ABSTRACT
The stage clearly documented is the language of the East Old Turkic inscriptions of the eighth century ad. Attempts to interpret earlier materials as Turkic, e.g. the Hsiung-nu elements found in Chinese sources, have not been successful. The Turkic languages are clearly genealogically interrelated, showing striking similarities in phonology, morphology, and syntax. In spite of considerable structural changes in many of them, it seems justified to speak of a certain conservatism of the whole group. The dynamic history of the Turkic-speaking peoples makes it difficult to set up a classification of modern Turkic languages that combines geographic and genealogical criteria. The massive displacements of Turkic-speaking groups throughout their history have led to a considerable mixture and a certain leveling of Turkic varieties. Languages spoken in the central area of the Turkic-speaking world have undergone a good deal of interactive leveling, whereas those spoken in the periphery, e.g. Turkish, have preserved many older features.
