Salar language
Pinyin IPA English approximation Explanation
b [ p ] s p it unaspirated p , as in s p it
p [ pʰ ] p ay strongly aspirated p , as in p it
m [ m ] m ay as in English m u mm y
f [ f ] f air as in English f un
d [ t ] s t op unaspirated t , as in s t op
t [ tʰ ] t ake strongly aspirated t , as in t op
n [ n ] n ay as in English n it
l [ l ] l ay as in English l ove
l / ð / th ose as in English th e
g [ k ] s k ill unaspirated k , as in s k ill
g̲ / ɣ / no equivalent in English thicker and deeper version of g
k [ kʰ ] k ay strongly aspirated k , as in k ill
h [ x ] lo ch roughly like the Scots ch . English h as in h ay or h ot is an acceptable approximation
j [ tɕ ] ha tch No equivalent in English . Like q , but unaspirated . Not the s in A s ia , despite the common English pronunciation of Beijing
q [ tɕʰ ] ch 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 [ ɕ ] sh 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 [ tʂ ] j 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 [ tʂʰ ] chur ch as in ch in , but with the tongue curled upwards ; very similar to nur tu re in American English , but strongly aspirated
sh [ ʂ ] sh irt as in sh oe , but with the tongue curled upwards ; very similar to mar sh in American English
r [ ʐ ] , [ ɻ ] r 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 Cyrillised Chinese the sound is rendered with the letter ж
Writing system -- Pinyin-based Latin alphabet
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, Xinjiang. It is an eastern outlier of the Oghuz branch of Turkic, the other Oghuz languages (Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen) being spoken mostly in West-Central Asia. The Salar number about 105,000 people, about 70,000 (2002) speak the Salar language; under 20,000 monolinguals. According to Salar tradition and Chinese chronics, the Salars are the descendants of the Salur tribe, belonging to the Oghuz Turk tribe of the Western Turkic Khaganate. During the Tang dynasty, the Salur tribe dwelt within China's borders and lived since then in the Qinghai-Gansu border region. Contemporary Salar has some influence from Amdo Tibetan and Chinese.