Also Known As:
Karaite, Karaïm
Dialects & Varieties
- Trakay
- Galits
- Eastern Karaim
- Northwestern Karaim
The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire
"The Red Book of the Peoples of the Russian Empire." edited by Andrew Humphreys and Krista Mits. Online: http://www.eki.ee/books/redbook.
Critically Endangered
60 percent certain, based on the evidence available
Domains of Use
Domain Of Use 5
Used only in a few very specific domains, such as in ceremonies, songs, prayer, proverbs, or certain limited domestic activities.
5
Transmission
Transmission 5
There are only a few elderly speakers.
5
Speakers
Native or fluent speakers:
No results found.
Second-language speakers and learners
No results found.
Semi-speakers or rememberers
No results found.
Children:
No results found.
Young adults
No results found.
Older adults
No results found.
Elders
No results found.
Ethnic or community population
3,341
Year information was gathered
No results found.
Comments on speakers
No results found.
Location and Context
Countries
No results found.
Location Description
Karaim speakers are dispersed in the Caucasus, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
Government Support
No results found.
Institutional Support
No results found.
Speakers' Attitude
No results found.
Other Languages Used By The Community
Hebrew; Crimean Tartar; Russian ; Lithuanian ; Ukrainian
Number of Other Language Speakers:
None
Domains of Other Languages:
Hebrew was the language used in scripture and is still used in religious services
Writing Systems
Standard orthography:
No results found.
Writing system:
Cyrillic script
Other writing systems used:
No results text.
Comments on writing systems:
Today there is no written language; various literary traditions used competing scripts for religious texts
Recent Resources
from I Love Languages, a YouTube channel with resources for languages
A short video about the Karaim language, from the Discovery Channel
Learn Karaim language vocabulary of colors - couleurs karaites apprendre la langue et le vocabulaire