| Also Known As: Karaite
Description:
The Karaim language (Crimean dialect: къарай тили, Trakai dialect: karaj tili) is a Turkic language with Hebrew influences, in a similar manner to Yiddish or Ladino. It is spoken by Crimean Karaites (also known as Karaims and Qarays) - ethnic Turkic adherents of Karaite Judaism in Crimea, Lithuania, Poland and western Ukraine. It has six remaining active speakers. The three main dialects are those of Crimea, Trakai-Vilnius and Lutsk-Halych.
The Lithuanian dialect of Karaim is spoken mainly in the town of Trakai (also known as Troki) by a small community. Trakai is a former residence of the Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Crimean Karaites were brought there by Grand Duke Vytautas in 1397-1398 to defend the castle. There is a chance the language will survive in Trakai as a result of official support as well as its appeal to tourists. Currently there is a museum in Trakai exhibiting heritage of the Karaite community, as well as Karaite cuisine restaurants. People from the community take part in some special holidays held in Trakai, and sometimes it is interpreted that the coat of arms of Trakai depicts a head of a Karaite, although it is of John the Baptist.
Consensus has yet to be..... full article at Wikipedia |
