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The IliTurkiLanguage is an EasternTurkicLanguage of China. SIL code: ILI. ISO 639-2: tut. Population: 120 approximately, or at least 30 households in China (1980 R.F. Hahn). Population total both countries: 120 or more. Region: Ili Valley near Kuldja, Xinjiang. Probably some in Kazakhstan. Alternate names: T'URK, TUERKE. Comments: Reported to be a link between Chagatai and Kypchak (Uzbek dialect). Bilingualism in Kazakh, Uyghur. Spoken by older people. Younger people are intermarrying with neighboring groups. Ethnically and linguistically distinct, discovered in 1956. Their oral history says they came from the Ferghana Valley (Uzbekistan/Kyrgyzstan) about 200 years ago. SOV, vowel harmony, influenced greatly by Kazakh and Uyghur, has Arabic, Persian, Chinese, and Russian loans. Also spoken in: Kazakhstan. (Language name: ILI TURKI.) Alternate names: T'URK, TUERKE. Comments: The language is linguistically distinct, a link between Chagatai and Kypchak (Uzbek dialect). Their oral history says their ancestors came from the Ferghana Valley (Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan) about 200 years ago. Speakers are older. Younger people understand Ili Turki, but are adopting Kazakh or Uyghur, and intermarrying with neighboring groups.(extract from http://www.ethnologue.com/)
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