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On the Karaim language, see Karaim, Crimean (East) and Karaim, Northwest and Southwest.1. ManuscriptsThe exact number of extant manuscripts of Karaim Bible translations is unknown, though it certainly exceeds 100. If we include manuscripts with prayers and hymns that contain biblical verses, the number grows to several hundred. The manuscripts with Bible translations can be found in Sklare’s (2003) paper on Karaim manuscripts and in Baskakov et al. (1974: 28–29). The catalogs in private collections,…

1. DesignationsCrimean or East Karaim was a Turkic language spoken by the Karaim or East European Karaites probably from the 13th c. until the mid-20th c. There are no specific autonames for the Turkic vernaculars of the Karaim. All are called ḳaray (tili), ḳarayča ~ ḳaraimče or ḳarayị̈mča. These names are new and began appearing from the 19th c. onwards. The attribute ‘Crimean’ is only used in other languages, e.g., English Crimean Karaim, German krimkaraimisch, or Russian krymskokaraimskij. If a closer specification is needed, the Karaim call this language the Crime…

1. Introduction Karaim is a Turkic language once spoken by the East European Karaites (Karaims) in the Ukraine (Crimea, Volhynia, and Galicia) and in Lithuania. When writing in Hebrew, the Karaims referred to their Turkic language mostly as לשון קדר lešon qedar, לשון קדרי lašon qedari, or לשון טטר lešon ṭaṭar. There is an Eastern (Crimean) and a Western dialect (formerly the dialect of Polish Karaims) of Karaim, the latter subdivided into a northwestern or Troki, and a southwestern or Halicz-Łuck, dialect (Pritsak 1959:320–323; Shapira 2003:657…

1. DesignationsKazakh is a NWS or a South Kipchak language belonging to the southern branch of the North-West Turkic group. It is called ḳazaḳ tịlị ‹қазақ тілі› or ḳazaḳša ‹қазақша›. Prior to 1925, its Russian name was Kirghiz ‹киргизский› or Kazak-Kirghiz ‹казак-киргизский›, while Kirghiz was called Kara-Kirghiz ‹кара-киргизский язык›.Henryk Jankowski2. Status 2.1 LocationKazakh is spoken by the Kazakhs in Kazakhstan and by Kazakh minorities in all neighboring countries, i.e., China, Russia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kyrgyzstan, as well…