We Central Asians.

LINGUISTIC AFFILIATION

Kazak is a member of the Central Turkic (or Aralo Caspian) group of languages, which also includes Kyrgyz (Kyrgyzstan) and other less well known languages, such as Karakalpak. Central Turkic isa sub-group of Common Turkic which also includes Turkish, Azerbaijani (Azeri), Uighur, and Uzbek. The Turkic languages,and the Mongolian Tungus (Manchu Tungusic) languages of Siberia and northeastern China, are major divisions of the Altaic family or phylum (see Ruhlen 1987). Some experts also consider Japanese and Korean part of this phylum, although evidence of this is debated.

ORTHOGRAPHY

Kazak, the language of a historically Muslim people, was written with the Arabic script until 1929; with the Roman alphabet from 1929 to 1940; and with the Cyrillic alphabet following Soviet occupation in 1940. This alphabet was modified slightly in 1954 and the Cyrillic now used employs the thirty three letters of standard Russian, plus several additional symbols for sounds specific to Kazak.

ROLE IN SOCIETY

In September 1989, the Kazakh Supreme Soviet established Kazak as the official language of the Republic with Russian remaining as the language of interethnic communication. This was opposed by many non Kazaks, chief among them a local branch of the Russian nationalist organization Yedinstvo. Nevertheless, the new constitution of January 1993 invoked the earlier legislation and also stipulated that the President of the Republic be a fluent speaker of Kazak (Europa Publications 1993). However, the majority of business and government affairs are still conducted in Russian.

Most students in the primary and secondary education are still taught in Russian, although 33 percent do learn in the Kazak language (Europa Publications 1993) and there are attempts to extend Kazak language education. More Kazak language schools are being established, and ethnic Kazaks are sending their children to these schools in increasing numbers. Higher education is dominated by Kazaks (54 percent in 1984/85) since ethnic Russians choose to study outside the Republic.
Traditional Kazak poetry singing contests are held more frequently, and Russian street signs and place names are being replaced by Kazak equivalents.
     
In 1989, there were 160 officially registered Kazak language newspaper titles and thirty-one periodicals. Other languages represented in the media are Russian, Uyghur, German, and Korean.

ACADEMIC RESOURCES

Kazak is taught in few universities in Canada or the United States. Programs are available at the University of Arizona and the State University of New York at Geneseo (Linguistic Society of America 1992).

sorry for the mistake above...

Also spelled Kirgiz, or Kirghiz, member of the Turkic subfamily of Altaic languages. It is spoken in Kyrgyzstan and in the Pamir Mountains on the border between Tajikistan, Afghanistan, and China. The language belongs to the northwestern, or Kipchak, division of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Kazak, Karakalpak, and Nogay.

Kyrgyz is also the name of the Old Turkic language found in inscriptions of the Yenisey River valley in Russia. The relationship between the speakers of Old Kyrgyz and the speakers of Central Asian Kyrgyz is unclear. See also Turkic languages

The land
Relief

Kyrgyzstan is, above all, a mountainous country. At its eastern extremity, next to the Uighur Autonomous Region of Sinkiang, China, rises Victory (Pobedy) Peak, at 24,406 feet (7,439 metres) Kyrgyzstan's highest peak. Mount Khan-Tengri (22,949 feet) is on the border with Kazakstan. These mountains stand in the core of the Tien Shan system, which continues eastward into China. On the southern border lie the Kok Shaal-Tau, Alay, Trans-Alay (Zaalay), and Atbashi ranges.

To the southwest are two great hollows, the Fergana Valley and another valley close to Mount Khan-Tengri. The latter valley is bounded by the westward-thrusting arms of the Kungey-Alatau and Terskey-Alatau ranges and contains Lake Ysyk-K�l (Issyk-Kul), whose clear, deep waters arefed by the snow-covered peaks. The rugged mountain-and-basin structure of much of the country, and the high alpine plateau of the central and eastern regions, are separated from the Fergana Valley on the west by the Fergana Range, running southeast to northwest, which merges into the Chatkal Range. The Chatkal Range is linked to the Ysyk-K�l region by a final enclosing range, the Kyrgyz. The only other important lowlands in the country are the Chu and Talas river valleys in the north, with the capital, Bishkek, located in the Chu. The country's lowland areas, though occupying only one-seventh of the total area, are home to most of its people

Climate

Kyrgyzstan's great distance from the oceans and the sharp change of elevation from adjacentplains strongly influence the country's climate. Deserts and plains surround Kyrgyzstan on the north, west, and southeast, making the contrast with the climate and landscape of its mountainous interior all the more striking. The lower parts of its fringing ranges lie in belts of high temperature and receive hot, drying winds from the deserts beyond. The amount of precipitation the country's westward- and northward-facing slopes receive increases with their height. The valleys have hot, dry summers, with a mean July temperature of 82� F (28� C). In January the average temperature is −0.5� F (−18� C). Annual precipitation varies from 7 inches (180 millimetres) in the eastern Tien Shan to 30 to 40 inches in the Kyrgyz and Fergana ranges. In the most populous valleys, rainfall ranges from 4 to 20 inches a year

Settlement patterns

Between 1926 and 1989 the urban portion of the Kyrgyz population grew from almost nothing to more than one-fifth, though the Kyrgyz remained a minority in most cities and towns. During this period fewer than one-fourth of the inhabitants of the capital, Frunze (now Bishkek), were Kyrgyz; Slavs made up more than half of the city's population. Town dwellers, largely non-Kyrgyz, comprise less than two-fifths of the country's total population. Southern Kyrgyzstan tends to be rural and Islāmic, but the more urbanized, Western-oriented north has traditionally dominated the country.

The economy

The people of Kyrgyzstan have traditionally raised livestock and engaged in farming. By the late 20th century the republic had become a source for nonferrous metals, notably of antimony and mercury ores, and a producer of machinery, light industrial products, hydroelectric power, and food products. Gold mining has increased in importance, and Kyrgyzstan possesses substantial coal reserves and some petroleum and natural gas deposits. Hydroelectric power provides more than three-fourths of the country's electric energy.