en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashkir_language
1 correction found
It is spoken by approximately 1.6 million native speakers in Russia
This overstates the number of Bashkir speakers in Russia. Recent census-based sources put the number closer to about 1.1 million, while 1.57 million is the ethnic Bashkir population.
Full reasoning
Recent census-based references contradict the claim that Bashkir has about 1.6 million native speakers in Russia.
- The Institute of Linguistics of the Russian Academy of Sciences says Bashkir has "about 1.1 million" speakers and states that 1,152,404 people in Russia reported knowledge of Bashkir.
- A census-summary article citing Rosstat's 2020 census results gives the same pattern: 1,571,879 people identified as Bashkir ethnically, but only 1,086,423 said they know the Bashkir language.
- The Institute for Bible Translation likewise lists 1,086,423 speakers on its Bashkir project page.
So the article's 1.6 million figure appears to confuse the size of the Bashkir ethnic population with the number of Bashkir speakers/native speakers. Those are not the same thing, and the available census-based figures are far lower than 1.6 million.
3 sources
- Bashkir | Minority languages of Russia
Speakers: about 1.1 million... The total number of Bashkirs living in Russia is, according to the Russian census, 1 584 554. At the same time, 1 152 404 people reported that they have knowledge of Bashkir...
- Ун ел эчендә телен белүчеләр саны 1 миллионга кимегән - җанисәп нәтиҗәләре
1 571 879 кеше милләтен башкорт дип күрсәткән, башкорт телен белүчеләр - 1 086 423.
- Bashkir | Institute for Bible Translation
Number of Speakers 1,086,423