Turkish Language

Turkish Language, also Osmanli or Ottoman Turkish, national language of Turkey, spoken also by Turkish minorities in Central Asia, the Balkans, and the Near East. Closely related to Azerbaijani and Turkmen, Turkish is the most widely spoken member of the Altaic language family. Modern Turkish is descended from the language brought to Asia Minor by the Seljuk Turks in the 11th century. Sometimes called Old Anatolian, this language developed into that of the Ottoman Empire, founded in about 1300 by Osman (Arabic, 'Uthman, hence Ottoman), a regional chieftain under the Seljuks. Originally written in Arabic script, Turkish over the centuries borrowed numerous Arabic and Persian words and constructions. After 1929 the Roman alphabet was adopted, and many expressions of foreign origin were replaced with Turkish-derived ones. For linguistic traits, see Altaic Languages.