Language Information
Kyrgyz is part of the Turkic language family and one of the two official languages of Kyrgyzstan, the other being Russian. Outside of Kyrgyzstan, Kyrgyz is also spoken in parts of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of China, and Russia. There are approximately 5 million native speakers.
After Kyrgyzstan became independent in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the importance of the Kyrgyz language increased in state affairs.
The written language has evolved significantly over time, with several changes in scripts and alphabets. During the Soviet Union, the Cyrillic alphabet became the most common alphabet for writing Kyrgyz and has remained so to this day, though some Kyrgyz still use the Arabic alphabet, particularly in the People's Republic of China.
At Indiana University, Kyrgyz is offered during the academic year through the Department of Central Eurasian Studies (CEUS).