View source for Karaim language

{{Short description|Kipchak Turkic language with Hebrew influences}}
{{use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Karaim
| nativename       = {{lang|kdr-Cyrl|къарай тили}}<br/>{{lang|kdr-Latn|karaj tili}}
| states           = [[Crimea]], [[Lithuania]], [[Poland]]
| ethnicity        = [[Crimean Karaites]] (2014){{quantify|date=November 2024}}<ref name=e17>{{e18|kdr}}</ref>
| speakers         = {{sigfig|81|1}}
| date             = 2014
| ref              = e18
| familycolor      = Altaic
| fam1             = [[Turkic languages|Turkic]]
| fam2             = [[Common Turkic languages|Common Turkic]]
| fam3             = [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]]
| fam4             = Kypchak–Cuman
| script           = [[Cyrillic script]], [[Latin script]], [[Hebrew alphabet]]
| minority         = {{POL}}<br/>{{UKR}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/5029-17 |title=Law of Ukraine "On Principles of State Language Policy") |publisher=[[Verkhovna Rada]] |work=Document 5029-17, Article 7: Regional or minority languages Ukraine, Paragraph 2 |date=1 February 2014 | access-date=30 April 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=To which languages does the Charter apply? |page=3 |url=http://hub.coe.int/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=d74fc9bd-0c0c-40ac-9e47-26d4887daf8e&groupId=10227 |work=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages |publisher=Council of Europe |access-date=2014-04-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227174247/http://hub.coe.int/c/document_library/get_file?uuid=d74fc9bd-0c0c-40ac-9e47-26d4887daf8e&groupId=10227 |archive-date=2013-12-27 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/670-2024-п |title=Про затвердження переліку мов національних меншин (спільнот) та корінних народів України, яким загрожує зникнення |date=7 June 2024 |website=Official webportal of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine}}</ref><br/>{{RUS}}{{citation needed|date=March 2024}}
| iso3             = kdr
| glotto           = kara1464
| glottorefname    = Karaim
| image            = Karaim language.png
| imagecaption     = Karaim written in [[Cyrillic]] and [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] (Crimean dialect), Latin ([[Trakai]] dialect), along with [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] and Latin (Traditional)
}}

The '''Karaim language''' ([[Crimean Karaites|Crimean]] dialect: {{lang|kdr|къарай тили}}, {{tlit|kdr|qaray tili}}; [[Trakai]] dialect: {{lang|kdr|karaj tili}}), also known by its [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] name '''Lashon Kedar''' ({{langx|he|{{Script/Hebrew|לשון קדר}}||language of the nomads}}),{{sfn|Schegoleva|2011}} is a [[Turkic languages|Turkic language]] belonging to the [[Kipchak languages|Kipchak]] group, with Hebrew influences, similarly to [[Yiddish]] or [[Judaeo-Spanish]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Wexler |first=Paul |date=1983 |title=Is Karaite a Jewish language? |journal=Mediterranean Language Review |volume=1 |pages=27–54 |jstor=10.13173/medilangrevi.1.1983.0027}}</ref> It is presently spoken by only a few dozen [[Crimean Karaites]] ({{lang|kdr|Qrimqaraylar}}) in [[Lithuania]], [[Poland]], [[Crimea]], and [[Galicia (Eastern Europe)|Galicia]] in [[Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Brook |first=Kevin Alan |date=Summer 2014 |title=The Genetics of Crimean Karaites |journal=Karadeniz Araştırmaları |volume=11 |issue=42 |pages=69–84 |doi=10.12787/KARAM859}}</ref> The three main dialects are those of [[Crimea]], [[Trakai]]-[[Vilnius]] and [[Lutsk]]-[[Halych]],{{sfn|Wexler|1980}} all of which are critically [[endangered language|endangered]]. The Lithuanian dialect of Karaim is spoken mainly in the town of Trakai by a small community living there since the 14th century.

