Emergence of a New Written Culture: The use of Hebrew script among the Krimchaks and the Karaim

Conversion to a religion usually has a positive impact on the written culture of a given community. The conversion may or may not result in the adoption of a new writing system. In the Turkic world, we find examples for both cases. The Karaims, by their conversion into Karaitism, adopted the Hebrew script. They used the Hebrew alphabet up till the beginning of the 20th century in their everyday life for writing; for example, private letters and secular and religious texts in Karaim. Another Turkic speaking group, the heterogeneous Rabbanite community of Krimchaks (whose majority is of Sephardic origin) also used the Hebrew script to write their vernacular. Some characteristics of the writing systems of the Karaim and of the Krimchaks have been described, but no comparative research has thus far been carried out. In this study, the peculiarities of the Hebrew alphabet used by both Turkic speaking peoples will be discussed and illustrated. For instance, the new characters, which were introduced in order to indicate specific Turkic phonetic values, and the ways the same Hebrew vowel sign or letter is used in the different Krimchak and Karaim manuscripts. Cultures can be classified based on actions taken to reproduce culture through the generations. There are cultures in which the knowledge of one’s ancestors is passed down through rites; i.e., the repetition of the rites is the main component in the reproduction of the culture. In other cultures, knowledge is preserved in sacred texts; i.e., interpretations of the canonical texts are the foundations of cultural cohesion (Assmann 1999, 87–91). Judaism falls under the latter type. In 70 CE, the Second Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem; i.e., the place where the rites could have been repeated disappeared. Since then, the holy text, the Hebrew Bible, has been the transmitter of the ancient traditions in Judaism. The language and the script of the Hebrew Bible, therefore, are both considered sacred. ISSN 2424-6026. ACTA ORIENTALIA VILNENSIA 13 (2016) : 61–78 The content of this article was presented at the Baltic Alliance for Asian Studies (BAAS) Conference 2014 held in Vilnius (Lithuania) between April 3 and 4, 2014. I am indebted to Professor Tapani Harviainen and Professor András Róna-Tas for their beneficial comments and suggestions. 62 Z S U Z S A N N A O L A C H This paper discusses the way in which Judaism reached the Turkic peoples and the effects it had on their culture. Examples will also be provided to illustrate how the Hebrew script was used by the Turkic peoples. Since Karaim is the most documented extant Turkic language to have used the Hebrew script and the Karaim are the only Turkic group still practising their ancient faith, the paper will mainly focus on the characteristics and the history of the Hebrew script used by the Karaim. A discussion of the history of the Hebrew script in general and its use among the Karaim in particular will shed light on the possible reasons for the use of certain vowel signs and letters in Karaim texts and of the disappearance of the Hebrew script from the Karaim communities. Judaism among the Turkic peoples Although Judaism has not been a prevalent religion among the Turkic-speaking peoples, both mainstream Judaism and Karaitism have been represented by some Kipchak Turkic groups. In the late eighth and early ninth centuries, the ruling house of the Khazar Kaghanate converted to Judaism, most probably to Rabbinic Judaism (Golden 1998, 223). Khazars were a Turkic people with their empire in the territory of the North Caucasus and the lower Volga delta between the seventh and ninth centuries (Golden 1980, 58–67). Since the sources written by the Khazars are very limited (see Golden 1980, 121–2), the Hebrew script used by them will not be covered in the paper. The Krimchaks were also followers of Rabbinic Judaism. Jews migrated from the Byzantine Empire to the Crimea in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Sephardic Jews who migrated to the Crimean Kaghanate in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe together compose the Krimchak nation. Their language and culture has almost disappeared since World War II; now the traditional Krimchak lifestyle is only exemplified by Krimchak cuisine and feasts. The Krimchak community has dispersed throughout the world: a few hundred Krimchaks live still in the Crimea; the rest have settled in Russia, Ukraine, Israel and the USA (Kizilov 2009, 68). Karaitism is represented by the Karaim of Eastern Europe. The Karaim have three main communities: the Crimean, Halich and Trakai Karaim communities. Linguistically, Karaim is considered a highly endangered language, since only its Trakai variety is spoken and the other two varieties, the Halich and Crimean varieties, can be regarded as extinct.1 The religion of the Karaim is based on Karaitism, 1 Speakers of Crimean Karaim shifted to Crimean Tatar in the nineteenth century (Jankowski 2003, 123). The Halich Karaim variety is spoken by a few elderly ladies (Csató 2002, 135). The Trakai variety has, however, approximately 50 speakers (Csató 2006, 395). 