View source for Salar language

{{Short description|Turkic language of the Oghuz sub-branch}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Salar
| nativename       = {{lang|slr|Salarcha}} {{lang|slr|撒拉语}}
| image            = Salar.svg
| states           = [[China]]
| region           = [[Qinghai]], [[Gansu]], [[Xinjiang]]
| ethnicity        = [[Salar people|Salar]]
| speakers         = 70,000
| date             = 2002
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| fam2             = [[Common Turkic languages|Common Turkic]]
| fam3             = [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Concise Encyclopedia of Languages of the World|others=Contributors Keith Brown, Sarah Ogilvie|edition=revised|year=2010|publisher=Elsevier|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F2SRqDzB50wC&q=salars+oghuz&pg=PA1109|page=1109|isbn=978-0080877754|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=An Ethnohistorical Dictionary of China|first=James Stuart|last=Olson|year=1998|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IOM8qF34s4YC&q=salars+oghuz&pg=PA297|page=297|isbn=978-0313288531|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter=Preaspiration in Western Yugur monosyllables|first=Marti|last=Roos|title=The Mainz Meeting: Proceedings of the Seventh International Conference on Turkish Linguistics, August 3–6, 1994|series=Turcologica Series|editor-first=Lars|editor-last=Johanson|others=Contributor Éva Ágnes Csató|year=1998|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cgNQdljvk70C&pg=PA28|page=28|isbn=978-3447038645|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>
| script           = [[Pinyin]]-based Latin and [[Chinese characters]]
| nation           = {{Flag|China}}
*[[Xunhua Salar Autonomous County]]<ref name="Martí">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9hrT4YGBNGEC&pg=PA123|title=Words and worlds: world languages review|first=Fèlix|last=Martí|display-authors=etal|year=2005|publisher=Multilingual Matters|edition=illustrated|isbn=978-1-85359-827-2|page=123|access-date=2011-06-03}}</ref>
*[[Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County]]
| iso3             = slr
| glotto           = sala1264
| glottorefname    = Salar
| notice           = IPA
| dia1             = Ili Salar
| dia2             = Gaizi (Jiezi)
| dia3             = Mengda
| map2             = Lang Status 80-VU.svg
| mapcaption2      = {{center|{{small|Salar is classified as Vulnerable by the [[UNESCO]] ''[[Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger]]''}}}}
}}

'''Salar''' is a [[Turkic language]] spoken by the [[Salar people]], who mainly live in the provinces of [[Qinghai]] and [[Gansu]] in [[China]]; some also live in [[Ili Kazakh Autonomous Prefecture|Ili]], [[Xinjiang]]. It is a primary branch and an eastern outlier of the [[Oghuz languages|Oghuz]] branch of Turkic, the other Oghuz languages being spoken mostly in West and Central Asia. The Salar number about 105,000 people, about 70,000<ref name="report for language code:slr">'''Ethnologue.com''' :[http://www.ethnologue.com/show_language.asp?code=slr report for language code:slr]</ref> (2002) speak the Salar language; under 20,000<ref name="report for language code:slr"/> are monolinguals.

According to Salar tradition and Chinese chronicles, the Salars are the descendants of the [[Salur tribe]], belonging to the [[Oghuz Turks|Oghuz Turk]] tribe of the [[Western Turkic Khaganate]]. During the [[Tang dynasty]], the Salur tribe dwelt within China's borders and since then has lived within the Qinghai-Gansu border region.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6YWAERgYmFgC&pg=PR11|title=Exploring the Eastern Frontiers of Turkic|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2006|isbn=978-3447053105|editor1-last=Erdal|editor1-first=Marcel|volume=60 of Turcologica Series|page=xi|access-date=24 April 2014|editor2-last=Nevskaya|editor2-first=Irina}}</ref><ref name="Cultural China2">{{cite web|url=http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions9610.html|title=China's Minority Peoples - The Salars|date=2007–2014|website=Cultural-china.com|publisher=Cultural China|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005111325/http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions9610.html|archive-date=5 October 2013|url-status=dead|access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref> Contemporary Salar has some influence from [[Mandarin Chinese]] and [[Amdo Tibetan]].

== Classification ==
Due to the ethnonym "Salur", which is also shared by [[Salur (tribe)|some modern Turkmen tribes]], linguists historically tried to establish a link between [[Turkmen language|Turkmen varieties]] and the Salar language. Some placenames in Uzbekistan include the word Salar. Most modern linguists today classify Salar as an independent primary branch of the Oghuz languages.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Erdal|first=Marcel|date=2015|title=Ana Oğuzca Ve Selçuklu Oğuzcasi|url=https://www.academia.edu/12833782|journal=5. Uluslararası Türkiyat Araştırmaları Sempozyumu Bildirileri.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Glottolog 4.4 - Salar|url=https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/sala1264|access-date=2021-07-27|website=glottolog.org}}</ref>