There is a chance the language will survive in Trakai as a result of official support and because of its appeal to tourists coming to the [[Trakai Island Castle]], where Crimean Karaites are presented as the castle's ancient defenders.{{sfn|Napora|2018}}

==History==

===Karaims in Crimea and Lithuania===
The origin of the Karaims living in Crimea is subject to much dispute and inconsistency. Difficulty in reconstructing their history stems from the scarcity of documents pertaining to this population. Most of the known history is gathered from correspondence between the populations of Karaims and other populations in the 17th to 19th centuries.{{sfn|Akhiezer|2003}} Furthermore, a large number of documents pertaining to the Crimean population of Karaims were burned during the 1736 Russian invasion of the Tatar Khanate's capital, [[Bakhchysarai|Bakhchisarai]].{{sfn|Akhiezer|2003}}

Some scholars say that Karaims in Crimea are descendants of [[Karaite Judaism|Karaite]] merchants who migrated to Crimea from the [[Byzantine Empire]].{{sfn|Schur|1995}} In one particular incidence, migration of Karaites from [[Constantinople]] (modern-day [[Istanbul]]) to Crimea is documented following a fire in the Jewish quarter in 1203.{{sfn|Tsoffar|2006}} After the Turco-Mongol invasions, settlement of merchants in Crimea may have been encouraged in the 13th and 14th centuries by the active trade routes from Crimea to China and Central Asia.{{sfn|Schur|1995}}

On the other hand, "many scholars consider Karaims as descendants of [[Khazars]] and, later, [[Kipchak people|Polovtsi]] tribes" who converted to [[Karaite Judaism]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://karaim-institute.narod.ru/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070312085359/http://karaim-institute.narod.ru/ |title=International Institute of the Crimean Karaites |archive-date= 12 March 2007 |first1=Valentine |last1=Kefeli}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2019}} Kevin Alan Brook considered the link to the Khazars as historically inaccurate and implausible while claiming Talmudic Jews (especially [[Ashkenaz]]) as the true preservers of the Khazar legacy.{{sfn|Brook|2006}}

The third hypothesis says that Karaims are the descendants of Israelite tribes from the time of the first exile by an Assyrian king (720s BCE). The Karaim scholar [[Abraham Firkovich]] collected the documents arguing in favor of this theory before the Russian [[Tsar]]. He was of the opinion that Israelites from Assyria had gone into the North Caucasus and from there, with the permission of the Assyrian king into the Crimean peninsula. He also claimed that he has found the tombstone of [[Yitzhak ha-Sangari]] and his wife who he claimed were Karaims. Whether Firkovich forged some of the tombstone inscriptions and manuscripts is controversial.<ref>{{cite book |first1=Barry Dov |last1=Walfish |first2=Mikhail |last2=Kizilov |author-link2=Mikhail Kizilov |title=Bibliographia Karaitica: an Annotated bibliography of Karaites and Karaism. Karaite Texts and Studies |publisher=Brill |year=2010 |isbn=978-9004189270 |page=198}}</ref>