63 E M E R G E N C E O F A N E W W R I T T E N C U LT U R E which was influenced by Islam early on and later by Christianity (Zajączkowski 1961, 28–29).2 The main difference between Rabbinic Judaism and Karaitism lies in the recognition of the post-biblical traditions. Karaite Judaism, which arose in the ninth century in present-day Iraq, only accepts the Tanakh and excludes the Mishna, the Talmud and the rabbinic traditions (Nemoy 1978, 603–4). The circumstances and the date of the Krimchaks’ conversion to Rabbinic Judaism and that of the Karaim to Karaitism are unknown (Golden 1998, 222–3; Polinsky 1991, 123). The history of the Hebrew script3 In Judaism, the Hebrew language is considered the medium of the sacred text, and therefore the language itself is also regarded as holy (Weitzman 2001, 71). For writing in Hebrew, the Phoenician-based palaeo-Hebrew script was first used up to the third century BCE, when it was altered by the Aramaic script. The Aramaic script had been used for secular purposes before the third century, but after that the new script was also employed for Torah scrolls, i.e., for religious purposes (Birnbaum 1954–7, 70–5; Yardeni 2002, 44–50). By that time, the general Aramaic script had become modified. This script, which is called Square Hebrew, spread in all Jewish communities and became the standard for Jewish book hand. The structural development of Square Hebrew ended around the tenth century (Birnbaum 1954–7, 174). Vocalisation was introduced in the late seventh and early eighth century CE. Of the three main vocalisation types—Palestinian, Babylonian and Tiberian—only the Tiberian type is still in use (Gaur 2001, 222–3; Yardeni 2002, 93–5).4 Religions, as well as the alphabets used for sacred texts are, in general, considered conservative. So what might account for the substitution of the palaeo-Hebrew script with the Aramaic script used for the Scriptures? Birnbaum claims that the change was introduced by religious leaders. The shift was motivated by a desire to separate from the Samaritans, or as Epiphanius (ca. 315–403) puts it, “in order that the seed of Abraham should thereby be distinguished from the rest of the nation”. The sources usually name Ezra as the person who carried out the substitution of the script, meaning that the change took place between 458/7 and 428/7 BCE (Birnbaum 1954–7, 74–5). 2 The Karaim reject any definition which binds them or their religion to Judaism. See more on this question and on their religion in Harviainen 2003b. 3 The term “Hebrew script” in Hebrew (ktb ʻbry) means the palaeo-Hebrew script (Birnbaum 1954–7, 126). The term used in this paper refers to the script mentioned as ʼswrit in the Talmudic sources, i.e. a modified version of the Aramaic script (see the discussion). 4 For more about the different types of vowel marks, see Diringer (1953, 264–6). 64 Z S U Z S A N N A O L A C H In the Middle Ages, cursive hands also developed from Square Hebrew. In the beginning, the cursive hand was not really different from Square Hebrew but seemed much more like a simplified Square. The first cursive written documents occurred in the eleventh century, but Birnbaum assumes that this form of writing had evolved long before (Birnbaum 1954–7, 176). Furthermore, in the course of time, with the spread of Judaism, not only cursive hands emerged, but also different types of Hebrew scripts, e.g., the Negeb script, the Ashkenazic and Karaitic types. No uniform Karaitic type of writing exists, but different types that developed regionally out of Jewish types can be observed. The first Karaite manuscripts—from Egypt—show similarities with the writings of the local (Rabbinic) Jewish type. Even later, when the differences are more significant, the Rabbinic influence can still be detected. The Karaitic types of Hebrew script can be classified as Southern Karaitic, Yevano-Karaitic, Northern Karaitic and Parso-Karaitic (Birnbaum 1954–7, 312–6). The Karaim manuscripts represent the Northern Karaitic type, which derived from the Yevano-Karaitic type in the Crimean region. However, the influence of the Ashkenazic type is noticeable, especially in sources written with cursive script (Birnbaum 1954–7, 316). Main characteristics of the Hebrew script used by the Turkic peoples The communities of the Karaim and Krimchaks used Hebrew script to write down their own Turkic vernacular. Although the basis for the orthography of both Turkicspeaking groups is the same, i.e., the Hebrew alphabet, differences in the use of the Hebrew characters can be observed. In the following, I will demonstrate how the Hebrew script was used in the different Turkic communities: differences, regularities and exceptional cases will be illustrated.5 Sources used for the investigation The following Karaim sources were used for the present examination: Hal

This paper discusses the way in which Judaism reached the Turkic peoples and the effects it had on their culture.Examples will also be provided to illustrate how the Hebrew script was used by the Turkic peoples.
