The Bashkir language is a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Bashkir people in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. It belongs to the Kipchak branch of the Turkic language family and has several dialects. The language uses the Cyrillic script, which was adopted in the 20th century, although it has also been written in Latin and Arabic scripts historically. Bashkir is recognized as one of the official languages of Bashkortostan and is used in education, media, and government. The language has a rich oral tradition and is an important part of the cultural identity of the Bashkir community. Efforts are ongoing to promote and preserve the language among younger generations.