Kazakh

Kazakh is the name of a Turkic-speaking ethnic group native to Kazakhstan and surrounding regions, and of the language they speak. The Kazakh people have a long tradition of nomadic herding and trading, with a culture shaped by steppe life, horse culture, and clan and kinship networks.

The Kazakh population forms the majority in Kazakhstan and is also found in neighboring countries such as China (Xinjiang), Mongolia, Russia, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well as in diaspora communities in Europe and North America. The community maintains regional and urban diversity while sharing language, customs, and a common cultural heritage.

Kazakh belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic language family. It is written primarily in a Cyrillic script in Kazakhstan, with an official plan to transition to a Latin-based alphabet; Russian remains widely used for interethnic communication and administration. Kazakh has several dialects, and its grammar is characteristically agglutinative with vowel harmony.

Historically, Kazakh culture developed among nomadic peoples of the Eurasian steppe, emphasizing horsemanship, crafts such as carpet weaving and leatherwork, and oral literature. The dominant religion among Kazakhs is Islam (primarily Sunni), with secular and traditional beliefs present in various communities. In modern Kazakhstan, Kazakh is the state language, while Russian remains an important language in government, education, media, and daily life.