Since Karaim is the most documented extant Turkic language to have used the Hebrew script and the Karaim are the only Turkic group still practising their ancient faith, the paper will mainly focus on the characteristics and the history of the Hebrew script used by the Karaim.A discussion of the history of the Hebrew script in general and its use among the Karaim in particular will shed light on the possible reasons for the use of certain vowel signs and letters in Karaim texts and of the disappearance of the Hebrew script from the Karaim communities.

Judaism among the Turkic peoples
Although Judaism has not been a prevalent religion among the Turkic-speaking peoples, both mainstream Judaism and Karaitism have been represented by some Kipchak Turkic groups.In the late eighth and early ninth centuries, the ruling house of the Khazar Kaghanate converted to Judaism, most probably to Rabbinic Judaism (Golden 1998, 223).Khazars were a Turkic people with their empire in the territory of the North Caucasus and the lower Volga delta between the seventh and ninth centuries (Golden 1980, 58-67).Since the sources written by the Khazars are very limited (see Golden 1980, 121-2), the Hebrew script used by them will not be covered in the paper.
The Krimchaks were also followers of Rabbinic Judaism.Jews migrated from the Byzantine Empire to the Crimea in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Sephardic Jews who migrated to the Crimean Kaghanate in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries and Ashkenazi Jews from Eastern Europe together compose the Krimchak nation.Their language and culture has almost disappeared since World War II; now the traditional Krimchak lifestyle is only exemplified by Krimchak cuisine and feasts.The Krimchak community has dispersed throughout the world: a few hundred Krimchaks live still in the Crimea; the rest have settled in Russia, Ukraine, Israel and the USA (Kizilov 2009, 68).
Karaitism is represented by the Karaim of Eastern Europe.The Karaim have three main communities: the Crimean, Halich and Trakai Karaim communities.Linguistically, Karaim is considered a highly endangered language, since only its Trakai variety is spoken and the other two varieties, the Halich and Crimean varieties, can be regarded as extinct. 1 The religion of the Karaim is based on Karaitism, which was influenced by Islam early on and later by Christianity (Zajączkowski 1961, 28-29). 2he main difference between Rabbinic Judaism and Karaitism lies in the recognition of the post-biblical traditions.Karaite Judaism, which arose in the ninth century in present-day Iraq, only accepts the Tanakh and excludes the Mishna, the Talmud and the rabbinic traditions (Nemoy 1978, 603-4).
The circumstances and the date of the Krimchaks' conversion to Rabbinic Judaism and that of the Karaim to Karaitism are unknown (Golden 1998, 222-3;Polinsky 1991, 123).

The history of the Hebrew script 3
In Judaism, the Hebrew language is considered the medium of the sacred text, and therefore the language itself is also regarded as holy (Weitzman 2001, 71).For writing in Hebrew, the Phoenician-based palaeo-Hebrew script was first used up to the third century BCE, when it was altered by the Aramaic script.The Aramaic script had been used for secular purposes before the third century, but after that the new script was also employed for Torah scrolls, i.e., for religious purposes (Birnbaum 1954-7, 70-5;Yardeni 2002, 44-50).By that time, the general Aramaic script had become modified.This script, which is called Square Hebrew, spread in all Jewish communities and became the standard for Jewish book hand.The structural development of Square Hebrew ended around the tenth century (Birnbaum 1954-7, 174).
