Kipchak languages

Kipchak
Kipchak
Northwestern Turkic
Ethnicity	Kipchaks
Geographic; distribution	—
Linguistic classification	Turkic Common Turkic Kipchak; ;
Subdivisions	Kipchak–Bulgar; Kipchak–Cuman; Kipchak–Nogai; Kyrgyz–Kipchak;
Glottolog	kipc1239
	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") ^{[citation needed]}
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
			Kipchak–Cuman (Ponto-Caspian)	Karachay-Balkar Kumyk Karaim 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.

References

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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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