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Kypchak languages
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The Kypchak languages (also known as the Kipchak, Qypchaq, or Northwestern Turkic languages), are a major branch of the Turkic language family spoken by more than 12 million people in an area spanning from Lithuania to China.

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Encyclopedia
The Kypchak languages (also known as the Kipchak, Qypchaq, or Northwestern Turkic languages), are a major branch of the Turkic language family spoken by more than 12 million people in an area spanning from Lithuania to China.
Linguistic Features
The Kypchak languages share a number of features that have led linguists to classify them together. Some of these features are shared with other Turkic languages; others are unique to the Kypchak language family.
Shared Features
- Change of Proto-Turkic *d to /j/ (e.g. *hadaq > ajaq "foot")
- Loss of initial *h sound (preserved only in Khalaj. See above example.)
Unique Features
- Extensive labial vowel harmony (e.g. olor vs. olar "them")
- Frequent assibilation of initial */j/ (e.g. * > "seven")
- Diphthongs from syllable-final */g/ and */b/ (e.g. * > "mountain", * > )
Classification The Kypchak languages may be broken down into three groups, based on geography and shared features:
- Kypchak-Bolgar (Uralo-Caspian), including Bashkir and Tatar (including Siberian Tatar, Mishar Tatar, Astrakhan Tatar, Baraba Tatar, etc.)
The Uzbek language's Kypchak dialect contains the remainder of Kypchak languages that were once spoken in Uzbekistan, and there is a dialect continuum between Uzbek and Kazakh.
The language of the Mamluks in Egypt appears to have been a Kypchak language, probably one belonging to the Kypchak-Cuman group.
See also
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