Once receiving my Fulbright, I decided to learn Uzbek because I want to continue working in Uzbekistan, researching its people and culture, want to learn more about Uzbekistan, reading sources entirely in Uzbek and have close Uzbek friends. My mind clicked with Uzbek like it did with Spanish and I wanted to practice it every day. A Turkic language, Uzbek is my first time studying a non-Indo-European language. In this piece, you will learn information about Uzbek, reasons to study it and answers to some frequently asked questions about the language.
What’s Uzbek?
Uzbek is a Turkic language mainly spoken in the Central Asian country, Uzbekistan. It is from the Qarluq group of Turkic languages, close to Uyghur (the language spoken by the Uyghurs in northwest China). It has four major dialects: Fergana, Samarkand, Tashkent and Khorazm. Standard Uzbek is a combination of Tashkent and Fergana dialects. Andijan (Fergana) dialect of Uzbek is considered the closest to its literary form. I heard a couple of stories of people coming to Andijan to study Uzbek because it was close to Uyghur.
Uzbek has loaned words from Arabic, Persian, Turkish and Russian. Uzbek was originally written in Arabic script. In the 1940s, the Soviets introduced the Cyrillic script. When Uzbekistan became independent in the early 1990s, the Latin alphabet was introduced. While the Latin alphabet is used officially, it is normal to see Uzbek Cyrillic throughout the country.
Like most Turkic languages, Uzbek has agglutinative morphology meaning that words and sentences are created through adding suffixes to a root word. For example, Amerikadanman (Amerika= the United States and the root word, dan= from and man= I) so Amerikadanman means I’m from the United States. Uzbek does not have vowel harmony like other Turkic languages. The word order is Subject +Direct Object+ Verb.
Why should I study it?
It charms people
Uzbeks are shocked when I start speaking Uzbek because my native language is more popular than theirs. By speaking Uzbek, I’ve been able to break the ice with students, administrators and personal trainers. Students and community members respect me because I speak their language, forming lasting bonds.
It introduces you to Uzbek culture
There are many Uzbek concepts and words untranslatable to English that are key to understanding and appreciating the culture. Family is a key example. Kelin is the word that describes a bride or a woman who has married into a family. While in English, a bride is used leading up to a wedding, during the wedding and months after a wedding, kelin in Uzbek will be the woman’s title until she becomes a qaynona (mother-in-law). Kelin indicates that she married into the family.
It is a pretty language
There are several sounds in Uzbek which have captivated me including the hard K (q/ қ), y (y/ й) and hard H (h/ ҳ). Two Uzbek pop songs capture the magic of Uzbek sounds. The first, called Dema (Don’t Say) by Uzbek singers, Ziyoda and Rayhon, illustrates the hard k and the hard h sounds well with lines like “xulosa qilmagin jonim hali-hali” (don’t make conclusions yet) and “jonim deyishga haqqi yo’q” (don’t’ have the right to call me sweetheart).
Here is the song on Youtube:
The second, called Mazza-Mazza (It’s fun-It’s fun) by Ziyoda captures the beauty of y sound, This is exemplified through the line “mazza, mazza, mazza-de, o’ylaymay yuravera-verasan-de” (it’s good, it’s good for you, you never think about it).
Here is the song on Youtube:
It is a unique talent
There is a small community of American Uzbek speakers. When you explain to someone that you know Uzbek, they think you are very talented because it’s a rare skill. Also, there is a small community of Uzbek learners who provide resources to each other. Through Memrise, you can connect to other Americans who are learning Uzbek.
It introduces you to Islamic culture
Uzbek is highly influenced by Russian, Arabic, Turkish and Persian. Besides Russian, I have limited exposure to these languages and cultures. Through learning Uzbek, I was introduced to these languages. Now, I recognize words in Turkish and know various Persian and Arabic words. Here are some examples of loan words:
One of my favorite parts of Uzbek is that it has Russian words written in the Latin alphabet, making them easier for me to remember.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it hard?
Uzbek is not hard for me because there are very few expectations to grammar, mostly just adding suffixes to words.
What’s the hardest part of Uzbek?
For me, there are the two most difficult parts of Uzbek are word order and pronunciation. There are several sounds in Uzbek that I have never heard before including g’, h and q. While I can mostly say q and h, I still struggle with g’. Since I’m a native English speaker, I think subject+ verb+ direct object word order. Uzbek follows subject+ direct object+ verb structure. I will say “men gapirmayman hozir” (I don’t talk now) when the correct form is “men hozir gapirmayman” (I now don’t talk).
What’s the easiest part of Uzbek?
For me, the easiest part of Uzbek is the grammar because it is straight forward. I learned Uzbek grammar very quickly. Unlike Russian, Uzbek and Spanish, there are limited expectations to grammar rules.
What resources should I use?
My favorite resource is Memrise. There are two sets based on the vocabulary of the Elementary Uzbek textbook. While the sets do not include audio files, memorizing these words will help you read Uzbek better.
Uzbek Brian has great explainers of verbs and other Uzbek grammatical structures.
Works Consulted and Cited: https://ai.glossika.com/blog/getting-started-to-learn-the-uzbek-language, Dilrabo Ahmadiyeva and Uzbek: An Elementary Textbook
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