Endangered Languages Project

The Karaim language belongs to the Kipchak-Polovtsy group of Turkic languages. The closest related languages are Kumyk, Karachay-Balkar and Crimean Tatar. (The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire)

ALSO KNOWN AS		Karaite, Karaïm
CLASSIFICATION		Turkic, Kipchak
ORTHOGRAPHY		Cyrillic script
CODE AUTHORITY		ISO 639-3
LANGUAGE CODE		kdr
VARIANTS & DIALECTS		Trakay Galits Eastern Karaim Northwestern Karaim
DOWNLOAD		As csv
MORE RESOURCES		OLAC search

Compare Sources (6)

Information from: “Europe and North Asia” (211-282) . Tapani Salminen (2007) , C. Moseley · London & New York: Routledge

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
500
Native speakers worldwide

DATE OF INFO: 1989

TRANSMISSION

PLACES: Crimea, Poland, Lithuania

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Ethnic population
3,341

DATE OF INFO: 1979

DOMAINS OF USE

TRANSMISSION

MORE ON VITALITY

Karaim is used when speakers do not want to be understood by other people, and is the language of ritual.

OTHER LANGUAGES USED BY THE COMMUNITY

Hebrew; Crimean Tartar; Russian ; Lithuanian ; Ukrainian

Scripts (Writing system)

Cyrillic script

More on Orthography

Today there is no written language; various literary traditions used competing scripts for religious texts

LOCATION DESCRIPTION: Karaim speakers are dispersed in the Caucasus, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
3
Native speakers worldwide

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
1,130
Native speakers worldwide
MORE ON SPEAKER NUMBERS
1,010 in Ukraine (2006 A. Goraianov). 1,000 in Crimea; 12 Lutzk-Halych in Western Ukraine. Population total all countries: 1,130. Ethnic population: 5,000 in Lithuania

PLACES: Lithuania; Ukraine;

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available
56
Native speakers worldwide

		2007	Europe and North Asia	Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages	211-282	C. Moseley	London & New York: Routledge			Tapani Salminen	Salminen, Tapani. 2007. "Europe and North Asia." In Encyclopedia of the World's Endangered Languages, edited by C. Moseley. 211-282. London & New York: Routledge.	HHOLD		500	1989	100-999				Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15			Crimea, Poland, Lithuania
0199255911		2005	The World Atlas of Language Structures			Bernard Comrie and David Gil and Martin Haspelmath and Matthew S. Dryer	Oxford University Press	New York			2005. "The World Atlas of Language Structures." edited by Bernard Comrie et al. Oxford University Press.															54.6666666667,24.9166666667
	16	2009	Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16th Edition (2009)			M. Paul Lewis	SIL International	Dallas, TX	http://www.ethnologue.com/		Lewis, M. Paul (ed.). 2009. Ethnologue: Languages of the World, 16 edn. http://www.ethnologue.com/home.asp. (15 February, 2011.)	ll_pub		1,130		1000-9999	1,010 in Ukraine (2006 A. Goraianov). 1,000 in Crimea; 12 Lutzk-Halych in Western Ukraine. Population total all countries: 1,130. Ethnic population: 5,000 in Lithuania			Threatened (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)				Lithuania; Ukraine;
	3rd	2010	Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger				UNESCO Publishing	Paris	http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas	Christopher Moseley (ed.)	Moseley, Christopher (ed.). 2010. Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 3rd edn. http://www.unesco.org/culture/en/endangeredlanguages/atlas. (03 June, 2011.)	ll_pub		56		10-99				Severely Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)						50.7538,25.3351
			World Oral Literature Project						http://www.oralliterature.org		"World Oral Literature Project." Online: http://www.oralliterature.org.			3		1-9				Critically Endangered (20 percent certain, based on the evidence available)
9985-936922		1993	The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire			Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits			http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook		"The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire." edited by Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits. Online: http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook.		3,341		1979			Hebrew was the language used in scripture and is still used in religious services	Hebrew; Crimean Tartar; Russian ; Lithuanian ; Ukrainian	Critically Endangered (60 percent certain, based on the evidence available)	15	Karaim is used when speakers do not want to be understood by other people, and is the language of ritual.	15		Karaim speakers are dispersed in the Caucasus, Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Karaim

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

500

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

3

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,130

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

56

Discussion

Karaim

Language metadata

Language information by source

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

500

Critically endangered

60 percent certain, based on the evidence available

Critically endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

3

Threatened

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

1,130

Severely endangered

20 percent certain, based on the evidence available

56

Discussion

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