Äynu (also known as Abdal) is a Turkic cryptolect spoken in Western China. It is spoken by the Äynu, a nomadic people, who use it to keep their communications secret from outsiders.

The grammar of Äynu is mostly Turkic, essentially Uyghur, while its vocabulary is mainly derived from Persian and other Iranian languages. Some linguists call it a mixed language, but other linguists argue that it does not meet the technical requirements of a mixed language.

Name

The language is known by many different spellings, including Abdal,[citation needed] Aini, Ainu, Ayni, Aynu, Eyni and Eynu. The Abdal (ئابدال) spelling is commonly used in Uyghur sources. Russian sources use Eynu, Aynu, Abdal (Эйну, Айну, Абдал) and Chinese uses the spelling Ainu (艾努). The Äynu people call their language Äynú (ئەينۇ, [ɛjˈnu]).

Geographic distribution

Äynu is spoken in Western China among Alevi Muslims in Xinjiang on the edge of the Taklimakan Desert in the Tarim Basin.

Similarly mixed varieties of Turkic and Persian are spoken in other locations including Turkey and Uzbekistan. The speakers of these varieties are also referred to as "Abdal".

Use as a secret language

The only speakers of Äynu are adult men, who are found to speak it outside of their area of settlement in order to communicate without being understood by others. Uyghur is spoken with outsiders who do not speak Äynu and at home when it is not necessary to disguise one's speech.

Phonology

Consonants

Consonant phonemes
LabialAlveolarAlveo- PalatalVelarUvularGlottal
Nasalmnŋ
Plosive/Affricatepbtdt͡ʃd͡ʒkɡq
Fricativevszʃχʁɦ
Flap/Tapr
Approximantlj

/j/ is a palatal consonant. Phonemes on the left of a cell are voiceless, while those on the right are voiced.

Vowels

Äynu vowels[image reference needed]
Vowel Phonemes
FrontCentralBack
Closeiʉu
Mideɵo
Openɛa

Orthography

Due to Äynu's secretive nature, along with a lack of official status in areas which it is spoken in, it does not have any widely used writing system. However, the Uyghur Arabic alphabet is typically used in the occasion where it needs to be written.

Vocabulary

Most of basic vocabulary in Äynu comes from the Iranian languages, which might be speculated that the language have been originally an Iranian language and have been turned into a Turkic language after a long period. There are three vocabulary formation methods in the Äynu language: simple words, derived words, and compound words. The affixes of derived words have both Uyghur and Persian origin. Old people mostly use Persian affixes, while the young people use Uyghur derived vocabulary and affixes.

Numerals

Äynu numerals are completely Persian. However, ordinal adjectives are made by adding Uyghur -(I)ncI suffix.

Numbers

EnglishÄynuPersianUyghur
oneyekyekbir
twoduduikki
threesiseüç
fivepencepencpeş
tendehdehon
twentybistbistyigirme

Ordinal adjectives

EnglishÄynuPersianUyghur
firstyekinciyekbir
seconddurinciduvumikkinçi
thirdsirincisivumüçinci
fifthpencincipencumbeşinci
tenthdehincidehumonınçı
twentiethbistincibistumyigirminçi

Notes

  • Hayasi, Tooru (1999). A Šäyxil Vocabulary: A Preliminary Report of Linguistic Research in Šäyxil Village, Southwestern Xinjiang. Kyoto: Faculty of Letters, Kyoto University.
  • Hayasi, Tooru (2000). "Lexical Copying in Turkic: The Case of Eynu". In Göksel, Asli; Kerslake, Celia (eds.). Studies on Turkish and Turkic languages: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Turkish Linguistics, Oxford, 1998. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. pp. 433–439. ISBN 3-447-04293-1.
  • Johansson, Lars (2001). (PDF). Stockholm: Svenska Forskningsinstitutet i Istanbul. ISBN 91-86884-10-7.
  • Ladstätter, Otto; Tietze, Andreas (1994). Die Abdal (Äynu) in Xinjiang (in German). Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. ISBN 3-7001-2076-1.

Further reading

  • Hölzl, Andreas. 2021. . "Language contact in the Altaic world: A multiperspective approach", 19–20 November 2021, Charles University, Prague.

External links