Uzbekistan's official and majority language is Uzbek, a Karluk Turkic language closely related to Uyghur and belonging to the Turkic language family. Uzbek is spoken natively by about 85% of the population and is the only official state language of Uzbekistan
. Uzbek has two main variants: Northern Uzbek, spoken primarily in Uzbekistan and neighboring countries, and Southern Uzbek, spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The language has been influenced by Persian, Arabic, and Russian, and unlike many Turkic languages, it has largely lost vowel harmony
. Since 1992, Uzbek has officially been written in a Latin-based alphabet, although Cyrillic is still widely used, especially by the older generation
. Russian is the second most spoken language in Uzbekistan, used extensively in urban areas, government, business, and interethnic communication. About 5.4% of the population speaks Russian as a primary language, with many others using it as a second language
. Other languages spoken in Uzbekistan include Tajik (Persian), Karakalpak (official in Karakalpakstan), Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and several minority languages such as Dungan and Tatar
. In summary:
- Official language: Uzbek (Karluk Turkic language)
- Second most spoken: Russian
- Other languages: Tajik, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, and minority languages
- Writing system: Latin alphabet officially, Cyrillic still in use especially among older generations
This linguistic diversity reflects Uzbekistan's historical and cultural influences in Central Asia
