The
Crimean Tatar language
Crimean Tatar () also called Crimean (), is a Kipchak Turkic language spoken in Crimea and the Crimean Tatar diasporas of Uzbekistan, Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria, as well as small communities in the United States and Canada. It should n ...
consists of three dialects. The standard language is written in the middle dialect (
bağçasaray, orta yolaq), which is part of the Kipchak-Cuman branch. There is also the southern dialect, also known as the coastal dialect (yalıboyu, cenübiy), which is in the
Oghuz branch, and the northern dialect, also known as nogai dialect (noğay, çöl, şimaliy), which is in the Kipchak-Nogai branch.
Crimean Tatar has a unique position among the
Turkic languages
The Turkic languages are a language family of over 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples of Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Southern Europe to Central Asia, East Asia, North Asia (Siberia), and Western Asia. The Turkic languag ...
, because its three "dialects" belong to three different (sub)groups of Turkic. This makes the classification of Crimean Tatar as a whole difficult.
Middle dialect
The middle dialect is spoken in the
Crimean Mountains
The Crimean Mountains ( uk, Кримські гори, translit. ''Krymski hory''; russian: Крымские горы, translit. ''Krymskie gory''; crh, Qırım dağları) are a range of mountains running parallel to the south-eastern coast o ...
by the sedentary ''Tat'' Tatars (should not be confused with the
Tat people which speak an
Iranic language). Because its speakers comprise a relative majority of Crimean Tartar speakers, the written language is based on the middle dialect.
Standard Crimean Tatar and its middle dialect are classified as a language of the Cuman (russian: кыпчакско-половецкая) subgroup of the
Kipchak languages
The Kipchak languages (also known as the Kypchak, Qypchaq, Qypshaq or the Northwestern Turkic languages) are a sub-branch of the Turkic language family spoken by approximately 28 million people in much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, spannin ...
and the closest relatives are
Karachay-Balkar
Karachay-Balkar (, ), or Mountain Turkic (, ), is a Turkic language spoken by the Karachays and Balkars in Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay–Cherkessia, European Russia, as well as by an immigrant population in Afyonkarahisar Province, Turkey. I ...
,
Karaim,
Krymchak,
Kumyk,
Urum and extinct
Cuman
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
. The middle dialect, although thought to be of Kipchak-Cuman origin, combines elements of both Cuman and Oghuz languages.
The Cuman language arrived in Crimea with the first Turkic invasions of Crimea by
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
and
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
in the 11th Century. The Cuman language as it developed in Crimea is thought to have been the lingua franca of the
Crimean Khanate
The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatars, Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to ...
.
Southern dialect
The southern or coastal dialects is spoken by
''Yalıboylu'' ("coastal dwellers") who have traditionally lived on the southern coast of the Crimea. Their dialects belong to the
Oghuz group of the Turkic languages which includes
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
,
Azeri
Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic people living mainly in Azerbaijan (Iran), northwestern Iran and the Azerbaijan, Republi ...
and
Turkmen
Turkmen, Türkmen, Turkoman, or Turkman may refer to:
Peoples Historical ethnonym
* Turkoman (ethnonym), ethnonym used for the Oghuz Turks during the Middle Ages
Ethnic groups
* Turkmen in Anatolia and the Levant (Seljuk and Ottoman-Turkish desc ...
. This dialect is most heavily influenced by Turkish and shares much of the vocabulary.
Northern dialect
Northern, Nogai or Desert dialect (noğay, çöl, şimaliy; in Dobruja: tatarşa, noğayşa, tatça) is spoken by
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
in
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
,
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
and other countries. It has
Nogai influence and even there are people who say that this dialect is part of
Nogai language
Nogai (; ''Ногай тили, Nogay tili, Ногайша, Nogayşa'') also known as Noğay, Noghay, Nogay, or Nogai Tatar, is a Turkic language spoken in Southeastern European Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Romania and in T ...
and related to
Kazakh,
Karakalpak,
Kyrgyz Kyrgyz, Kirghiz or Kyrgyzstani may refer to:
* Someone or something related to Kyrgyzstan
*Kyrgyz people
*Kyrgyz national games
*Kyrgyz language
*Kyrgyz culture
*Kyrgyz cuisine
*Yenisei Kirghiz
*The Fuyü Gïrgïs language in Northeastern China
...
, and
Nogai proper. This dialect was spoken by former nomadic inhabitants of the Crimean (Nogay) steppe. It is thought that the Nogays of the Crimea and the Nogais of the Caucasus and Volga are of common origin from the
Nogai Horde
The Nogai Horde was a confederation founded by the Nogais that occupied the Pontic–Caspian steppe from about 1500 until they were pushed west by the Kalmyks and south by the Russians in the 17th century. The Mongol tribe called the Manghuds cons ...
, which is reflected in their common name and very closely related languages. In the past some speakers of this dialects also called themselves ''Qıpçaq'' (that is Cumans).
Alphabet in Dobruja
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
speak with this dialect,
[Uyğur, Sinan (2011)]
Dobruca Tatar Türklerinde abece ve yazım sorunu
''Karadeniz Araştırmaları'', Yaz 2011, Sayı 30, sayfa: 71-92 with a slight variation in the alphabet.
[Here is the alphabet shown:https://www.academia.edu/34831410/Dic%C8%9Bionar_T%C4%83tar_Crimean_Rom%C3%A2n_K%C3%AEr%C3%AEm_Tatar%C5%9Fa_Kazak%C5%9Fa_S%C3%B3zl%C3%ADk]
*Ââ is not recognized as a separate letter. It is used to show softness of a consonant followed by Aa.
The letters Ĭĭ and Ww are not in the
Crimean Tatar alphabet Crimean Tatar is written in both Latin, dominant on the internet, and Cyrillic dominant in printed productions. Historically, the Arabic script was also used.
History
Arabic script
Crimean Tatars used the Arabic script from 16th century to 1 ...
.
Tatars
The Tatars ()[Tatar]
in the Collins English Dictionary is an umbrella term for different in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
, however, use Ĭĭ and Ww. Ĭĭ represents
and Ww represents
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
in
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
use İi to represent
and
and Vv represents both
and
but in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
, İi is
and Vv is
Differences
The dialect is mostly Kipchak-Nogai, but it also has Kipchak-Kuman and Oghuz influences. This means that not every change from Kipchak-Nogai is found in this dialect. One of the differences from the standard dialect is sound changes (not in all words): ''y→c'' (yol→col "way"), ''ç→ş¹'' (çay→şay "tee"), ''f→p¹'' (fil→pil "elephant"), ''u→o¹''(bu→bo "this")
The changes are mostly (or only) found in
Crimean Tatars
, flag = Flag of the Crimean Tatar people.svg
, flag_caption = Flag of Crimean Tatars
, image = Love, Peace, Traditions.jpg
, caption = Crimean Tatars in traditional clothing in front of the Khan's Palace
...
in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
(
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
) and
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
.
References
Turkic languages
Crimean Tatar language
{{Turkic-lang-stub