INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENTOF THE CRIMEANTATAR LANGUAGE
A non-governmental organization created by a group of like-minded people and language activists in order to preserve, popularize and develop the Crimean Tatar language
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRIMEAN TATAR LANGUAGE
A non-governmental organization created by a group of like-minded people and language activists in order to preserve, popularize and develop the Crimean Tatar language
QIRIMTATAR TİLİNİÑ İNKİŞAFI İNSTİTUTI
ABOUT THE CRIMEAN TATAR LANGUAGE
Spread and speakers. The Crimean Tatar language is spoken mainly in Crimea and in places where Crimean Tatars live in other regions of Ukraine, and is also used by Crimean Tatars in other countries (most of them live in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey). The number of Crimean Tatar language speakers in Ukraine is about 230 thousand people. A large number of native speakers were lost due to the emigration of Crimean Tatars from Crimea after its conquest by the Russian Empire, and then due to the deportation of Crimean Tatars and the ban on the language in the USSR.
Risk. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010), the Crimean Tatar language is classified as a severely endangered language. An additional threat to the preservation and development of the Crimean Tatar language has arisen as a result of the temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The danger factor is primarily the policy of the Russian Federation and its occupation administration to limit the scope of use of the Crimean Tatar language, including reducing opportunities for citizens to receive education in their native language, as well as the policy of persecuting the Crimean Tatar people who did not support the occupation of Crimea, which provokes the forced departure of some Crimean Tatar speakers to other regions and creates risks of reducing the language potential.
The prospects for the development of the Crimean Tatar language are inextricably linked to the need to de-occupy Crimea and to establish the official status of the Crimean Tatar language in Crimea in accordance with Ukraine's territorial policy after de-occupation. The protection, functioning and development of the Crimean Tatar language in Ukraine is guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine and the law on language policy, as well as by the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, according to which citizens could receive documents in this language upon request, and there was an opportunity to receive pre-school and secondary education in the Crimean Tatar language.
The Crimean Tatar language has deep roots and interesting features of its formation, which began in the early Middle Ages on the basis of the Kipchak and Oghuz dialects of the Turkic-speaking population of Crimea. The Crimean Tatar language has its own unique grammar, phonetics, vocabulary and special symbols that make it different from other Turkic languages. For example, Tatar language (the language of the Kazan Tatars) is not a close relative of Crimean Tatar - despite relatively similar grammar, these languages are not cross-understood in oral speech due to phonetic and lexical differences.
The complex ethnogenesis of the Crimean Tatars, in which various ethnic groups living on the territory of Crimea took part, leads to the existence of dialects and accents of the Crimean Tatar language. Three main dialects can be distinguished: northern - desert or Nogai (çöl şivesi, noğay şivesi), southern - coastal (yalıboyu şivesi, cenüp şivesi) and middle (orta yolaq şivesi) which is the basis of the modern literary Crimean Tatar language. In each of the dialects, a number of subdialects can be distinguished which have minor lexical and phonetic differences. In turn, the consolidation of the Crimean Tatar language as the dominant language on the territory of Crimea played an important role in the formation of a single Crimean Tatar ethnic group.
At different stages of its historical development, the Crimean Tatar language used different alphabets. Until 1928, the Arabic alphabet was used, from 1928 to 1939 - the Latin alphabet, and from 1939 - the Cyrillic alphabet. From the 1990s to the present day, there has been a gradual transition to a new Latin script based on the Turkish alphabet with several special symbols that convey the distinctive phonetic features of the Crimean Tatar language.
Current situation and prospects for the development of the Crimean Tatar language
Crimean Tatar Language specifics
The Crimean Tatar language - Qırımtatar tili - is the mother tongue of the indigenous people of Crimea, the Crimean Tatars. It belongs to the Kipchak-Сuman group of the Turkic language family and is one of the oldest written languages. The oldest written monuments of the language date back to the 13th century. The Crimean Tatar language was the official language of the Crimean Khanate and is now an integral part of the identity of the Crimean Tatar people and the linguistic wealth of Ukraine. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010), the Crimean Tatar language is classified as a severely endangered language.