==Dialects==
The [[Qing dynasty|Qing Empire]] deported some Salars who belonged to the [[Jahriyya|Jahriyya Sufi order]] to the [[Ili valley]] which is in modern-day Xinjiang. Today, a community of about four thousand Salars speaking a distinct dialect of Salar still live in Ili. Salar migrants from Amdo ([[Qinghai]]) came to settle the region as religious exiles, migrants, and as soldiers enlisted in the Chinese army to fight rebels in Ili, often following the Hui.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA79 79]}}</ref> The distinctive dialect of the Ili Salar differs from the other Salar dialects because the neighboring Kazakh and Uyghur languages in Ili influenced it.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XtW6cox7CIUC&pg=PA279 |title=Turcology in Mainz |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2010 |isbn=978-3447061131 |editor1-last=Boeschoten |editor1-first=Hendrik |volume=82 of Turcologica Series |page=279 |access-date=1 April 2013 |editor2-last=Rentzsch |editor2-first=Julian}}</ref> The Ili Salar population numbers around 4,000 people.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA77 77]}}</ref> There have been instances of misunderstanding between speakers of Ili Salar and Qinghai Salar due to the divergence of the dialects.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA82 82]}}</ref> The differences between the two dialect result in a "clear [[isogloss]]".<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA86 86]}}</ref>

However, [[Lin Lianyun]] and [[Han Jianye]] divide Salar into two dialects by including Western Salar in the Gaizi dialect: the Gaizi dialect<ref>{{Cite web |title=Salar: Jiezi dil |url=https://globalrecordings.net/tr/language/16205 |access-date=2022-09-14 |website=globalrecordings.net |language=tr}}</ref> and the Mengda dialect.<ref name=":0">马伟 (Ma Wei); 朝克 (Chao Ke) (2016), in  濒危语言——撒拉语研究 [Endangered Languages - Salar Language Studies], 青海 (Qinghai): 国家社会科学基金项目 (National Social Science Foundation Project), pp. 86-95, 263</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Kaşgarli |first=Raile ABDULVAHİT |date=2018-04-29 |title=SALAR TÜRKÇESİNDEKİ ÇİNCE UNSURLAR |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/littera/issue/36790/409800 |journal=Littera Turca Journal of Turkish Language and Literature |language=tr |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=428–445 |doi=10.20322/littera.409800 |doi-access=free}}</ref> The Gaizi dialect is mainly distributed in Jiezi, Qingshui and Baizhuang in [[Xunhua Salar Autonomous County|Xunhua County]], Gandu in [[Hualong Hui Autonomous County|Hualong County]], [[Dahejia]] in Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture of [[Gansu|Gansu Province]] and [[Yining County]], Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The Mengda dialect is distributed around the Mengda area of Xunhua County. The Mengda dialect is b-Salar, while the Gaizi (or Jiezi) dialect is v-Salar. For example; It lives in the Ili and Jiezi as{{Clarify|date=August 2024}} {{lang|slr|vol-}} "to be", {{lang|slr|ver-}} "to give", {{lang|slr|vax-}} "to look", and in the Mengda dialect as {{lang|slr|bol-}} "to be", {{lang|slr|ber-}} "to give", {{lang|slr|bax-}} "to look". Also, Mengda lost its {{angbr|gh}} phoneme, which has developed into the {{angbr|x}} phoneme: Gaizi {{lang|slr|deɣ-}} "to touch", Mengda {{lang|slr|dex-}} "to touch"; Gaizi {{lang|slr|yaʁ-}} "to rain", Mengda {{lang|slr|yaχ-}} "to rain". While the {{angbr|m}} phoneme stood in the Gaizi dialect, it turned into the {{angbr|n}} sound in the Mengda dialect: Gaizi {{lang|slr|qamjü}} "whip", Mengda {{lang|slr|qanjü}} "whip"; Gaizi {{lang|slr|göm-}} "to embed", Mengda {{lang|slr|gön-}} "to embed".<ref name=":0" />

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+ Tenishev's comparison of<br> Jiezi and Mengda (IPA)<ref>Tenishev, Edhem (1976), in Stroj salárskovo jazyká [Grammar of Salar], Moscow: Nauka, p. 250</ref><ref name=":1" />
|-
!Jiezi (Gaizi)
|{{IPA|/tʰ/}}
|{{IPA|/v/}}
|{{IPA|/e/}}
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|{{IPA|/ɘ/}}
|{{IPA|/ɨ/}}
|{{IPA|/ø/}}
|-
!Mengda
|{{IPA|/ʒʰ/}}
|{{IPA|/p/}}
|{{IPA|/ɑ/}}
|{{IPA|/e/}}
|{{IPA|/ɑ/}}
|{{IPA|/i/}}
|{{IPA|/o/}}
|}
Although Ili Salar is located far away from other dialects, the dialects of the Salar language are very close to each other. The difference between them is mostly phonological.<ref name=":0" /> For example; Ili Salar<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yakup |first=Abdurishid |title=An Ili Salar Vocabulary: Introduction and a Provisional Salar-English Lexicon |publisher=University of Tokyo |year=2002 |isbn=9784903875040 |location=Tokyo |language=English}}</ref> ''gölök'', Qinghai<ref name=":0" /> ''gölix'', ''gölex'' "cow"''.''

