Kyrzbekistan

Largest city		Lëbrazhd
Official languages		Kyrzbek, Arbëresh
Recognized languages		Medokyrzbek
Ethnic groups		89.5% Kyrzbek, 10.5% Arbërian, Others
Demonym		Kyrzbekistani
Legislature		Congress of People's Deputies
Currency		Metër currency
Date format		dd/mm/yyyy
Calling code		+99

Kyrzbekistan, officially the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan is a eastern Brigidnian country in Siora. Kyrzbekistan is a landlocked country, which shares a border with the Ga'bath in the west, Zargistan in the south, and A'sir in the north.

Since the collapse of the Arberian monarchy and the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan, Kyrzbekistan has officially been a federal parliamentary republic, although it continue to endure ethnic and religious tensions, terrorism, and complicated diplomatic relations with its northern neighbor, the Akhadic Republic of A'Sir. Kyrzbekistan is considered the only successful example of a both secular and democratic state in an Akhadic-majority country. Kyrzbekistan is a member of the Near East Treaty Organization (NETO) along Zargistan, Ga'bath, Khanid, Aricca, and Wadiyah. As a NETO member, Kyrzbekistan was involved in the Wadiyah Civil War.

Ethnic Kyrzbek make up the majority of the country's 19 million people, followed by a large minority of ethnic Arberians. The official language, Kyrzbek, is closely related to Ashked language, although Arberian remains widely spoken in many regions, a legacy of two century-long policy of Arberianization by the the Arberian Kingdom. The majority of the population are Akhadic believers.

Etymology

"Kyrzbek" is believed to have been derived from the word for "four hundred" in Kyrzbek language, in reference to the confederation of Kyrzbek tribes which settled down in today northeastern Kyrzbekistan and souther A'Sir in the 12th century BCE. The suffix "-istan" means "place of" in A'Sirian language. Therefore, Kyrzbekistan translates to land of the Kyrzbeks. However, historically the word "Kyrzbekistan" was only used to a reference of the northeastern region of the Kingdom of Arberia, and not the country as a whole. The word "Kyrzbekistan" in today sense was used for first time by Kyrzbek nationalist in early 1520s.

The Constitution of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan states that the demonym Kyrzbekistani shall apply to every citizen of Kyrzbekistan, independently of their ethnic or religious background.

Economy

The Federal Bank of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan serves as the Central Bank of Kyrzbekistan. Kyrzbekistan is the fifth poorest country in the Near East region, as consequence of a long and destructive civil war, from 1559 to 1568. However, Kyrzbekistan's economy, considered a developing economy, has experienced high rates of economic growth since early 1570s, and its GDP per capita even surpases their neighbor country Ga'bath by 1580. The level of povery has decreased as well, from 49% in 1569 to 28% in 1580, according to official statistics.

Since the proclamation of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan, the country has been ruled by the Socialist People's Party, which has imposed a high state intervention, with the government holding a tight rein over major state sectors, such as the gas and banking system, state-owned enterprises and foreign trade. However, the federal government's economic policy, officially defined as "socialist market economy", has enhanced the role of the private sectors, although reaffirming the primacy of the state. In 1580, the private sectors accounted for more than one-quarter of all industrial output.

The principal exports are gas, nonferrous metals and minerals, chemical products, electric energy and certain engineering goods. Its leading trade partners include Severyane, Carpathia and Moldova, and NETO countries.

In regards to telecommunication infrastructure, Kyrzbekistan ranks sixth in Near East in the 1579 Sioran Economic Forum's Network Readiness Index – an indicator for determining the development level of a country’s information and communication technologies, an improvement of ten positions since 1572.

Demographics

Language

The most spoken language in Kyrzbekistan is the Kyrzbek language, which is the official language of the Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan and it is spoken by 79% of the population, of which about 66% are native speakers. The Kyrzbek language is related to another Near East languages, such as the Ashked language, to which it is remotely related but with which it is not mutually intelligible. There are three main dialects of Kyrzbek language: Western (Kombash or Kombashek), Middle (or standard Kyrzbek), and Northern (Tembyak). There are 14 million Kyrzbek native speakers in Kyrzbekistan, along another 3 million living abroad.

Phonemically, Kyrzbek language may be argued to have two vowel heights, high and low. There are two low vowels, front and back, while there are eight high vowels: front and back, round and unround, long and short. However, phonetically, the short high vowels are reduced: they are mid-centralized. They are therefore generally transcribed with mid vowel letters such as /e/ and /o/: high front /i/ /ü/, high back /ï/ /u/, reduced (mid) front /e/ /ö/, reduced (mid) back /ë/ /o/, and low /ä/, /a/. The high back unrounded vowel /ï/ is only found in Arberësh loans, though the native diphthong /ëy/, which only occurs word-finally, has been argued to be phonemically /ï/. Loaned vowels are considered to be back vowels. In polysyllabic words, the front-back distinction is lost in reduced vowels: all become mid-central. Reduced vowels in unstressed position are frequently elided. Low back /ɑ/ is rounded [ɒ] word-initially and after [ɒ], as in "bala" 'child'.

