My Turkish language professor at Columbia University once made an
interesting observation. He said that variations on the Turkish language
(Turkic) can be heard from Turkey to China and that he could understand
it if he proceeded eastward. But the further east you go, the harder it
would be for him to understand. Azeris would be quite easy to
understand; Kazakhs somewhat more difficult; and Uighurs (or Uyghurs)
the most difficult of all.
On the Uighur Language website, there’s a comparison between Turkish and
Uighur drawn from the Nasreddin folklore. “Bir gun” in Turkish means one
day; in Uighur it is “bir kun”. Hoca is Turkish for teacher; in Uighur
it is “hoja”, etc.
Turkish
Bir gun sevmedigi bir komsusu Nasreddin Hoca’nin kapisini caldi; bir
gunlugune esegini kendisine vermesini rica etti.
Uighur
Bir kun yahxikurmeydighan bir hoxnisi Nasirdin Hojaning ixigini urup,
exigini bir kunlik otnige berixini soraptu.
During the rise of the Mongols, the Turks, who were also a nomadic
people historically, settled into the region that became known as
Turkestan. As such, it was a key element in the Silk Road that
facilitated trade between Europe and Asia until the end of the 15th century.
This area languished for centuries until competition between China,
Russia, and European powers during the 19th century prompted an invasion
by the Manchus into East Turkestan with the encouragement of British
banks who were participating in the “Great Game”. “Xinjiang” or
“Sinkiang”, which means “New Dominion” or “New Territory”, was annexed
by the Manchu empire on November 18, 1884.
full: http://louisproyect.wordpress.com/2009/07/07/uighur-oppression/
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