Regarding the origin of the Karaims in Lithuania also there is no complete consensus yet between the scholars. According to Lithuanian Karaim tradition they came from Crimea in 1392 when the Grand Duke [[Vytautas]] of Lithuania allied with Tokhtamysh against the [[White Horde]] Tatars and relocated 330 Karait families to Lithuania.{{sfn|Schur|1995}} Although linguistically sound, and in agreement with the tradition of the [[Lipka Tatars|Lithuanian Tatars]], claiming their origin from the collapsed [[Golden Horde]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=polish-heirs-of-tokhtamysh-2009-12-02 |title=Polish heirs of Tokhtamysh |first=Justyna |last=Szewczyk |publisher=Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review |date=December 4, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212090000/http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=polish-heirs-of-tokhtamysh-2009-12-02 |archive-date=December 12, 2009}}</ref> some modern historians doubt this assumption.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ahiezer |first1=Golda |last2=Shapira |first2=Dan |year=2001 |trans-title=Karaites in Lithuania and in Volhynia-Galicia until the Eighteenth Century |lang=he |script-title=he:קראים בליטא ובווהלין-גליציה עד המאה הי"ח |journal=Pe'amim: Studies in Oriental Jewry |volume=89 |issue=89 |pages=19–60 |jstor=23429121}}</ref>{{sfn|Schegoleva|2011}} Nevertheless, Karaims settled primarily in Vilnius and Trakai, maintaining their Tatar language; there was also further minor settlement in [[Biržai]], [[Pasvalys]], [[Naujamiestis, Panevėžys|Naujamiestis]] and [[Upytė]]. Despite a history through the 16th and 17th centuries that included disease, famine, and pogroms, Lithuania was somewhat less affected by such turmoil than the surrounding areas. As a result, the Lithuanian Karaims had a relative sense of stability over those years, and maintained their isolation as a group, keeping their Turkic language rather than abandoning it for the local languages.{{sfn|Tütüncü|Bowman|1998}}
===Genetic affiliation of the Karaim language===
Karaim is a member of the [[Turkic languages|''Turkic language'']] family, a group of languages of Eurasia spoken by historically nomadic peoples. Within the Turkic family, Karaim is identified as a member of the [[Kipchak languages]], in turn a member of the Western branch of the Turkic language family.{{sfn|Dahl|Koptjevskaja-Tamm|2001}}{{sfn|Csató|2012}} Within the Western branch, Karaim is a part of the Ponto-Caspian subfamily.<ref>{{ethnologue15}}</ref> This language subfamily also includes the [[Crimean Tatar language|Crimean Tatar]] of Ukraine and Uzbekistan, and [[Karachay-Balkar language|Karachay-Balkar]] and [[Kumyk language|Kumyk]] of Russia. The close relation of Karaim to Kypchak and Crimean Tatar makes sense in light of the beginnings of the Lithuanian Karaim people in Crimea.

One hypothesis is that [[Khazars|Khazar]] nobility converted to [[Karaite Judaism]] in the late 8th or early 9th century and were followed by a portion of the general population. This may also have occurred later, under [[Mongols|Mongol rule]], during an influx of people from [[Byzantium]].{{sfn|Tütüncü|Bowman|1998}}

As all [[Turkic languages]], Karaim grammar is characterized by [[agglutinative language|agglutination]] and [[vowel harmony]]. Genetic evidence for the inclusion of the Karaim language in the Turkic language family is undisputed, based on common vocabulary and grammar. Karaim has a historically [[subject–object–verb]] word order, extensive suffixing agglutination, the presence of vowel harmony, and a lack of gender or noun classes. Lithuanian Karaim has maintained most of these Turkic features despite its history of more than six hundred years in the environment of the Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian and Russian languages.

Most of the religious terminology in the Karaim language is [[Arabic]] in [[etymology]], showing the origins of the culture in the Middle East.{{sfn|Zajaczkowski|1961}} Arabic and [[Persian language|Persian]] had the earliest influences on the lexicon of Karaim, while later on in its history, the Russian, Ukrainian, and Polish languages made significant contributions to the lexicon of Karaims living in Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Lithuania.

==Language ecology==

===Distribution of Karaim speakers===
Today, there are Karaim speakers living in [[Crimea]],{{sfn|Csató|2012}} [[Lithuania]],{{sfn|Csató|2012}} [[Poland]],{{sfn|Csató|2012}} [[Israel]],{{sfn|Kizilov|2009}} and the [[United States]].{{sfn|Kizilov|2009}} However, there only remain about 200 Karaims in [[Lithuania]], only one quarter of whom are competent speakers of the Karaim language.{{sfn|Csató|2001}}

Karaim can be subdivided into three [[dialect]]s. The now-extinct eastern dialect, known simply as Crimean Karaim, was spoken in [[Crimea]] until the early 1900s.{{sfn|Wexler|1980}} The northwestern dialect, also called Trakai, is spoken in [[Lithuania]], mainly in the towns of [[Trakai]] and [[Vilnius]]. The southwestern dialect, also known as the Lutsk or [[Halych|Halich]] dialect, spoken in [[Ukraine]], was near-extinct with only six speakers in a single town as of 2001.{{sfn|Csató|2001}} [[Crimea]]n Karaim is considered to make up the "Eastern group," while the Trakai and Lutsk dialects comprise the "Western group."

