Gagauz language

Between 1750{{citation needed|date=October 2021}} and 1846, ancestors of the Gagauz today emigrated from the current-day Bulgarian Black Sea coast north of Varna to Russia and settled in the region that is now the current-day Republic of Moldova, allowed to do so on the condition that they converted to Orthodox Christianity by Empress Catherine.{{Cite journal |last1=Nasidze |first1=I. |last2=Quinque |first2=D. |last3=Udina |first3=I. |last4=Kunizheva |first4=S. |last5=Stoneking |first5=M. |date=2007 |title=The Gagauz, a Linguistic Enclave, are not a genetic isolate |journal=Annals of Human Genetics |volume=71 |issue=3 |pages=379–389 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-1809.2006.00330.x |pmid=17147693 |s2cid=21390260}} In the aftermath of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the 1994 law on Special Legal Status of Gagauzia was passed in Moldova, which was put into effect in 1995, granting the Gagauz territorial autonomy.{{Cite book |last=Protsyk |first=Oleh |title=Asymmetric Autonomy and the Settlement of Ethnic Conflicts |date=2010 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=9780812222388 |editor-last=Weller |editor-first=Marc |pages=231–251 |chapter=Gagauz Autonomy in Moldova: The Real and the Virtual in Post-Soviet State Design |doi=10.2307/j.ctt3fhcx2.13 |jstor=j.ctt3fhcx2.13 |editor-last2=Nobbs |editor-first2=Katherine}}{{Citation |last=Neukirch |first=Claus |title=Autonomy and Conflict Transformation: The Case of the Gagauz Territorial Autonomy In the Republic of Moldova |date=2002 |s2cid=31174219}}

{{main|Gagauz alphabet}}

It appears that the first alphabet to be used for the language was the Greek alphabet{{Cite book |last=Ciachir |first=M. |title=Basarabialâ gagauzlarân istoriassi |date=1933 |location=Chișinău |page=133}} in the late 19th century. For example, orientalist Otto Blau claims that plays of Euripides had been translated into the Gagauz language and had been written with Greek letters.{{Cite book |last=Măcriș |first=Anatol |title=Găgăuzii |date=2008 |publisher=Editura PACO |location=Bucharest |page=71 |language=ro}}

Beginning in 1957, Cyrillic was used until 1993. On May 13, 1993, the parliament of the Republic of Moldova passed a decision providing for the official adoption of the Latin-based alphabet for the Gagauz language.{{Citation |title=Hotărîre Nr. 1421 din 13.05.1993 "pentru trecerea scrisului limbii găgăuze la grafia latină" |url=http://lex.justice.md/viewdoc.php?action=view&view=doc&id=306820&lang=1 |trans-title=Parliament Decision No. 1421 of 13 May 1993 "for the passage of the writing of the Gagauz language in the Latin spelling" |language=ro |access-date=2019-11-03 |via=lex.justice.md}} This was subsequently amended in 1996.{{Citation |title=Hotărîre Nr. 816 din 24.04.1996 "privind modificarea şi completarea Hotărîrii Parlamentului pentru trecerea scrisului limbii găgăuze la grafia latină" |url=http://lex.justice.md/viewdoc.php?action=view&view=doc&id=306590 |trans-title=Parliament Decision No. 816 of 24 April 1996 "on amending and supplementing the Parliament's Decision on the transfer of the Gagauzian writing to the Latin spelling" |language=ro |access-date=2019-11-03 |via=lex.justice.md}} The Gagauz alphabet adopted is modelled on the modern Turkish alphabet, with the addition of three letters: {{angle bracket|ä}} to represent the sound of {{IPA|[æ]}} (as {{angle bracket|ə}} in Azeri), {{angle bracket|ê}} to represent the {{IPA|[ə]}} (schwa) sound, which does not exist in Turkish, and {{angbr|ţ}} to represent the sound {{IPA|[ts]}} from the Romanian alphabet. On the other hand, unlike Crimean Tatar, Turkish, and some other Turkic languages, Gagauz does not have the letter {{angle bracket|ğ}}, which had become completely silent in the Gagauz language.

Dotted and dotless I are separate letters, each with its own uppercase and lowercase form. I is the capital form of ı, and İ is the capital form of i. The Gagauz alphabet has no q, w or x. Instead, those characters are transliterated into Gagauz as k, v and ks.

