tyv

Tyv, or Tuvan, is a Turkic language spoken by the Tuvan people in the Tuva Republic of Russia. The ISO 639-3 code for the language is tyv.

Tyv belongs to the Turkic language family, within the Siberian Turkic branch. It is an agglutinative language with vowel harmony and a general subject–object–verb word order.

Geographic distribution and dialects: Primarily spoken in the Tuva Republic and neighboring areas in Russia, with smaller communities in Mongolia and China. The language has several dialects, with Northern and Southern Tuvan varieties being the most widely recognized.

Writing system and current use: Modern Tyv is written using a Cyrillic-based alphabet; a Cyrillic orthography has been standard since the early 20th century, with earlier Latin and other scripts used in different periods. In Russia, Tuvan is used in local education and media to varying degrees alongside Russian.

Status and cultural significance: Tuvan maintains a strong oral tradition and is an integral part of Tuvan identity, though education and public life often operate in Russian as well. It faces pressures from national language policies but remains a vital minority language in the region.