===Language contact===
	Throughout its long and complicated history, Karaim has experienced extensive language contact. A past rooted in [[Mesopotamia]] and persisting connections to the Arab world resulted in Arabic words which likely carried over via the migration of Karaites from Mesopotamia{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}}. The Karaim language was spoken in Crimea during the rule of the Ottoman Empire, so there is also a significant history of contact with Turkish, a distant relative in the Turkic language family. Finally, Karaim coexisted with Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian, and Russian as a minority language in the other areas to which it dispersed where Karaims lived and had to speak the dominant majority languages.

Karaim speakers show a strong tendency towards code-copying.{{sfn|Csató|2001}} Code-copying differs from [[code-switching]] in that speakers don't just switch from one language to another, but actually transfer lexical items and grammatical features from one language to another in processes that may be only for single instances, or that may have much more lasting effects on [[language typology]].{{sfn|Csató|2001}} Extensive code-copying is indicative both of the ever-shrinking population of Karaim speakers (leading to an insufficient Karaim lexicon and a high frequency of borrowing from [[Russian language|Russian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and [[Church Slavonic language|Slavonic languages]]) and of the high level of language contact in the regions where Karaim is spoken.{{sfn|Csató|2012}}

===Multilingualism===
Due to the very small number of speakers of Karaim and the high level of multilingualism in [[Lithuania]] in general, there is also a high level of [[multilingualism]] among Karaim speakers. Karaim speakers also communicate with the dominant languages of their respective regions, including [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], and [[Russian language|Russian]]. Some also have religious knowledge of [[Hebrew]].{{sfn|Csató|2001}} Multilingualism is a necessity for Karaim speakers, because without other languages the majority would not even be able to communicate with members of their own family.{{sfn|Csató|2001}}

===Language health===
Most<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dryga |first=İryna M. |title=Endangered languages of the Caucasus and beyond |publisher=Brill |editor-first1=Ramazan |editor-last1=Korkmaz |editor-first2=Gürkan |editor-last2=Doğan |year=2016 |isbn=978-90-04-32869-3 |location=Leiden |pages=51–59 |chapter=International Research Collaboration on Documentation and Revitalization of Endangered Turkic Languages in Ukraine: Crimean Tatar, Gagauz, Karaim, Qrymchak and Urum Experience |doi=10.1163/9789004328693_005 |oclc=962065278}}</ref> dialects of Karaim are now extinct. Maintenance of the Karaim language in [[Lithuania]] is now endangered due to the dispersal of Karaim speakers under the [[Soviet regime]] in the [[aftermath of World War II]] and the very small number and old age of fluent speakers remaining.{{sfn|Csató|2001}} Children and grandchildren of Karaim speakers speak [[Lithuanian language|Lithuanian]], [[Polish language|Polish]], or [[Russian language|Russian]], and only the oldest generation still speaks Karaim.