Vocalisation was introduced in the late seventh and early eighth century CE.Of the three main vocalisation types-Palestinian, Babylonian and Tiberian-only the Tiberian type is still in use (Gaur 2001, 222-3;Yardeni 2002, 93-5). 4eligions, as well as the alphabets used for sacred texts are, in general, considered conservative.So what might account for the substitution of the palaeo-Hebrew script with the Aramaic script used for the Scriptures?Birnbaum claims that the change was introduced by religious leaders.The shift was motivated by a desire to separate from the Samaritans, or as Epiphanius (ca.315-403) puts it, "in order that the seed of Abraham should thereby be distinguished from the rest of the nation".The sources usually name Ezra as the person who carried out the substitution of the script, meaning that the change took place between 458/7 and 428/7 BCE (Birnbaum 1954-7, 74-5).
In the Middle Ages, cursive hands also developed from Square Hebrew.In the beginning, the cursive hand was not really different from Square Hebrew but seemed much more like a simplified Square.The first cursive written documents occurred in the eleventh century, but Birnbaum assumes that this form of writing had evolved long before (Birnbaum 1954-7, 176).
Furthermore, in the course of time, with the spread of Judaism, not only cursive hands emerged, but also different types of Hebrew scripts, e.g., the Negeb script, the Ashkenazic and Karaitic types.
No uniform Karaitic type of writing exists, but different types that developed regionally out of Jewish types can be observed.The first Karaite manuscripts-from Egypt-show similarities with the writings of the local (Rabbinic) Jewish type.Even later, when the differences are more significant, the Rabbinic influence can still be detected.The Karaitic types of Hebrew script can be classified as Southern Karaitic, Yevano-Karaitic, Northern Karaitic and Parso-Karaitic (Birnbaum 1954-7, 312-6).
The Karaim manuscripts represent the Northern Karaitic type, which derived from the Yevano-Karaitic type in the Crimean region.However, the influence of the Ashkenazic type is noticeable, especially in sources written with cursive script (Birnbaum 1954-7, 316).

Main characteristics of the Hebrew script used by the Turkic peoples
The communities of the Karaim and Krimchaks used Hebrew script to write down their own Turkic vernacular.Although the basis for the orthography of both Turkicspeaking groups is the same, i.e., the Hebrew alphabet, differences in the use of the Hebrew characters can be observed.In the following, I will demonstrate how the Hebrew script was used in the different Turkic communities: differences, regularities and exceptional cases will be illustrated.5

Sources used for the investigation
The following Karaim sources were used for the present examination: Halich Karaim poems published by Grzegorzewski (1903 and1917); a Halich Karaim translation of biblical texts published by Olach (2013); partial texts published by Kowalski in 1929; a Trakai Karaim translation of the Book of Proverbs published by Firkovičius (2000); a translation of Psalm 91 into Trakai Karaim published by Csató (2011); Crimean Karaim religious texts published by Sulimowicz (1972) and Jankowski (1997), and private letters in Lutsk Karaim published by Németh (2011).
The Halich Karaim religious poems published by Jan Grzegorzewski in 1903 were written in the nineteenth century.The authors of the poems are Abraham Leonowicz, Josef Mordkowicz and Jakob Josef Leonowicz (Grzegorzweski 1903, 72-3).The two poems published in Język łach-karaitów were written by Josef Ben Jeshua and Josef ben Shemuel in the seventeenth century (Grzegorzewski 1917, 25, 30).
The Halich Karaim translation of the biblical texts published by Olach forms parts of a family bible which is in the possession of the Abrahamovich family, who originally lived in Halich.It is handwritten and contains the Five Books of Moses and the Haphtarot, the reading portions from the writings of the prophets on Sabbaths and feasts (Olach 2013, 10-2).
Some fragments of Karaim Bible translations written in the Hebrew script were published by Kowalski: the beginning of Genesis from a manuscript written in 1723 in Deraźnia; fragments of the Book of Job: a fragment in Trakai Karaim translated by Zacharja Mickiewicz in 1904, another fragment in Trakai Karaim translation published by Radloff, a further portion in Trakai Karaim translated by Pinachas Malecki, a fragment in Halich Karaim translated by Josef Mordkowicz between 1824 and 1830, and a portion translated into Crimean Karaim, quoted from the Gözleve Bible (1841); fragments of translations of the Song of Songs in Halich Karaim and in a Crimean Karaim translation of the Gözleve edition (1929,. Short parts of four different Trakai Karaim translations of the Lamentations were presented by Zajączkowski (1932).One of the translations was made by Izajasz Rojecki in 1848, the other was created in 1860 by Levisz Ławrecki, and another one was composed by Jozef Łobanos in 1929.No author and date of the fourth translation is known (Zajączkowski 1932, 183, 186-7).