The vowels of Kyrzbek language

	Front				Back
	Long		Short		Long		Short
High	i /iː/	ü /yː/	e /ɪ/	ö /ʏ/	(ï /ɯː/)	u /uː/	ë /ɯ̽/	o /ʊ/
Low	ä /a/				a /ɑ/

The consonants of Kyrzbek language

		Labial	Labio- velar]	Alveolar	Post- alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasals		m /m/		n /n/			ñ /ŋ/
Plosives	Voiceless	p /p/		t /t/			k /k/	q [q]	' /ʔ/
	Voiced	b /b/		d /d/			g /ɡ/
Fricatives	Voiceless	f /f/		s /s/	ş /ʃ/	ç /tɕ~ɕ/		x /χ/	h /h/
	Voiced	v /v/		z /z/	j /ʒ/	c /dʑ~ʑ/		ğ [ʁ~ɢ]
Trill				r /r/
Approximants			w /w/	l /l/		y /j/ ([j~ɪ])

The Arberian language, also known as Arberësh, which was the only official language during the time of the Arberian monarchy, is spoken by mostly a half of the population, and about 25% native speakers. Although the Arberian language remains recognized as an official language by the Constitution of 1569 and Arberian language classes are offered in many state schools, its use has considerably declining in the last decade, mostly limited to the Arberian minority and the state of Kombash-Kemlyukya, and some areas in Uzekyak and Yartushia where there are larger Arberian communities.

As Arberian language is not used in higher education outside the state of Kombash-Kenlyukya and a few universities in southern Yartushia, Arberian-speaking pupils in other regions had little chance of entering university because higher education is available in Kyrzbek in the other states almost exclusively.

The so-called Kushagbek, although it is not a recognized language, it remains spoken in many areas and provinces of the state of Uzekyak. It refers to a range of mixed (macaronic) sociolects of Kyrzbek and Arberësh languages used in central, western, and southeastern Kyrzbekistan. There is no unifying set of characteristics; the term is used for "norm-breaking, non-obedience to or non-awareness of the rules of the Kyrzbek and Arberësh languages", according to the Kyrzbekistan Linguistic Guide, published by the Federal University of Qenderë. The Democratic Republic of Kyrzbekistan does not recognize Kushagbek as an official or regional language.

The vocabulary mix of each of Kushagbek constituent languages varies greatly from locality to locality, or sometimes even from person to person, depending on the degree of education, personal experience, rural or urban residence, the geographical origin of the interlocutors, etc. The percentage of Kyrzbek words and phonetic influences tends to be greatest in east and the south and in the vicinity of large Kyrzbek-speaking cities. It is commonly spoken in most of central Kyrzbekistan's rural areas, with the exception of the large metropolitan area of Ayduramazan, the federal capital, where teh majority of the population uses standard Kyrzbek. In rural areas of western and southern Kyrzbekistan, the language spoken contains fewer Kyrzbek elements than in central and eastern Kyrzbekistan.

According to data presented by the Qenderë Federal Institute of Culture in 1578, 8% to 12% of the people of Kyrzbekistan were found to communicate in Kushagbek. Specifically, in northern Kyrzbekistan, Kushagbek is spoken by 2% of the population, while in the south it is spoken by over 10% of the population. In the east, 5% of the population speaks Kushagbek, while in rural areas of central Kyrzbekistan is spoken by 22% of the population. This strange pidgind language originated at the end of the 13th century, when Kyrzbek peasants moved the larger Arberian cities of the central and southern provinces of the Kingdom, and during a time that the Kingdom of Arbërë promoted greater Arberianization in mixed areas, as a political response to the First Kyrzbek Revolt of 1268. However, because their schooling in Arberësh language was inadequate, most Kyrzbek peasants who strived to speak it ended up blending it with their native Kyrzbek. This was how Kushagbek was born.

The speaking of Kushagbek was for the most part avoided by the Arberian urban intelligence, even in Kyrzbek-majority towns such as Kaygyr or Murë, because the Kyrzbek language was associated with provincialism and cultural backwardness. In the last decade, however, this trend changed and there is a relative expansion of this language in Arberian-majority towns with a larger ethnic Kyrzbek community. However, the speaking of Kushabgek instead of Arberian is viewed very negatively by Arberian nationalists.

Ashked language is spoken mostly in Western and Southern areas of Kyrzbekistan, nearby the border with Ga'bath and Zargistan, respectively, and along the Madahk ethnic group, who lives mostly in northwestern Kyrzbekistan, besides Ashked native speakers who moved recently to Kyrzbekistan from those and other Near East languages. A'sirian language is spoken mostly in northeastern Kyrzbekistan, where there is a small A'sirian minority.