| Äynu | |
| Nativename: | ئەينۇ|rtl=yes, |
| States: | China |
| Region: | Xinjiang |
| Ethnicity: | Äynu |
| Speakers: | 12,000 |
| Date: | 2017 |
| Ref: | e26 |
| Familycolor: | Altaic |
| Fam1: | Turkic |
| Fam2: | Common Turkic |
| Fam3: | Karluk[1] |
| Script: | Arabic script |
| Iso3: | aib |
| Glotto: | ainu1251 |
| Glottorefname: | Ainu (China) |
| Map: | AiniMap.JPG |
| Notice: | IPA |
| Pronunciation: | pronounced as /[ɛjˈnu]/ |
Äynu (also known as Abdal) is a Turkic cryptolect spoken in Western China. Some linguists call it a mixed language, having a mostly Turkic grammar, essentially Uyghur, but a mainly Iranian vocabulary.[2] Other linguists argue that it does not meet the technical requirements of a mixed language. It is spoken by the Äynu, a nomadic people, who use it to keep their communications secret from outsiders.
The language is known by many different spellings, including Abdal, Aini, Ainu, Ayni, Aynu, Eyni and Eynu.[3] The Abdal (ئابدال) spelling is commonly used in Uyghur sources. Russian sources use Eynu, Aynu, Abdal (Russian: Эйну|label=none, Russian: Айну|label=none, Russian: Абдал|label=none) and Chinese uses the spelling Ainu (Chinese: 艾努|label=no). The Äynu people call their language Äynú (ئەينۇ, pronounced as /ɛjˈnu/).
Äynu is spoken in Western China among Alevi Muslims[4] [5] [6] 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".[7]
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.
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.[8] There are three vocabulary formation methods in 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.[9]
| Labial | Alveolar | Alveo- Palatal | Velar | Uvular | Glottal | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||||||||
| Plosive/Affricate | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | ||||
| pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||
| pronounced as /link/ | |||||||||||||
| Approximant | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /link/ | |||||||||||
| Close | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mid | pronounced as /link/ | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /link/ | |
| Open | pronounced as /ink/ | pronounced as /link/ |
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.
Äynu numerals are completely Persian. However, ordinal adjectives are made by adding Uyghur -(I)ncI suffix.[10]
| English | Äynu | Persian | Uyghur |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | yek | yek | bir |
| two | du | du | ikki |
| three | si | se | üç |
| five | pence | penc | peş |
| ten | deh | deh | on |
| twenty | bist | bist | yigirme |
| English | Äynu | Persian | Uyghur |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | yekinci | yek | bir |
| second | durinci | duvum | ikkinçi |
| third | sirinci | sivum | üçinci |
| fifth | pencinci | pencum | beşinci |
| tenth | dehinci | dehum | oninçi |
| twentieth | bistinci | bistum | yigirminçi |