward to express Uighur written language by 26 English alphabet. You may refer to the following table to pronounce Uighur words. Please note, I will use 'x' for 'sh' and 'q' for 'ch' in English in accordance with Uighur New Alphabet which is still being used by a lot of Uighur intellectuals for INTERNET communication.

Article added by Clara on Sunday, January 9, 2005