 Their self-designation is Turpen. In academic literature, they are referred to as the Turkmens (Trukhmens) of Stavropol or northern Caucasus. They live in Russian Federation, Turkmenia Republic, North Caucasus, Astrakhanskaya Oblast.
Most of the Turkmens belong to the tribes of Chaudorov (Chavodur), Sonchadj or Ikdir.
The Tukhmen language belongs to the Oguz group of Turkic languages. It has maintained its Turkmen linguistic originality but has been strongly influenced mainly by the Nogai language in the Kipchak group. N. Baskakov's opinion is that it is  most likely a dialect of the Turkmen language rather than an original Turkic language. The phonetic system, grammatical structure and, to some extent also, the vocabulary, have been somewhat influenced by the Nogai language.
The main reason for any dialectic differences observable in the Trukhmen language is contact with other ethnic groups (adstrates), i.e. the Nogai or Kumyk adstrate.
Literature in the Turkmen language is non-existent. The Turkmens use Russian as their literary language.
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