Khalaj language
| Khalaj | |
|---|---|
| خلج | |
Khalaj in the Persian Nasta'liq form | |
| Native to | Iran |
| Region | Distributed throughout a number of villages in the Markazi Province from Qom to Ashtian and Tafresh |
| Ethnicity | Khalaj |
Native speakers | 19,000 (2018) |
Turkic
| |
Early form | Arghu
|
| Dialects |
|
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | klj |
| Glottolog | turk1303 |
| ELP | Khalaj |
Map of the location of the Khalaj Language. | |
Khalaj is a Turkic language spoken in Iran. Although it contains many old Turkic elements, it has become widely Persianized. Khalaj has about 150 words of uncertain origin.
Surveys have found that most young Khalaj parents do not pass the language on to their children; only 5% of families teach their children the language.
The Khalaj language is a descendant of an old Turkic language called Arghu. The 11th-century Turkic lexicographer Mahmud al-Kashgari was the first person to give written examples of the Khalaj language, which are mostly interchangeable with modern Khalaj.
Gerhard Doerfer, who first scientifically described Khalaj, demonstrated that it was an independent branch from Common Turkic.