== History ==

=== Origins and development ===
The ancestor to modern Salar is thought to have diverged first from the [[Proto-Oghuz language]], a hypothetical language that all modern Oghuz languages are believed to be descended from. It was brought to the region by a small, nomadic, Muslim community, and received significant influence from other non-Oghuz Turkic languages such as [[Chagatai language|Chagatai]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wKoHAQAAMAAJ&q=salars+oghuz|title=Turkic Languages, Volumes 1–2|publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag|year=1998|pages=50, 55, 62|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] and [[Karluk languages|the Karluk languages]],<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=U1009DRu_vMC&q=salar+oghuz&pg=PA400|title=The Turkic Languages|publisher=Taylor & Francis|year=1998|isbn=978-0415082006|editor1-last=Johanson|editor1-first=Lars|edition=illustrated, reprint|volume=60 of Turcologica Series|page=400|access-date=24 April 2014|editor2-last=Csató|editor2-first=Éva}}</ref> along with non-Turkic languages belonging to the [[Sino-Tibetan languages|Sino-Tibetan family]].

After the [[Jahriyya revolt]], some Salars were deported to [[Ili valley|the Ili valley]] and established a new community in the region. This led to the divergence of a distinctive dialect called [[Ili Salar]] influenced by the neighboring [[Kazakh language|Kazakh]] and [[Karluk languages|Uyghur languages]].<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA21 21]}}</ref>

=== Current situation ===
According to 2002 estimates, Salars number about 105,000 people, and about 70,000 of them speak the Salar language. Only under 20,000 Salars are monolingual.<ref name="report for language code:slr"/>{{Update inline|date=July 2021}}

The Salar language is the official language in all Salar autonomous areas.<ref name="Martí" /> Such autonomous areas are the [[Xunhua Salar Autonomous County]] and the [[Jishishan Bonan, Dongxiang and Salar Autonomous County]]. In Qinghai Province, most Salar people speak both [[Lanyin Mandarin|Qinghai Mandarin]] (Chinese) and Salar. Rural Salars can speak Salar more fluently while urban Salars often assimilate more into the Chinese-speaking [[Hui people|Hui Muslim]] population.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA90 90]}}</ref>

==Phonology==
Salar's phonology has been influenced by Chinese and Tibetan. In addition, {{IPA|/k, q/}} and {{IPA|/ɡ, ɢ/}} have become separate phonemes due to loanwords, as they have in other Turkic languages.<ref name="cons">{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=96}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Consonants<ref name="cons"/>
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! [[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-<br>palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
! [[Glottal consonant|Glottal]]
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Nasal stop|Nasal]]
|{{IPAlink|m}}
|{{IPAlink|n}}
|
|
|
|
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]/<br>[[Affricate]]
![[Voicelessness|<small>voiceless</small>]]
| {{IPAlink|p}}
| {{IPAlink|t}} 
| {{IPAlink|t͡ʂ}}
| {{IPAlink|t͡ɕ}}
| {{IPAlink|k}}
| {{IPAlink|q}} 
|
|-
![[Voiced|<small>voiced</small>]]
|{{IPAlink|b}}
|{{IPAlink|d}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʐ}}
|{{IPAlink|d͡ʑ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAlink|ɢ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative]]
![[Voicelessness|<small>voiceless</small>]]
| {{IPAlink|f}}
| {{IPAlink|s}}
| {{IPAlink|ʂ}}
| {{IPAlink|ɕ}}
| {{IPAlink|x}}
|
| {{IPAlink|h}}
|-
![[Voiced|<small>voiced</small>]]
|({{IPAlink|v}})
|{{IPAlink|z}}
|
|
|
|{{IPAlink|ʁ}}
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPAlink|w}}
| {{IPAlink|l}} {{IPAlink|r}} 
|
| {{IPAlink|j}}
|
|
|
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
|+Vowels
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |[[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" |[[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
!{{small|[[Unrounded vowel|unrounded]]}}
!{{small|[[Rounded vowel|rounded]]}}
!{{small|[[Unrounded vowel|unrounded]]}}
!{{small|[[Rounded vowel|rounded]]}}
|-
![[Close vowel|Close]]
|{{IPA link|i}}
|{{IPA link|y}}
|{{IPA link|ɯ}}
|{{IPA link|u}}
|-
![[Open vowel|Open]]
|{{IPA link|e̞|e}}
|{{IPA link|ø}}
|{{IPA link|ɑ}}
|{{IPA link|o̞|o}}
|}

