Kipchak languages

Kipchak
Northwestern Turkic
Ethnicity Kipchaks
Geographic
distribution
Linguistic classification Turkic
Subdivisions
  • Kipchak–Bulgar
  • Kipchak–Cuman
  • Kipchak–Nogai
  • Kyrgyz–Kipchak
Glottolog kipc1239[1]
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 Kipchak–Bulgar   Kipchak–Cuman   Kipchak–Nogai and Kyrgyz–Kipchak 

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 26–28 million people in much of Central Asia and Eastern Europe, spanning from Ukraine to China. Languages likes Kazakh and Tatar belong to this group.

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)
Kipchak–Cuman (Ponto-Caspian)
Kipchak–Nogai (Aralo-Caspian)
Kyrgyz–Kipchak (Kyrgyz)
South Kipchak
  • Note: Kipchak–Cuman base, but have been heavily influenced by Oghuz languages.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Hammarström, Harald; Forkel, Robert; Haspelmath, Martin, eds. (2017). "Kipchak". Glottolog 3.0. Jena, Germany: Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

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.
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