This reader contains a selection of materials, which range in time from the pre-literary language to contemporary items from newspapers. It includes examples taken from the literary language under Soviet rule and as Kyrgyz (Kirghiz) is used in the West and in China. The book is designed to present the reader with an understanding of both the variety of materials available in Kyrgyz and with the internal structure of the language. The material ranges in difficulty from primers to historical documents. Each text is presented as it originally appeared, followed by a literal English translation. In addition, comments on the style and content are included with each text. (The comments section is a combination of literary, linguistic, historical, grammatical, and sociolinguistic explanations and remarks.) Publication information for the texts proceeds each subsection (e.g., the oral tradition, early written documents, and toward modern Kyrgyz are all included in a larger section titled The Pre-literary Language). An explanation of the transliteration systems used in the book is also included.