Modern Gagauz alphabet:

A study in 2012 was conducted on the Gagauz community to assess the current situation and sociocultural context. The findings show that within Gagauzia, official documents, printed publications, and official web sites are only in Russian. The National Passport System in Moldova does not allow the spelling of names in Gagauz. Signposts in Gagauzia are mostly in Romanian, and the names of squares and streets have not changed since the time of the Soviet Union.Sirkeli, M. & Lisenco, S. (2012). "Policy Brief: Implementation of linguistic rights of the Gagauz of Moldova. Integration of the Gagauz Community into the Society of Moldova."

Despite various laws that support the rights of citizens to education in their native language, almost all instruction in Gagauzian schools is in Russian. Gagauz, while the native language of all students, is only taught as a "native language" class for a few hours per week.{{Cite thesis |last=Dağdeviren Kırmızı |first=Gülin |title=Emotional and Functional Attitudes of Native Speakers Towards Gagauz as an Endangered Language |date=2015 |degree=PhD |publisher=Hacettepe University |hdl=11655/1251 |hdl-access=free}} Research has also shown that there are not serious desires or attempts to institute Gagauz as a language of instruction. In a study, 80.6% of respondents preferred Russian as the medium of instruction at schools. There are, however, some notable efforts to increase Gagauz language education.{{Cite journal |last=Kahl |first=Thede |editor-last= |editor-first= |title=Die Gagausen und ihre Autonomie. Eine kritische Betrachtung aus der Perspektive der Mehrsprachigkeit (Moldauisch/Rumänisch, Russisch, Gagausisch/Türkisch) |url=https://www.academia.edu/22505196 |journal=Wiener Romanistische Landeswissenschaft(en), Bachelor Master Studies |publisher=Praesens |publication-place=Vienna |volume=1 |pages=147–165}} Todur Zanet, editor-in-chief of the Ana Sözü local newspaper, has played an active role in encouraging readers and local authorities to promote instruction in their mother tongue. Zanet has also contributed significantly to efforts to standardize the language and increase its accessibility through print and other mediums.

{{Unreferenced section|date=January 2024}}

Ana Sözü is the largest local newspaper in Gagauzia. It is also the only local newspaper still written entirely in Gagauz, and was the first newspaper of any kind published in the Gagauz language. Apart from Ana Sözü, there are various newspapers published in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia, including Açık Göz, Gagauz Yeri, Gagauz Sesi, Halk Birlii, Novıy Vzgliad, Vesti Gagauzii, and Znamea.

In addition to printed materials, the company Gagauz Radio Televisionu (GRT) produces radio and television broadcasts in Gagauz.

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{cite book |editor-last1=Kortmann |editor-first1=Bernd |editor-last2=Van der Auwera |editor-first2=Johan |year=2011 |title=The Languages and Linguistics of Europe: A Comprehensive Guide |publisher=de Gruyter Mouton |doi=10.1515/9783110220261|isbn=978-3-11-022025-4 }}
• {{cite book |last=Pokrovskaja |first=Ljudmila A. |year=1997 |chapter=Gagauzskij jazyk |title=Jazyki mira: Tjurkskie jazyki |pages=224–235 |location=Moscow |publisher=Indrik}}
• {{cite book |last=Pokrovskaja |first=Ljudmila A. |year=1964 |title=Grammatika gagauzskogo jazyka: fonetika i morfologija |location=Moskva |publisher=Nauka}}
• {{cite book |last=Shabasho |first=A. V. |year=2002 |location=Odesa |publisher=Astroprint |trans-title=Gagauzes: terms of kinship system and origin of the people |script-title=ru:Гагаузы: система терминов родства и происхождение народа}}
• {{cite book |last=Ulutaş |first=İsmail |year=2004 |title=Relative clauses in Gagauz syntax |location=Istanbul |publisher=Isis Press |isbn=975-428-283-8}}

{{refend}}

{{InterWiki|code=gag}}

• [https://gagauz.online/ English-Gagauz Gagauz-English Dictionary]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20061110054203/http://anasozu.com/songs/yasha_halkim.mp3 A Gagauz song "Yaşa, Halkım!" by Andrey İVANOV]
• [http://maviboncuk.blogspot.com/2011/11/concise-gagauz-dictionary.html "A Concise Gagauz-English dictionary with etymologies and Azerbaijani and Turkmen cognates" by Andras Rajki (download)]
• [http://www.anasozu.com/ anasozu.com Gagauz language web site]

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Category:Agglutinative languages

Category:Languages of Moldova

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