Annotation
ANOTACE
The course is an introduction to modern Uyghur. The textbook will be Engesaeth, Tarjei, Yaqup, Mahire, and Dwyer, Arienne. Teklimakandin salam. hazirqi zaman Uyghur tili qollanmisi. [Greetings from the Teklimakan. A Handbook of Modern Uyghur.] Uyghur language is used by the Uyghur nationality living predominantly in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. Besides Xinjiang (also known as East Turkestan), where they number about 12 million. Uyghur is also spoken by Uyghur communities in Central Asia, as well as by the diaspora in Turkey, Western Europe, the US and Canada. It belongs to the Karluk branch of the Turkic language family, where it is the closest to Uzbek. Modern Uyghur in based on the Ili dialect of Uyghur spoken in northern Xinjiang and it is written in fully phonetic modified Arabic script. During the course, students will master Uyghur phonetics, script, basic communication skills, and elementary grammar. The credit will be awarded after fulfilling requirements in attendance and passing interim and final tests.
TEXTBOOK
Engesaeth, Tarjei, Yaqup, Mahire, and Dwyer, Arienne. Teklimakandin salam [Greetings from the Teklimankan]. Hazirqi zaman Uyghur tili qollanmisi. [Greetings from the Teklimakan. A Handbook of Modern Uyghur.] Lawrence: University of Kansas Scholarworks, 2010. Available at https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/5624.
RELATED READINGS de Jong, Frederick. Uyghur Texts in Context: Life in Shinjang Documented from Public Spaces. Leiden: Brill, 2017.
Dwyer, Arienne. “The Xinjiang Conflict: Uyghur Identity, Language Policy, and Political Discourse.” Washington DC: East-West Center Washington, 2005. Available at http://www.eastwestcenter.org/sites/default/files/private/PS015.pdf.
Hahn, Reihard F. Spoken Uyghur. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1991.
Millward, James A. Eurasian Crossroads. A History of Xinjiang. London: C. Hurst & Co., 2007.
Nazarova, Gulnisa, and Niyaz, Kurban. Uyghur: Elementary Textbook. Washington DC: Georgetown Univerity Press, 2013.
Tursun, Nabijan. Uyghur Reader. Hyattsville, Maryland: Dunwoody Press, 2007.
Yulghun Uyghur-Chinese-English Dictionary. Available at https://lughet.com/.
SYLABUS
Class 1-2: Introduction, Uyghur phonetics and script.
Class 4-12: Grammar, conversation.
Class 13: Final test.