==Phonology==

===Consonant inventory===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
! colspan=2 | 
! scope="col" | [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! scope="col" | [[Alveolar consonant|Alveolar]]
! scope="col" | [[Postalveolar consonant|Postalveolar]]
! scope="col" | [[Palatal consonant|Palatal]]
! scope="col" | [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
! scope="col" | [[Uvular consonant|Uvular]]
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n}}
| 
| 
| 
| 
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|k}}
| 
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
| 
|-
! rowspan=2 | [[Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s̪|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʃ}} {{grapheme|š}}
| 
| 
| {{IPA link|χ}} {{grapheme|ch}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z̪|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʒ}} {{grapheme|ž}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ʁ}} {{grapheme|h}}
|-
! colspan=2 | [[Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|w}} {{grapheme|u}}
| {{IPA link|r}}
| 
| {{IPA link|j}}
| 
| 
|-
|}

===Vowel inventory===
{| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center
|-
! rowspan="2" |
! colspan="2" | [[Front vowel|Front]]
! colspan="2" | [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! {{small|unrounded}} !! {{small|rounded}}
! {{small|unrounded}} !! {{small|rounded}}
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}} || {{IPA link|y}} {{grapheme|ü}} || {{IPA link|ɯ}} {{grapheme|y}} || {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Close-mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|e}} || {{IPA link|ø}} {{grapheme|ö}} || || {{IPA link|o}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| || {{IPA link|ɑ}} {{grapheme|a}} ||
|}

===Phonotactics===
Trakai Karaim shows harmony in palatalization of consonants. Thus, in any given word, only palatalized or only non-palatalized consonants can be found.{{sfn|Németh|2003}} Palatalized consonants occur in the presence of front vowels, and non-palatalized consonants occur in the presence of back vowels. Similarly to most Turkic languages, virtually all of the consonants in Karaim exist in both a palatalized and a non-palatalized form, which may be further evidence of their genetic relationship.{{sfn|Hansson|2007}} However, care must be taken in assuming as much, because Karaim has been in contact with the [[Lipka Tatars|Lipka Tatar]] language in Lithuania for hundreds of years.

Karaim also exhibits vowel harmony, whereby suffix vowels harmonize for front or back quality with the vowels in the stem of a word.{{sfn|Zajaczkowski|1961}}

==Morphology==
Karaim morphology is suffixing and highly agglutinating. The Karaim language lacks prefixes but uses postpositions. Nouns are inflected for seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, locative, and instrumental, which is rare in other Turkic languages). A notable feature of verb conjugation in Karaim is the possibility of abbreviated forms.

{| class="wikitable"
|+ the verb [ał], "to take":{{sfn|Németh|2003}}{{sfn|Csató|2002}}
!colspan=2|
! Long form
! Short form
|-
!rowspan=2| 1st person
! singular
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-myn}}
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-m}}
|-
! plural
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-byz}}
| —
|-
!rowspan=2| 2nd person
! singular
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-syn}}
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-s}}
|-
! plural
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-syz}}
| —
|-
!rowspan=2| 3rd person
! singular
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-dyr}}
| {{lang|kdr|ał-a-d}} ~ {{lang|kdr|ał-a-dy}}
|-
! plural
| {{lang|kdr|ał-dyr-łar}}
| {{lang|kdr|ał-d-łar}} ~ {{lang|kdr|ał-dy-łar}}
|}

==Syntax==
Historically, Karaim had a typically Turkic SOV word order. However, it appears to have acquired somewhat free word order due to extensive language contact situations, and currently has a preference for [[Subject–verb–object word order|SVO]] constructions.{{sfn|Csató|2001}} Due to the agglutinative nature of Karaim morphology, pronominal subjects are frequently dropped as the same information is already represented in the inflection of the main verb. Karaim is head-final and uses postpositions.

Karaim syntax exhibits multiple instances of code-copying, whereby Karaim merges with syntactic properties of other languages in its area due to strong language contact situations. The impact of such language contact is also evident in the Karaim lexicon, which has extensive borrowing.{{sfn|Zajaczkowski|1961}} In more modern times, the significant borrowing is also representative of insufficiencies in the lexicon.{{sfn|Dahl|Koptjevskaja-Tamm|2001}}

