Balkan Gagauz, Balkan Turkish or Rumelian Turkish (), is a

Turkic language The Turkic languages are a language family of more than 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and West Asia. The Turkic langua ...

spoken in

European Turkey East Thrace or Eastern Thrace, also known as Turkish Thrace or European Turkey, is the part of Turkey that is geographically in Southeast Europe. Turkish Thrace accounts for 3.03% of Turkey's land area and 15% of its population. The largest c ...

, in Dulovo and the

Deliorman The Ludogorie () or Deliorman (; and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Targovishte, Razgrad, Dulovo, Novi Paz ...

area in

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the

Prizren Prizren ( sq-definite, Prizreni, ; sr-cyr, Призрен) is the second List of cities and towns in Kosovo, most populous city and Municipalities of Kosovo, municipality of Kosovo and seat of the eponymous municipality and District of Prizren, ...

area in

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, and the

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

and

Bitola Bitola (; ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing ...

areas of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

.Ethnologue entry for Balkan Gagauz Turkish
/ref> Dialects include

Gajal Gajals or Gadzhals () are a Turkic languages, Turkic Ethnicity, ethnic group living mainly in the Balkans, Eastern Balkans and Turkey. Gajals mainly settle in the northeastern Ludogorie region of Bulgaria, as well as in the region of East Thrace, ...

Gerlovo Gerlovo or Gerilovo ( or Герилово), is a small geographic and ethnographic region in Northern Bulgaria, a hilly fertile valley in the northeastern Balkan Mountains, south of the Ludogorie region. It lies between the Lisa, Preslav-Dragoevo ...

Turk, Karamanli, Kyzylbash, Surguch, Tozluk Turk, Yuruk (Konyar, Yoruk), Prizren Turk, and Macedonian Gagauz. Although it is mutually intelligible with both Gagauz and

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

to a considerable degree, it is usually classified as a separate language, due to foreign influences from neighboring languages spoken in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

. Balkan Gagauz Turkish was given international prominence through the Oscar-nominated 2019 film ''

Honeyland ''Honeyland'' () is a 2019 North Macedonia, Macedonian documentary film that was directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov. It portrays the life of Hatidže Muratova, a lonely beekeeper of wild bees who lives in the remote mountain vil ...

'', in which the protagonist is an ethnic Macedonian Turk and mostly speaks in the local dialect throughout the film.

Population

There were around 460,000 speakers of Balkan Gagauz Turkish in Turkey in 2019 and an estimated 4,000 in North Macedonia in 2018.

References

Agglutinative languages Oghuz languages Languages of Turkey Languages of Greece Languages of North Macedonia Languages of Bulgaria Languages of Kosovo {{Turkic-lang-stub