The translation of the Book of Proverbs from Hebrew into Trakai Karaim was compiled in 1798 by Shelumiel, the son of the aged priest Shemuel, in Salocius, Lithuania.According to Firkovičius, it is unclear whether the text was originally translated by him or whether it was only a rewritten version of an earlier translation (2000,. Csató published the Trakai Karaim translation of Psalm 91 (2011).The manuscript is kept at the Library of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences.
Prayers translated into Crimean Karaim were published by Sulimowicz in 1972.Besides the Karaim texts in transcription, the article contains the copy of the manuscript as well (Sulimowicz 1972, 65-76).
Two fragments of prayers for the Day of Atonement translated into Lutsk Karaim were published by Jankowski (2011).The prayers were composed of biblical quotations in 1940; and the manuscripts were kept in the National Museum in Halich (Jankowski 2011, 158).Copies of the manuscripts are attached to the article (Jankowski 2011, 166-7).
Letters and circulars written in Lutsk Karaim were published by Németh (2011).6Most of the 16 letters were written in the nineteenth century; only three of them were penned in the early twentieth century.Out of the 16 letters, six are vocalised and four are partly vocalised (Németh 2011).
As for Krimchak, there were only a limited amount of texts written in the Hebrew script at my disposal.All the features demonstrated in the following are based on the short texts published by Ianbay (2000) and the description given by Chernin (1988).Furthermore, I used Erdal and Ianbay's publications, in which they provide an account of the use of the Hebrew script in the Book of Ruth (1998) and the Book of Miracles and Wonders (2000).Ianbay (2000) discusses the orthographic features of Krimchak translations of the books of later prophets, namely the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah, and presents the beginnings and the ends of each book in Hebrew script.Examples will be quoted from Ianbay's article (2000) and from the Book of Ruth (Ianbay, Erdal 1998).

Vocalisation
Biblical Hebrew distinguishes between reduced, short, changeable long and unchangeable long vowels, which are clearly indicated through the use of different vowel signs and their combinations (see the table below (Lambdin 1971, xiii-xxv)).
The Krimchak and the Karaim sound system, however, only contain short vowels (Polinsky 1991, 133;Pritsak 1959, 327).Therefore, naturally, the quality of the Hebrew vowel signs does not overlap the quality of the Krimchak and Karaim vowel signs.
Trakai Karaim has a well-developed set of signs for indicating the distinction.In vocalised   (Sulimowicz 1972, 65).
Trakai Karaim has a well-developed set of signs for indicating the distinction.In vocalised texts, the Hebrew vowel sign combination ḥṓlem + wāw is the usual notation for the vowel o and šûreq represents the vowel u.Trakai Karaim uses vowel sign combinations with yōḏ to indicate front labial vowels.Thus, the vowel ö is written with yōḏ + ḥṓlem + wāw, and yōḏ + šûreq signifies the vowel ü, e.g., ‫ֹויכ‬ ‫היַדְניִסיַגיַל‬ kölägäsindä ʻin its shadowʼ and ‫ּויכ‬ ‫ּוילְצ‬ küčlü ʻstrongʼ (Csató 2011, 15).
The Halich Karaim sources display the greatest variety e-sounds are indicated with the following Hebrew vowels s ałdyŋah 'in front of you' (ibid.).
The Halich Karaim sources display the greatest variety in signifying a-and e-sounds.The e-sounds are indicated with the following Hebrew vowel signs and combinations: ṣērê, səḡōl, ṣērê + yōḏ and səḡōl + yōḏ.Certain tendencies can be observed in the use of the different vowel signs and their combinations.The Hebrew vowel signs combined with yōḏ are the usual forms used for writing e-sounds, whereas ‫ֵש‬ ‫ר‬ reśimlerimni 'my statues (ACC)' and ‫ִי‬ ‫ְר‬ ‫ֶנ‬ ‫ט‬ tenri ʻGodʼ (Olach 2013, 31-7).The vowel sign páṯaḥ is not used to represent the vowel ä.