Salar's vowels are similar to those of [[Turkish phonology|Turkish]], with the back vowels {{IPA|/a, ɯ, o, u/}} and the corresponding front vowels {{IPA|/e, i, ø, y/}}.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=121}}</ref> In Ili Salar, the high front vowels i and y, when placed after an initial glide, are spirantized with j transforming into ʝ.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA116 116]}}</ref> Qinghai and Ili Salar have mostly the same consonantal development.<ref name=":2">{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=ciShtCrJijIC&pg=PA212 212]}}</ref>

==Vocabulary==
In Qinghai Province, the Salar language has been notably influenced by Chinese and Tibetan.<ref>{{cite book|title=Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian and Neighbouring Languages|editor1-first=Lars|editor1-last=Johanson|editor2-first=Bo|editor2-last=Utas|volume=24 of Empirical approaches to language typology|issn=0933-761X|year=2000|publisher=Walter de Gruyter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H55NjkRtrpoC&pg=PA58|page=58|isbn=978-3110161588|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref> Although of Turkic origin, major linguistic structures have been absorbed from Chinese. Around 20% of the vocabulary is of Chinese origin and another 10% is of Tibetan origin. Yet the official Chinese government policy deliberately covers up these influences in academic and linguistics studies, trying to emphasize the Turkic element and completely ignoring the Chinese superstrate in the Salar language.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MT0VFdKklYoC&q=salar+han+chinese&pg=PA72|title=Nationalism and ethnoregional identities in China|author=William Safran|editor=William Safran|year=1998|publisher=Psychology Press|edition=illustrated|page=72|isbn=978-0-7146-4921-4|volume=1 of Cass series—nationalism and ethnicity|access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref>{{Why|date=July 2021}} The Salar language has taken loans and influence from neighboring [[varieties of Chinese]].<ref name="Hickey 664">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGZedef70zAC&q=yellow+uyghurs&pg=PA664|title=The Handbook of Language Contact|author=Raymond Hickey|editor=Raymond Hickey|year=2010|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|edition=illustrated|page=664|isbn=978-1-4051-7580-7|access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref> Vice versa, the neighboring variants of the Chinese language have also adopted loanwords from the Salar language.<ref name="Hickey 664b">{{cite book|author=Raymond Hickey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGZedef70zAC&q=yellow+uyghurs&pg=PA664|title=The Handbook of Language Contact|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2010|isbn=978-1-4051-7580-7|editor=Raymond Hickey|edition=illustrated|page=664|access-date=2010-06-28}}</ref>

For the verb "to do" Salar uses "ät" (compare [[Turkish language|Turkish]] ''et'').<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xGZedef70zAC&q=salars+oghuz&pg=PA665|title=The Handbook of Language Contact|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|year=2010|isbn=978-1405175807|editor-last=Hickey|editor-first=Raymond|edition=illustrated|page=665|access-date=24 April 2014}}</ref>  For the word "lips" Salar uses "dodax" (compare Turkish ''dudak'').<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Lianyun |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TJuxAAAAIAAJ |title=撒拉语简志 |publisher=民族出版社 |year=1985 |id=9049•41 |location=Beijing |pages=8 |language=Chinese |trans-title=A Brief History of Salar}}</ref> The participle ''miš'' is used by Salar (compare Turkish ''-mış)''.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wHlCi_yws4YC&q=salar+oghuz&pg=PA201|title=Studies on Turkish and Turkic Languages: Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Turkish Linguistics, Lincoln College, Oxford, August 12–14, 1998|publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|year=2000|isbn=978-3447042932|editor1-last=Göksel|editor1-first=Aslı|edition=illustrated|volume=46 of Turcologica Series|page=201|access-date=24 April 2014|editor2-last=Kerslake|editor2-first=Celia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hahn |first=Reinhard F. |date=1988 |title=Notes on the Origin and Development of the Salar Language |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vm8hAQAAMAAJ&q=salar+oghuz |journal=Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae |language=en |volume=42 |issue=2/3 |pages=248, 259, 260 |jstor=23657773}}</ref>

==Writing system==
Salars mostly use Chinese for writing while using the Salar language for speaking.<ref>{{cite book|title=Understanding the Chinese Economies|first=Rongxing|last=Guo|year=2012|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0123978264|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWc2I03-UQIC&pg=PA39|page=39|access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions842.html|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120923141105/http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions842.html|archive-date=23 September 2012|title= The Salar Nationality |date=2007–2014 |website= cultural-china.com |publisher= Cultural China |access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions9610.html|url-status=unfit|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522032517/http://traditions.cultural-china.com/en/127Traditions9610.html|archive-date=22 May 2012|title=China's Minority Peoples – The Salars |date= 2007–2014 |website=cultural-china.com |publisher= Cultural China |access-date=1 April 2013}}</ref>

