Khazar Language

Khazar Language

Khazar was the Turkic language spoken by the Khazars, a semi-nomadic Turkic people from Central Asia. It is also referred to as Khazarian, Khazaric, or Khazari.

The language is extinct and written records are almost non-existent. The 10th-century Kievan letter contains the only extant record of the Khazar language, the so-called "runiform recognitio", interpreted as the single word-phrase "I have read (it)." This appears to be a sign of approval from a Khazar magistrate.

Extant texts written in the Khazar Khaganate during the 10th century are primarily in the Hebrew language.

The linguistic affiliation of the Khazars has been disputed. Khazar was a Turkic language, however, different scholars take different views whether it belonged to the Oghur ("lir") or the Oghuz ("shaz") branch of the language family.

Read more about Khazar Language:  Classification

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