==Writing system==
[[File:Karaim Siddur printed in Vilnius in 1892.png|thumb|A page from a Karaim prayer book ([[Siddur]]) from Vilnius, Lithuania 1892. ]]
The traditional script of the Karaites in the [[Hebrew alphabet]] was used until the 20th century. In many Karaite families, they still have Hebrew letter handwritten collection of texts of diverse content, referred to as "miedžuma". The Karaim language has also been protected through translated religious works, such as bibles.{{sfn|Csató|2012}} Throughout the 20th century, the Karaite communities also used various modifications of [[Latin alphabet|Latin]] ([[Yañalif]], Lithuanian and Polish alphabets) and [[Cyrillic]] alphabets.{{sfn|Wexler|1980}}

''Romanized alphabet of the Karaites of Crimea ([[Yañalif]])''<ref>{{cite book| author = J. Şamaş | title = Qrьmda qaraim вalalarь ycyn ana tilinde alefвet ve oquv kitaвь |location= Aqmeçed |year= 1929 |publisher= Qrьm devlet neşrijatь }}</ref>
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | A a
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | B ʙ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | C c
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ç ç
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | D d
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | E e
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | F f
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | G g
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | H h
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | I i
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | J j
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Q q
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ƣ ƣ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | L l
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | M m
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | N n
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ꞑ ꞑ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | O o
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ɵ ɵ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | P p
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | S s
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ş ş
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ь ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | K k
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | U u
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | V v
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Y y
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | R r
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | T t
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | X x
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Z z
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ƶ ƶ
|}

=== Modern alphabet ===
In Lithuania and Poland, a modified Latin alphabet is used to write in Karaim, while in Crimea and Ukraine, it was written using [[Cyrillic script]]. From the 17th century up until the 19th century, [[Hebrew alphabet|Hebrew]] letters were used.{{sfn|Wexler|1980}}

''The Cyrillic alphabet of the Karaites of the Crimea''
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | А а
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Б б
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | В в
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Г г
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Гъ гъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Д д
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Дж дж
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Е е
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ж ж
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | З з
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | И и
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Й й
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | К к
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Къ къ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Л л
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | М м
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Н н
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Нъ нъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | О о
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ӧ ӧ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | П п
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Р р
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | С с
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Т т
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | У у
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ӱ ӱ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ф ф
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Х х
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Хъ хъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ц ц
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ч ч
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ш ш
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Щ щ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ъ ъ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ы ы
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ь ь
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Э э
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ю ю
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Я я
|
|}

* Letters '''Е''', '''Ю''' and '''Я''' used only after ''Л'' as an indicator of softness
* Letters '''Ж''' and '''Ц''' used only in Russian borrowings

''The Latinized alphabet of the Karaites of Lithuania''
{| style="font-family:Arial Unicode MS; font-size:1.4em; border-color:#000000; border-width:1px; border-style:solid; border-collapse:collapse; background-color:#F8F8EF"
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | A a
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | B b
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | C c
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ch ch
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Č č
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | D d
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ď ď
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Dž dž
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | E e
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ė ė
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | F f
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | G g
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | H h
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | I i
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Y y
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | J j
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | K k
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | L l
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ľ ľ
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | M m
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | N n
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ń ń
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | O o
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ö ö
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | P p
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | R r
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | S s
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ś ś
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Š š
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | T t
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ť ť
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | U u
|-
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ü ü
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | V v
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Z z
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ž ž
| style="width:3em; text-align:center; padding: 3px;" | Ź ź
|
|
|
|}

== Dialectology ==
Pritsak 1959 treats the Turkic varieties of the Karaim community as a dialect of the Karaim language and distinguishes between the northwestern variety (Lithuanian or Trakai Karaim), the southwestern variety (Halich Karaim) and the eastern variety (Crimean Karaim). These communities share a common religious, historical and cultural tradition, and these breeds are linguistically related. Even so, the differences between the varieties spoken in the Halich and Lithuanian communities are so great that the users of both varieties prefer Russian or Polish when communicating with each other. The present differences are partly due to their development from different Kipchak breeds and partly due to the different linguistic environments that influenced their later development.{{sfn|Csató|2012}}