Salar does not have an official script, but it has sometimes been written down using the [[Arabic script]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Embree |first1=Ainslie Thomas |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilAYAAAAIAAJ&q=There+are+30000+speakers+of+Salar,+which+is+closely+related+to+Uighur,+virtually+all+of+whom+live+in+Gansu+Province,+China%3B+they+use+the+Arabic+script |title=Encyclopedia of Asian history |last2=Lewis |first2=Robin Jeanne |date=1988 |publisher=Scribner |isbn=978-0-684-18901-7 |editor-last=Embree |editor-first=Ainslie Thomas |edition=2 |volume=4 |page=154}}</ref> Some Salar call for a Latin script and some Salar who dislike the Pinyin-based Latin script desire to use [[Chinese characters]] instead.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Safran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MT0VFdKklYoC&q=salar+arabic+script&pg=PA77 |title=Nationalism and Ethnoregional Identities in China |date=1998 |publisher=Frank Cass |isbn=0-7146-4921-X |edition=illustrated |location=London |page=77}}</ref> This lack of an official script has led most Salar to use the Chinese writing system.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Evans |first=Thammy |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=C5w9M8n9_a8C&q=salar+arabic+script&pg=PA42 |title=Great Wall of China: Beijing & Northern China |date=2006 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=978-1-84162-158-6 |edition=illustrated |page=42 |language=en}}</ref> China offered the Salar an official writing system quite similar to the [[Uyghur New Script|Uyghur Yengi Yezik]], but it was rejected for similar reasons as Yengi Yezik was rejected in Xinjiang.

Young Salar have also started to use a Salar script based on the orthography for Turkic languages. It is quite popular with Salars for writing Salar on the internet. There are two main variants that are used, TB30 and TB31. The Arabic script is also still popular among the Salar. The Arabic script has a historical precedent among the Salar; centuries-old documents in the Salar language written in the Arabic script have been discovered.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Dwyer|2007|p=91}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=March 2019}}

[[Grigory Potanin]] used the Cyrillic alphabet to record a glossary of Salar,<ref name="Potanin1893 1">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crgQAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA426 |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |date=1893 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |pages=1– |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref><ref name="Потанин1893 2">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PwTAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA426 |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |year=1893 |pages=426– |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref><ref name="Потанин1893 3">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QMyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA426 |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |date=1893 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |volume=2 |page=426 |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref> [[Western Yugur language]] and [[Eastern Yugur language]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yugurology |url=http://home.arcor.de/marcmarti/yugur/yugurol.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031005162152/http://home.arcor.de/marcmarti/yugur/yugurol.htm |archive-date=October 5, 2003 |website=The Western Yugur Steppe |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Potanin1893">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=crgQAQAAMAAJ |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |date=1893 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref><ref name="Потанин1893">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1QMyAQAAMAAJ |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |date=1893 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |volume=2 |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref><ref name="Потанин1893 1">{{Cite book |last=Potanin |first=Grigory Nikolayevich (Григорий Николаевич Потанин) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_PwTAAAAIAAJ |title=Tangutsko-Tibetskaya okraina Kitaya i Tsentralnaya Mongoliya: puteshestvie G.N. Potanina 1884–1886 |publisher=Typ. A. S. Suvoryna |year=1893 |script-title=ru:Тангутско-Тибетская окраина Китая и Центральная Монголія: путешествіе Г.Н. Потанина 1884–1886}}</ref> in his 1893 Russian language book ''The Tangut-Tibetan Borderlands of China and Central Mongolia'' with assistance from [[Vasily Radlov]].<ref name="Poppe 1953">{{Cite journal |last=Poppe |first=Nicholas |date=1953 |title=Remarks on the Salar Language |url=http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/POPPE/poppe_salar.pdf |journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies |volume=16 |issue=3/4 |pages=438–477 |doi=10.2307/2718250 |jstor=2718250 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316172207/http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/POPPE/poppe_salar.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-16}}</ref>

[[William Woodville Rockhill]] wrote a glossary of Salar in his 1894 book ''Diary of a Journey through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892'' using the Latin alphabet based on the Wade–Giles romanization system used for Chinese.<ref name="Poppe 1953b">{{Cite journal|last=Poppe|first=Nicholas|date=1953|title=Remarks on the Salar Language|url=http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/POPPE/poppe_salar.pdf|journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies|volume=16|issue=3/4|pages=438–477|doi=10.2307/2718250|jstor=2718250|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120316172207/http://altaica.ru/LIBRARY/POPPE/poppe_salar.pdf|archive-date=2012-03-16}}</ref><ref name="Rockhill1894">{{cite book|author=William Woodville Rockhill|author-link=William Woodville Rockhill|title=Diary of a Journey Through Mongolia and Tibet in 1891 and 1892|url=https://archive.org/details/diaryajourneyth01rockgoog|year=1894|publisher=Smithsonian Institution|pages=[https://archive.org/details/diaryajourneyth01rockgoog/page/n457 373]–376}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rockhill |first=W. W. |date=1892 |title=[Letter from W. W. Rockhill] |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland |language=en |pages=598–602 |jstor=25197112}}</ref>

