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Uzbek (O'zbek tili in Latin script,
Ўзбек in Cyrillic script) is a
Turkic language spoken by the Uzbek in Uzbekistan and elsewhere in Central Asia. Its closest relative, in vocabulary and grammar, is Uighur. Tajik and Russian have had significant influences on Uzbek.
Uzbek is the official language of Uzbekistan, and has about 18.5 million native speakers. Other countries where Uzbek speakers
live include Australia, China, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and the United States. It was written using the Cyrillic alphabet before 1992, but now a Latin
script is used in Uzbekistan; Uzbek speakers in China write it using the Arabic alphabet.
The Uzbek language has many dialects, varying widely from region to region. However, there is a commonly understood dialect
which is used in mass media and in most printed material. Some linguists consider the language spoken in northern Afghanistan by
ethnic Uzbeks to be a dialect of Uzbek.
An example of written Uzbek: Barcha odamlar erkin, qadr-qimmat ba huquqlarda tang bo'lib tug'iladilar. Ular aql va vijdon
sohibidilar va bir-birla iga birodarlarcha muomala qilishlari zarur. (translation: All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of
brotherhood.)
See also: Languages of China
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