==See also==
*[[Krymchak language]]
*[[Crimean Tatar language]]
*[[Urum language]]
*[[Armeno-Kipchak language]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
*[http://karai.crimea.ua/22-jazyk.html Karaim language] {{in lang|ru}}

==Sources==
* {{cite book |last=Akhiezer |first=Golda |year=2003 |chapter=The history of the Crimean Karaites during the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries |pages=729–757 |editor-last=Polliack |editor-first=Meira |title=Karaite Judaism: A Guide to its History and Literary Sources |location=Boston |publisher=Brill}}
* {{cite book |title=The Jews of Khazaria |first=Kevin Alan |last=Brook |edition=2nd |pages=226–232 |publisher=Bowman & Littlefield Publishers |year=2006}}
* {{cite book |last=Csató |first=Éva Ágnes  |year=2001 |chapter=Syntactic code-copying in Karaim |title=Circum-Baltic Languages |series=Studies in Language Companion Series |volume=1: Past and Present |editor-first1=Östen |editor-last1=Dahl |editor-first2=Maria |editor-last2=Koptjevskaja-Tamm |pages=271–283 |doi=10.1075/slcs.54.15csa|isbn=978-90-272-3057-7 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Csató |first=Éva Ágnes |chapter=Karaim: a high-copying language |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ijH4Hlvd4ZQC&pg=PA315| title=Language Change: The Interplay of Internal, External and Extra-Linguistic Factors |editor-last1=Jones |editor-first1=Mari C. |editor-last2=Esch |editor-first2=Edith |year=2002 |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |isbn=9783110892598 |language=en}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Csató |first=Éva |date=Winter 2012 |journal=Journal of Endangered Languages |title=Lithuanian Karaim |volume=1 |issue=1 |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/tdd/issue/29413/315003 |access-date=2022-10-20 |pages=33–45}}
* {{Cite book |editor-last1=Dahl |editor-first1=Östen |editor-last2=Koptjevskaja-Tamm |editor-first2=Maria |title=The Circum-Baltic languages |volume=1: Past and present |date=2001|publisher=John Benjamins |isbn=1588110206 |location=Amsterdam |oclc=302343232}}
* {{cite journal |last=Hansson |first=Gunnar Ólafur |year=2007 |title=On the evolution of consonant harmony: the case of secondary articulation agreement |journal=Phonology |volume=24 |pages=77–120|doi=10.1017/S0952675707001121 |s2cid=57216802 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Kizilov |first=M. |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/611961832 |title=The Karaites of Galicia: An ethnoreligious minority among the Ashkenazim, the Turks, and the Slavs, 1772-1945. |date=2009 |publisher=Leiden–Boston: Brill |isbn=978-90-04-16602-8 |oclc=611961832}}
* {{cite web |last=Napora |first=Kamila |date=2018-11-26 |title=Karaim Culture in Trakai |url=https://www.mywanderlust.pl/karaim-culture-in-trakai/ |website=Kami and the Rest of the World |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231020095823/https://www.mywanderlust.pl/karaim-culture-in-trakai/ |archive-date=2023-10-20}}
* {{cite web |last=Németh |first=Michał |year=2003 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716080739/http://www.karaimi.org/index_en.php?p=301 |archive-date=2011-07-16 |url=http://www.karaimi.org/index_en.php?p=301 |title=Grammatical features |website=Karaimi |publisher=Związek Karaimów Polskich w RP}}
* {{cite web |last=Schegoleva |first=Tatiana |date=2011-05-29 |title=Karaites of Crimea: History and Present-Day Situation in Community |department=Analytics |website=Jews of Eurasia |url=http://video-en.jewseurasia.org/page34/news24063.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170704090449/http://eajc.org/page34/news24063.html |archive-date=2017-07-04 }}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Schur |first=Nathan |year=1995 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071228105622/http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karalit.html |entry=Karaites in Lithuania |encyclopedia=The Karaite Encyclopedia |url=http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karalit.html |archive-date=2007-12-28 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite book |last=Tsoffar |first=Ruth |year=2006 |title=Stains of Culture: an Ethno-Reading of Karaite Jewish Women |location=Detroit |publisher=Wayne State University Press}}