===TB30===
Aa Bb Cc Çç Dd Ee Ff Gg<br />
Ğğ Hh İi Iı Kk Ll Mm Nn Ññ<br /> 
Oo Öö Pp Qq Rr Ss Şş Tt<br /> 
Uu Üü Yy Vv Zz

===Pinyin-based Latin alphabet===
A [[romanization]] of the Mengda dialect of Salar based on [[Pinyin]] has been developed, created by a Salar, Ma Quanlin, who lives in Xunhua.<ref name="Salar Language Materials">{{Cite book |last1=Ma |first1=Quanlin |url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp043_salar_language.pdf |title=Salar Language Materials |last2=Ma |first2=Wanxiang |last3=Ma |first3=Zhicheng |date=1993 |publisher=Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania |editor-last=Stuart |editor-first=Kevin |series=Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 43 |location=Philadelphia, PA |page=3 |language=en |access-date=September 30, 2012}}</ref> Like Pinyin, which is used to romanize [[Mandarin Chinese]], this Salar romanization is divided into categories of consonants and vowels.<ref name="Salar Language Materialsb">{{Cite book|last1=Ma|first1=Quanlin|url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp043_salar_language.pdf|title=Salar Language Materials|last2=Ma|first2=Wanxiang|last3=Ma|first3=Zhicheng|date=1993|publisher=Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania|editor-last=Stuart|editor-first=Kevin|series=Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 43|location=Philadelphia, PA|page=3|language=en|access-date=September 30, 2012}}</ref> Letters that occur both in Pinyin and romanization of Mengda Salar share the same sound values.<ref name="Salar Language Materialsc">{{Cite book|last1=Ma|first1=Quanlin|url=http://sino-platonic.org/complete/spp043_salar_language.pdf|title=Salar Language Materials|last2=Ma|first2=Wanxiang|last3=Ma|first3=Zhicheng|date=1993|publisher=Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations University of Pennsylvania|editor-last=Stuart|editor-first=Kevin|series=Sino-Platonic Papers, No. 43|location=Philadelphia, PA|page=3|language=en|access-date=September 30, 2012}}</ref>

====Consonants====
{| class="wikitable"  style="width:95%; font-size:95%; margin:auto;"
|-
!'''Pinyin'''||'''[[help:IPA|IPA]]'''||'''English approximation'''||'''Explanation'''
|-
||''b''|| {{IPAblink|p}}|| s<u>p</u>it ||unaspirated '''p''', as in s'''p'''it
|-
||''p''|| {{IPAblink|pʰ}}|| <u>p</u>ay ||strongly aspirated '''p''', as in '''p'''it
|-
||''m''|| {{IPAblink|m}}|| <u>m</u>ay ||as in English '''m'''u'''mm'''y
|-
||''f''|| {{IPAblink|f}}|| <u>f</u>air ||as in English '''f'''un
|-
||''d''|| {{IPAblink|t}}|| s<u>t</u>op ||unaspirated '''t''', as in s'''t'''op
|-
||''t''|| {{IPAblink|tʰ}}|| <u>t</u>ake ||strongly aspirated '''t''', as in '''t'''op
|-
||''n''|| {{IPAblink|n}}|| <u>n</u>ay ||as in English '''n'''it
|-
||''l''|| {{IPAblink|l}}|| <u>l</u>ay ||as in English '''l'''ove
|-
||<u>''l''</u>|| {{IPAblink|ð}}|| <u>th</u>ose ||as in English '''th'''e
|-
||''g''|| {{IPAblink|k}}|| s<u>k</u>ill ||unaspirated '''k''', as in s'''k'''ill
|-
||''g̲''||  {{IPAblink|ɣ}}|| no equivalent in English ||"thicker and deeper" version of g
|-
||''k''|| {{IPAblink|kʰ}}|| <u>k</u>ay ||strongly aspirated '''k''', as in '''k'''ill
|-
||''h''|| {{IPAblink|x}}|| lo<u>ch</u> ||roughly like the [[Scots language|Scots]] '''ch'''. English '''h''' as in '''h'''ay or '''h'''ot is an acceptable approximation.
|-
||''j''|| {{IPAblink|tɕ}}|| ha<u>tch</u> ||No equivalent in English. Like ''q,'' but unaspirated. Not the '''s''' in A'''s'''ia, despite the common English pronunciation of "Beijing". 
|-
||''q''|| {{IPAblink|tɕʰ}}|| <u>ch</u>eek ||No equivalent in English. Like '''ch'''eek, with the lips spread wide with ''ee''. Curl the tip of the tongue downwards to stick it at the back of the teeth and strongly aspirate.
|-
||''x''|| {{IPAblink|ɕ}} || <u>sh</u>e ||No equivalent in English. Like '''sh'''e, with the lips spread and the tip of your tongue curled downwards and stuck to the back of teeth when you say ''ee.'' 
|-
||''zh''|| {{IPAblink|tʂ}}|| <u>j</u>unk ||Rather like '''ch''' (a sound between '''ch'''oke, '''j'''oke, '''tr'''ue, and '''dr'''ew, tongue tip curled more upwards). Voiced in a toneless syllable.
|-
||''ch''|| {{IPAblink|tʂʰ}}|| chur<u>ch</u> ||as in '''ch'''in, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to nur'''tu'''re in American English, but strongly aspirated.
|-
||''sh''|| {{IPAblink|ʂ}}|| <u>sh</u>irt ||as in '''sh'''oe, but with the tongue curled upwards; very similar to mar'''sh''' in American English
|-
||''r''|| {{IPAblink|ʐ}}, {{IPAblink|ɻ}} || <u>r</u>ay ||Similar to the English '''z''' in a'''z'''ure and '''r''' in '''r'''educe, but with the tongue curled upwards, like a cross between English "r" and French "j". In [[Cyrillization of Chinese from pinyin|Cyrillised Chinese]] the sound is rendered with the letter "ж".
|-
||''z''|| {{IPAblink|ts}}|| rea<u>ds</u> ||unaspirated '''c''', similar to something between su'''ds''' and ca'''ts'''; as in su'''ds''' in a toneless syllable
|-
||''c''|| {{IPAblink|tsʰ}}|| ha<u>ts</u> ||like the English '''ts''' in ca'''ts''', but strongly aspirated, very similar to the Czech and Polish '''c'''.
|-
||''s''|| {{IPAblink|s}}|| <u>s</u>ay ||as in '''s'''un
|-
||''y''|| {{IPAblink|j}}, {{IPAblink|ɥ}} || <u>y</u>ea ||as in '''y'''es. Before a ''u'', pronounce it with rounded lips.*
|-
||''w''|| {{IPAblink|w}} || <u>w</u>ay ||as in '''w'''ater.*
|-
||''v''|| {{IPAblink|v}} || <u>v</u>itamin ||as in '''v'''ery. 
|}

