Kipchak | |
---|---|
Qypçaq | |
Region | Ukraine, Russia north of the Black Sea, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Karakalpakstan |
Era | 11th–17th centuries[1] Evolved into modern Kipchak languages. |
Language codes | |
ISO 639-3 | – |
qwm | |
Glottolog | None |
The Kipchak language (also spelled Qypchaq) is an extinct Turkic language and the common ancestor of the Kipchak branch of Turkic languages. The earliest inscriptions of Kipchak are those derived from Buddhist inscriptions written in Sanskrit, Pali and Prakrit languages.
The descendants of Kipchak include the majority of Turkic languages spoken in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus today, as Kipchak-Cuman was used as a lingua franca in Golden Horde–ruled lands.
Kazakhs are remnants of Southern Cuman-Kipchak tribes who lived in Kazakhstan in the 10th century but migrated to Europe later. So, their language originates from a more isolated form of earlier Kipchak. Tatars, Siberian Tatars, Balkars, Karachays, Kumyks, Cumans, Bashkirs and Mongolian aristocracy adopted the Kipchak language in the days of the Golden Horde.