* {{cite web |last1=Tütüncü |first1=Mehmet |last2=Bowman |first2=Inci |year=1998 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071126131635/http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karaim.html |archive-date=2007-11-26 |url=http://www.turkiye.net/sota/karaim.html |url-status=dead |title=Karaim Homepage |publisher=Stichting Onderzoek Turkestan}}
* {{cite journal |last=Wexler |first=Paul |year=1980 |title=The Byelorussian Impact on Karaite and Yiddish |journal=Journal of Belarusian Studies |volume=4 |issue=3–4 |pages=99–111 |doi=10.30965/20526512-0040304001 |doi-access=free}}
* {{cite book |last=Zajaczkowski |first=Ananiasz |year=1961 |title=Karaims in Poland |location=Warsaw |publisher=Mouton}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Astren |first=Fred |year=2004 |title=Karaite Judaism and Historical Understanding |location=Columbia |publisher=University of South Carolina Press}}
* {{cite AV media |last=Csató |first=Éva Ágnes |last2=Nathan |first2=David |last3=Firkavičiūtė |first3=Karina |year=2003 |title=Spoken Karaim |location=London |publisher=School of Oriental and African Studies}}
* {{cite book |last=Gil |first=Moshe |year=2003 |chapter=The origins of the Karaites |pages=73–118 |editor-last=Polliack |editor-first=Meira |title=Karaite Judaism: A Guide to its History and Literary Sources |location=Boston |publisher=Brill}}
* {{cite book |last=Khan |first=Geoffrey |year=2000 |title=The Early Karaite Tradition of Hebrew Grammatical Thought |location=Boston |publisher=Brill |isbn=978-90-04-11933-8 |doi=10.1163/9789004348516}}
* {{cite book |last1=Kocaoğlu |first1=T. |last2=Firkovičius |first2=M. |year=2006 |title=Karay: the Trakai dialect |series=Languages of the world |volume=458 |location=München |publisher=Lincom Europa |isbn=3-89586-490-0}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Nemoy |first=Leon |year=1987 |entry=Karaites |editor-first=Mircea |editor-last=Eliade |encyclopedia=The Encyclopedia of Religion |location=New York |publisher=MacMillan}}
* {{cite book |last1=Oesterley |first1=W. O. E. |last2=Box |first2=G. H. |year=1920 |title=A Short Survey of the Literature of Rabbinical and Mediaeval Judaism |publisher=Burt Franklin |location=New York}}

==External links==
{{Incubator|code= kdr/Baş Yan}}
*[http://karai.crimea.ua/karai/yazyk-karaimov Crimean Karaite Association's page about Karaim Language] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190212130401/http://karai.crimea.ua/karai/yazyk-karaimov |date=12 February 2019 }}
*[http://kale.at.ua/publ/3 Karaim-Russian On-Line Dictionary]
*[http://www.dnathan.com/language/karaim/ Spoken Karaim language project]
*[http://www.torapotatarski.estranky.cz/ Translation of Torah into Tatar (Karaite) language]

{{Jewish languages}}
{{Languages of Poland}}
{{Languages of Ukraine}}
{{Turkic languages}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaim Language}}
[[Category:Agglutinative languages]]
[[Category:Kipchak languages]]
[[Category:Jewish languages]]
[[Category:Languages of Lithuania]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of Ukraine]]
[[Category:Languages of Poland]]
[[Category:Karaite Judaism in Europe]]
[[Category:Khazars|Karaims' language]]
[[Category:Crimean Karaites]]
[[Category:Endangered Turkic languages]]
[[Category:Indigenous languages of European Russia]]