Kipchak languages

The Kipchak languages (also known as the Kypchak, Qypchaq or the Northwestern Turkic languages) are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family spoken by approximately 31.3 million people in much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, spanning from Ukraine to China. Some of the most widely spoken languages in this group are Kazakh, Kyrgyz and Tatar.

Kipchak
Northwestern Turkic
Ethnicity	Kipchaks
Geographic distribution	Central Asia, Russia, Northern Caucasus, Ukraine
Linguistic classification	Turkic Common Turkic Kipchak
Subdivisions	Kipchak–Bulgar Kipchak–Cuman Kipchak–Nogai Kyrgyz–Kipchak
Glottolog	kipc1239[1]
Kipchak–Bulgar   Kipchak–Cuman   Kipchak–Nogai and Kyrgyz–Kipchak

Kipchak languages by native speakers

Further information: Lists of endangered languages, List of endangered languages in Russia, and List of endangered languages in China

The Turkic languages are a language family of at least 35 [2] documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates (2019) and were rounded:[3][4]

Number	Name	Status	Native speakers	Main Country
1	Kazakh language	Normal	14,000,000	Kazakhstan
2	Tatar language	Normal	5,500,000	Russia
3	Kyrgyz language	Normal	5,000,000	Kyrgyzstan
4	Bashkir language	Vulnerable	1,500,000	Russia
5	Karakalpak language	Normal	650,000	Uzbekistan
6	Crimean Tatar language	Severely endangered	600,000	Ukraine
7	Kumyk language	Vulnerable	450,000	Russia
8	Karachay-Balkar language	Vulnerable	400,000	Russia
9	Siberian Tatar language	Definitely endangered	100,000	Russia
10	Nogai language	Definitely endangered	100,000	Russia
11	Krymchak language	Critically endangered	200	Israel
12	Karaim language	Critically endangered	100	Ukraine
Total	Kipchak languages	Normal	31,300,000	Kazakhstan

Linguistic features

The Kipchak languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of these features are shared with other Common Turkic languages; others are unique to the Kipchak family.

Shared features

• Change of Proto-Turkic *d to /j/ (e.g. *hadaq > ajaq "foot")
• Loss of initial *h (preserved only in Khalaj), see above example

Unique features

• Extensive labial vowel harmony (e.g. olor vs. olar "them")
• Frequent fortition (in the form of assibilation) of initial */j/ (e.g. *jetti > ʒetti "seven")
• Diphthongs from syllable-final */ɡ/ and */b/ (e.g. *taɡ > taw "mountain", *sub > suw "water")

Classification

The Kipchak languages may be broken down into four groups, based on geography and shared features:[1] Languages in bold are still spoken today.

Proto-Turkic	Common Turkic	Kipchak	Kipchak–Bulgar (Uralian, Uralo-Caspian)	Bashkir Tatar Old Tatar language †
			Kipchak–Cuman (Ponto-Caspian)	Karachay-Balkar Kumyk Karaim Krymchak Urum* Crimean Tatar Cuman †
			Kipchak–Nogai (Aralo-Caspian)	Kazakh Karakalpak Siberian Tatar Nogai
			Kyrgyz–Kipchak (Kyrgyz)	Kyrgyz
			South Kipchak	Fergana Kipchak †

*Note: Kipchak–Cuman base, but have been heavily influenced by Oghuz languages.

See also

• Kipchak language
• Kipchaks
• Kipchaks in Georgia
• Cuman people
• Cuman language
• Cumania
• Kalpak

References

1. Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Kipchak". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.
2. Dybo A.V., Chronology of Türkic languages and linguistic contacts of early Türks, Moscow, 2007, p. 766, "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-03-11. Retrieved 2005-03-11.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (In Russian)
3. https://www.ethnologue.com/
4. https://glottolog.org/

Bibliography

• Johanson, Lars; Csató, Éva Ágnes (1998). The Turkic Languages. London: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-08200-5.
• Menges, Karl H. (1995). The Turkic Languages and Peoples (2nd ed.). Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. ISBN 3-447-03533-1.