====Vowels====
{| class="wikitable"  style="width:95%; font-size:95%; margin:auto;"
|-
!Pinyin||[[help:IPA|IPA]]||Form with [[zero initial]]||Explanation
|-
||''a''|| {{IPA|[ɑ]}} ||'''a'''|| as in "f'''a'''ther"
|-
||''o''|| {{IPA|[ɔ]}} || (''n/a'') || Approximately as in "'''o'''ffice" in British accent; the lips are much more rounded.
|-
|''e''|| {{IPA|[ɯ̯ʌ]|}}, {{IPA|[ə]}} ||'''e'''|| a diphthong consisting first of a back, unrounded semivowel (which can be formed by first pronouncing "w" and then spreading the lips without changing the position of the tongue) followed by a vowel similar to English "d'''uh'''". Many unstressed syllables in Chinese use the [[schwa]] {{IPA|[ə]}} (ide'''a'''), and this is also written as ''e''.
|-
||''i''|| {{IPA|[i]}} ||'''yi'''|| like English b'''ee'''.
|-
||''u''|| {{IPA|[u]}} ||'''wu'''|| like English "oo"
|-
||''ai''|| {{IPA|[aɪ̯]}} ||'''ai'''|| like English "eye", but a bit lighter
|-
||''ei''|| {{IPA|[eɪ̯]}} ||'''ei'''|| as in "h'''ey'''"
|-
||''ui''|| {{IPA|[u̯eɪ̯]}} ||'''wei'''|| as '''u''' + '''ei''';
|-
||''ao''|| {{IPA|[ɑʊ̯]}} ||'''ao'''|| approximately as in "c'''ow'''"; the ''a'' is much more audible than the ''o''
|-
||''iu''|| {{IPA|[i̯ɤʊ̯]}} ||'''you'''|| as '''i''' + '''ou'''
|-
||''ie''|| {{IPA|[i̯ɛ]}} ||'''ye'''||  as '''i''' + '''ê'''; but is very short; ''e'' (pronounced like ''ê'') is pronounced longer and carries the main stress (similar to the initial sound '''ye''' in '''yet''')
|-
||''an''|| {{IPA|[an]}} ||'''an'''|| as in "b'''an'''" in British English (a more open fronted ''a'')
|-
||''en''|| {{IPA|[ən]}} ||'''en'''|| as in "tak'''en'''"
|-
||''in''|| {{IPA|[in]}} ||'''yin'''|| as '''i''' + '''n'''
|-
||''un''|| {{IPA|[yn]}} ||'''yun'''|| as '''ü''' + '''n''';
|-
||''ang''|| {{IPA|[ɑŋ]}} ||'''ang'''|| as in German ''Angst'' (starts with the vowel sound in f'''a'''ther and ends in the [[velar nasal]]; like s'''ong''' in some dialects of American English)
|-
||''eng''|| {{IPA|[əŋ]}} ||'''eng'''||like ''e'' in ''en'' above but with ng added to it at the back
|-
||''ing''|| {{IPA|[iŋ]}} ||'''ying'''|| as '''i''' + '''ng'''
|-
||''ong''|| {{IPA|[ʊŋ]}}, {{IPA|[u̯əŋ]}} ||'''weng'''|| starts with the vowel sound in b'''oo'''k and ends with the velar nasal sound in si'''ng'''; as '''u''' + '''eng''' in zero initial.
|-
|}