ABOUT THE CRIMEAN TATAR LANGUAGE
The Crimean Tatar language - Qırımtatar tili - is the mother tongue of the indigenous people of Crimea, the Crimean Tatars. It belongs to the Kipchak-Сuman group of the Turkic language family and is one of the oldest written languages. The oldest written monuments of the language date back to the 13th century. The Crimean Tatar language was the official language of the Crimean Khanate and is now an integral part of the identity of the Crimean Tatar people and the linguistic wealth of Ukraine. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010), the Crimean Tatar language is classified as a severely endangered language.
Crimean Tatar Language specifics
The Crimean Tatar language has deep roots and interesting features of its formation, which began in the early Middle Ages on the basis of the Kipchak and Oghuz dialects of the Turkic-speaking population of Crimea. The Crimean Tatar language has its own unique grammar, phonetics, vocabulary and special symbols that make it different from other Turkic languages. For example, Tatar language (the language of the Kazan Tatars) is not a close relative of Crimean Tatar - despite relatively similar grammar, these languages are not cross-understood in oral speech due to phonetic and lexical differences.
The complex ethnogenesis of the Crimean Tatars, in which various ethnic groups living on the territory of Crimea took part, leads to the existence of dialects and accents of the Crimean Tatar language. Three main dialects can be distinguished: northern - desert or Nogai (çöl şivesi, noğay şivesi), southern - coastal (yalıboyu şivesi, cenüp şivesi) and middle (orta yolaq şivesi) which is the basis of the modern literary Crimean Tatar language. In each of the dialects, a number of subdialects can be distinguished which have minor lexical and phonetic differences. In turn, the consolidation of the Crimean Tatar language as the dominant language on the territory of Crimea played an important role in the formation of a single Crimean Tatar ethnic group.
At different stages of its historical development, the Crimean Tatar language used different alphabets. Until 1928, the Arabic alphabet was used, from 1928 to 1939 - the Latin alphabet, and from 1939 - the Cyrillic alphabet. From the 1990s to the present day, there has been a gradual transition to a new Latin script based on the Turkish alphabet with several special symbols that convey the distinctive phonetic features of the Crimean Tatar language.Current situation and prospects for the development of the Crimean Tatar language
Spread and speakers. The Crimean Tatar language is spoken mainly in Crimea and in places where Crimean Tatars live in other regions of Ukraine, and is also used by Crimean Tatars in other countries (most of them live in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Turkey). The number of Crimean Tatar language speakers in Ukraine is about 230 thousand people. A large number of native speakers were lost due to the emigration of Crimean Tatars from Crimea after its conquest by the Russian Empire, and then due to the deportation of Crimean Tatars and the ban on the language in the USSR.
Risk. According to the UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger (2010), the Crimean Tatar language is classified as a severely endangered language. An additional threat to the preservation and development of the Crimean Tatar language has arisen as a result of the temporary occupation of Crimea by the Russian Federation. The danger factor is primarily the policy of the Russian Federation and its occupation administration to limit the scope of use of the Crimean Tatar language, including reducing opportunities for citizens to receive education in their native language, as well as the policy of persecuting the Crimean Tatar people who did not support the occupation of Crimea, which provokes the forced departure of some Crimean Tatar speakers to other regions and creates risks of reducing the language potential.
The prospects for the development of the Crimean Tatar language are inextricably linked to the need to de-occupy Crimea and to establish the official status of the Crimean Tatar language in Crimea in accordance with Ukraine's territorial policy after de-occupation. The protection, functioning and development of the Crimean Tatar language in Ukraine is guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine and the law on language policy, as well as by the Constitution of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, according to which citizens could receive documents in this language upon request, and there was an opportunity to receive pre-school and secondary education in the Crimean Tatar language.
QIRIMTATAR TİLİNİÑ İNKİŞAFI İNSTİTUTI
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRIMEANTATAR LANGUAGE
QIRIMTATAR TİLİNİÑ İNKİŞAFI İNSTİTUTI
INSTITUTE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CRIMEANTATAR LANGUAGE