Learn to Speak Uyghur – at Home
You won’t find any dedicated Uyghur phrasebooks at your local bookstore and nobody produces a “UyghurPod” podcast for students. Basically if you want to learn Uyghur outside of Xinjiang you will need to attend one of the few universities that offer Uyghur classes…or you’ll have to teach yourself.
Either way, the following is a great reference to help you decide the best way to move forward in your study of the Uyghur language.
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Institutional Study
Believe it or not, it is possible to take Uyghur language courses in US classrooms. The options are limited but most people aren’t even aware that they exist. If you feel this list is incomplete, please contact me with your suggestions.
Kansas University
The East Asian Languages and Cultures program at Kansas University is quite impressive. In addition to Uyghur there are also options to study Mongolian, Tibetan, Korean, Japanese and…of course…Chinese.
On top of the classes that they offer, there’s also some great free material for use in self study that I’ll talk about in the next section of this article. For more info on Uyghur studies at KU, contact the following: uyghur@ku.edu
Indiana University
Indiana University claims to be one of the first universities in the US to offer three levels of Uyghur study: two semesters each of introductory, intermediate and advance.
If that sounds a bit overwhelming to you they also have other options. They allow you to substitute a Central Eurasian language for your language requirements or you can choose Uyghur as your minor.
Finally, for those in the ROTC Indiana University has partnered with the Department of Defense for a strategic languages and cultures program. Through this program cadets don’t even need to attend IU as an on-campus student to take part.
University of Washington
The University of Washington offers plenty of Central Asian language courses, including Uzbek, Kazakh and Uyghur. Of the Uyghur courses you can take Intensive Elementary Uyghur all the way up to Advanced Uyghur.
Classes are also offered during the summer term for those who can’t fit it in their regular semester schedule.
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Self-Study
If you don’t live near any of these universities or you can’t afford to pay the tuition fees, all is not lost! Many of the above institutions offer free Uyghur resources and there are also a few other options.
Institutional Resources
The amount of free material offered by the aforementioned institutions is incredible. Don’t believe me? Then check this out:
- Kansas has a free downloadable introduction to Uyghur textbook.
- The University of Washington has a whole page full of free Uyghur resources including audio, video, and Uyghur fonts for computers.
- If you’re like me you usually prefer an actual book in your hands. The Xinjiang University Press has printed a beginners’ textbook for Uyghur available on eBay.
Other Resources
If you’re just looking to have a basic understanding of Uyghur for a short trip to the region, there are also a couple online tools that you might find helpful:
- The The New Dominion has a short series of posts that guide you through some basic phrases you’ll want to learn before traveling.
- Here on FarWestChina I have a Uyghur language guide that features audio clips of a native Uyghur speaking some very useful phrases.
- This Uyghur-English dictionary can be helpful, but only for those who already have an elementary understanding of Uyghur.
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Do you have any suggestions for learning Uyghur? Please share them in the comments below and you’ll be entered to win a free Uyghur textbook this Friday!
Introduction to Modern Uyghur, by Hamit A. Zakir, is a ridiculously awesome introductory textbook written in English. It is extremely thorough, so grammar lovers will love it. It’s printed by Xinjiang University Press, ISBN 7563120777.
Buy it at 胜利书店 (Ghalibiyet Kitabxanisi) on Shengli Lu in Urumqi, near Xin Da, for 30 RMB. It’s located here http://bit.ly/9l7GMu … approximately. Just ask a Uyghur person on the street where Ghalibyet Kitabxanisi is.
Also, barnone best online dictionary is http://dict.yulghun.com. It is sweet. And tri-directional.
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Well I’ll be darned the bookstore has all its information up on Google maps. So here is the precise scoop on the consistently awesome Shengli Shudian or Ghalibyet Kitabxanisi: http://bit.ly/9BsqDV. It’s a pretty sweet place to get regularly published Uyghur materials. For out of print stuff which tends to be even more awesome you have to dip into the shady and exciting world of private booksellers.
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A great post. I know both IU and UW programs since I was a student at both universities. They are great places to learn Central Asian languages in general.
I really enjoy reading your blog. I wished I had blogged back in 1997-1999 when I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Kazakhstan. I met several Uyghurs there and can speak Kazakh.
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There is a set of flashcards for use with the downloadable Uyghur textbook from the University of Kansas. First download Anki (http://ichi2.net/anki/). After you’ve installed the software, go to File –> download –> Shared Deck. In the Search box, type “Uyghur.” Aman bolung
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There are also two other Englisch – Uyghur textbooks, published in the Netherlands:
Uyghur. A Manual for Conversation, Frederick De Jong, Muhaemmaetrehim Sayit and Raeyhanguel Aehmaed, Utrecht 2005, 292 pages and CD-Audio
(ISBN-10 9080104078 and ISBN-13 9789080104075)
Price € 43.50
http://www.houtsmastichting.nl/uyghurconversation.htm
A Grammar of Modern Uyghur, Frederick De Jong, Utrecht 2007, 290 pages
(ISBN 978-90-801040-8-2)
Price € 57.50
http://www.houtsmastichting.nl/uyghurgrammar.htm
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Rock… Chalk… Jay… Hawk… K… U…
I didn’t go to the University of Kansas, but have always loved the place growing up about 30 minutes from Lawrence.
KU is also home to a Confucius Institute.
Middle America can actually be a great place to study the Middle Kingdom!
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Josh says: September 17th, 2010 at 1:50 am
Isn’t that odd? Of all places where you can study Uyghur…Kansas, Indiana and Washington. Seems so random.
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I studied Uyghur in Kansas in 2000 — not as an official program (don’t think there were any in 2000), but with a Uyghur grad student I found in another U in Kansas by the grace of the U of Iowa. Spent some time in Indiana too — they excel in CAsian language.
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uyghur is similar to turkish ,, and i can speak some turkish so i beleive i can learn it easily,
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FarWestChina is a website dedicated to opening the door to Xinjiang, China's most mysterious province.
My name is Josh Summers and I have an unexplained passion for this region. Although I now reside in the US, I spent almost 4 years living and traveling in the region and I continue to research the history and stories Xinjiang has to tell. If you're interested there's plenty to read about Xinjiang on this website, or learn about me on my about page.
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