The Kyrgyz language belongs to a branch of Turkic languages and is spoken by approximately 4 million people worldwide. 2.5 million of them live in Kyrgyzstan, and the remaining 1.5 million speak it across China (in the Xinjiang province), Mongolia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan.

The Kyrgyz language is very closely related to Kazakh. Within the Kyrgyz language, there are 3 distinct dialects: the northern dialect (which forms the basis of modern literary language), the south-eastern, and the south-western. The Kyrgyz language is celebrated every year on September 23rd, honoring the adoption in 1989 of the law "on the official language of the Kyrgyz SSR," passed by the Supreme Soviet of the Kyrgyz Republic (a Soviet satellite state at the time) which granted the Kyrgyz language the status of official language of the country.

Its writing system reflects the profound shifts that have marked Kyrgyzstan's history. Formerly, and until the early 20th century (before 1928), the Arabic alphabet served as the foundation. It is still used today in China's autonomous region of Xinjiang. Since 1940, the Cyrillic alphabet has been used, with the addition of 3 new letters.