Language Information

Tajik is spoken principally in the new nation of Tajikistan, which borders both Afghanistan and China. It is spoken by about 3½ million people here, somewhat more than half the population.

Tajik is an Iranian language and thus part of the Indo-European family. It is, for all practical purposes, the same language as Persian, the Cyrillic alphabet being its main distinguishing feature.

Tajikistan, Uzbekistan.

Family: Indo-European
Subgroup: Indo-Iranian
Branch: Iranian

Writing Sample

Translation

Through the wide windows of the trolleybus there flashed by, as if in a motion picture, the attractive three- and four-story buildings, the immensely tall trees, the avenues, and theendless stream of people. Kadirzhan looked out and marveled at how fast Dushanbe was being built up. On the spot where there now stood the tall building of the Central Department Store it seemed that only yesterday there were rows of wooden trading benches. He reflected that although he had been studying in the city for six months, he had still not gotten around to seeing all the avenues and squares.

—ABDUMALIK BAKHORI, A Window Without Light