== Sample texts ==
Here is given an excerpt of the "''kiš yiγen ġadïn kiš''" ("people-eating woman") story from Ma Wei, Ma Jianzhong & Kevin Stuart's work ''The Folklore of China's Islamic Salar Nationality.''<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Ma |first1=Wei |title=The Folklore of China's Islamic Salar Nationality |last2=Ma |first2=Jianzhong |last3=Stuart |first3=Kevin |date=2001 |publisher=E. Mellen Press |location=Lewiston, NY |oclc=606504539}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Shared Grammaticalization: With Special Focus on the Transeurasian Languages |date=2013 |publisher=John Benjamins |isbn=978-90-272-0599-5 |editor-last=Robbeets |editor-first=Martin |location=Amsterdam |pages=248–249 |language=en |oclc=875771914 |editor-last2=Cuyckens |editor-first2=Hubert}}</ref>
{{Verse translation|oholdï bir ninor vumiš
aŋa kiǰičix anor vara
bir gunor ninačux anasini parlïǰani ziden yanbar(r)
yarïm yoldï ulïr xari ġadïnkïšor učiramiš
xari ġadïnkiščix daš išdende zoğziba(r)
bu ninačix yana varǰani aŋnišmiš
e xari nina sen eyiŋ bir kiščuγïŋ munda natburi dimiš|Long ago there was a granny.
She had a little daughter.
One day, the granny came back from the market with her daughter.
Halfway they run into an old woman.
The old woman was sitting on a stone.
This granny came towards her and struck up a conversation:
"Hey old granny, what are you doing here, one person all by yourself ”,
she said.}}

Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<ref name=":UDHR">{{Cite web|title=OHCHR {{!}} Universal Declaration of Human Rights - Salar|url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/human-rights/universal-declaration/translations/salar?LangID=slr>|access-date=13 August 2023|website=www.ohchr.org|language=en-US}}</ref>

Heme kishler hür der, haysiyet ma haklarde adil der, mantik ma vicdan var, kardeshlikden davraneshge.

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* Hahn, R. F. 1988. Notes on the Origin and Development of the Salar Language, Acta Orientalia Hungarica XLII (2–3), 235–237.
* Dwyer, A. 1996. Salar Phonology. Unpublished dissertation University of Washington.
* Dwyer, A. M. 1998. The Turkic strata of Salar: An Oghuz in Chaghatay clothes? Turkic Languages 2, 49–83.<ref name="bk">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=H55NjkRtrpoC&q=salars+oghuz&pg=PA59 |title=Evidentials: Turkic, Iranian and Neighbouring Languages |date=2000 |publisher=Mouton de Gruyter |isbn=3-11-016158-3 |editor-last=Johanson |editor-first=Lars |location=Berlin |page=59 |language=en |editor-last2=Utas |editor-first2=Bo}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Yakup |first=Abdurishid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dk12I01qTPUC&q=salars+oghuz&pg=PA479 |title=The Turfan Dialect of Uyghur |publisher=Otto Harrassowitz Verlag |year=2005 |isbn=3-447-05233-3 |edition=illustrated |location=Wiesbaden |page=479 |language=en}}</ref>
* {{Cite book |last=Dwyer |first=Arienne M |title=Salar: A Study in Inner Asian Language Contact Processes; Part 1: Phonology |publisher=Harrassowitz Verlag |date=2007 |isbn=978-3-447-04091-4}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Incubator|code= slr/Ana Sahıfa}}
{{refbegin}}
* [http://www.sino-platonic.org/abstracts/spp043_salar.html Abstract of Article on Salar, includes some phrases] (The Salar is written in Chinese Pinyin, not the Salar alphabet)
* [https://www.jstor.org/pss/2718250 Remarks on the Salar Language]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071724/http://www.mpi.nl/DOBES/projects/salar/salar.pdf Salar grammatical sketch (still a rough draft)]
* [http://www.sino-platonic.org/complete/spp043_salar_language.pdf Salar Language Materials]
{{refend}}

{{Languages of China}}
{{Turkic languages}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salar Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Oghuz languages]]
[[Category:Salar people]]
[[Category:Endangered Turkic languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Qinghai]]
[[Category:Languages of Gansu]]
[[Category:Languages of Xinjiang]]
[[Category:Vulnerable languages]]
[[Category:Endangered languages of China]]