In Hebrew, the vowel sign hîreq signifies the short i, whereas the combination of hîreq + yōḏ indicates the unchangeable long i.Since no long vowels exist in Krimchak and Karaim, the two forms represent no distinction in length.On the other hand, as in Turkic languages in general, front i and back ï are distinguished in spoken languages.So the question arises: do the two types of i-sounds in Krimchak and Karaim manuscripts correspond to the two written forms in Hebrew?The investigation clearly shows that the different written forms only represent graphic variants.Even if there are two ways of writing the i-sounds, the distribution of these do not correspond to the possible distribution of the front i and back ï, e.g., ‫ִיכּ‬ ‫ִיבּ‬ ‫כּ‬ kibik ʻlikeʼ, ‫ִיט‬ ‫ִג‬ ‫ײ‬ yigit ʻyoung manʼ and ‫ִיץ‬ ‫ִיל‬ ‫ק‬ qïlïč ʻswordʼ (Ianbay, Erdal 1998, 7,  10), ‫ַײם‬ ‫ְל‬ ‫ִג‬ ‫א‬ iglayïm 'I shall cry', Karaim (Olach 2013, 24); and ‫ינְ‬ ‫ישִ‬ ‫בֵ‬ ‫י‬ ‫צִ‬ beśińći ʻfifthʼ and ‫ק‬ ‫ירְ‬ ‫קִ‬ kyrk ʻfortyʼ in Luts (Németh 2011, 378).

Consonants
Basically, the Krimchak and Karaim consonants in the manuscripts correspond to the Hebrew originals.Therefore, I will not go into a detailed description of the manner in which consonants are represented in Krimchak and Karaim here.Only a few special features will be mentioned.
Hebrew offers an option to indicate fricative consonants.When a dot called a dagesh is used in a consonant letter, it means the consonant is pronounced as a plosive, i.e., b, p, d, t, k and g.When the dot is missing, the pronunciation changes to a fricative, i.e., v, f, δ, θ, χ and γ.
A further feature can be observed in Krimchak.The letter gîmel is written with a dot to indicate the affricate ǰ, e.g.,
The set of consonants with rāp̄eh is mainly common in Karaim and Krimchak (bêṯ + rāpēh = ‫,ֿב‬ gîmel + rāp̄eh = Fricative consonants are usually indicated in Krimchak and Karaim texts with a short line above the consonant called a rāp̄eh.Its use is, however, rather inconsistent (see below the written form of tatuwu ʻits tasteʼ in Halich Karaim).
ed in masoretic and older manuscripts, and it is still used e/are characteristic of medieval Hebrew and Yiddish are w and double yōḏ, see below.o, noneʼ and ‫יֿבײר‬ ‫ס‬ śiwer ʻdear, belovedʼ (Németh 2011, 397, 376).
ark rāp̄eh was used in masoretic and older manuscripts, and it is still used letters which were/are characteristic of medieval Hebrew and Yiddish are , e.g.,, double wāw and double yōḏ, see below.
śiwer ʻdear, belovedʼ (Németh 2011, 397, 376).The diacritical mark rāp̄eh was used in masoretic and older manuscripts, and it is still used in Yiddish.Certain letters which were/are characteristic of medieval Hebrew and Yiddish are used in Turkic texts, e.g., double wāw and double yōḏ, see below.
Spoken Karaim contains palatalised consonants due to Slavic influence (Pritsak 1959, 328).According to Pritsak, the palatalised consonants are systematically represented by yōḏ in Trakai Karaim and partly in Halich Karaim texts (Pritsak 1959, 326) It is clear that there is no yōḏ following the consonant z in öź ʻselfʼ, after the consonant s in üśt'uńa ʻontoʼ or after the consonant n in d'äyiń ʻuntil, tillʼ.This means that the palatalisation is not indicated in the text or only partly.If the yōḏ does not indicate palatalisation, then it functions as a part of the vowel; i.e., the yōḏ is the element of the vowel sign combination that represents ä in d'äyiń ʻuntil, tillʼ, it is part of the vowel ö in öź ʻselfʼ, and it forms part of the vowel ü in üśt'uńa ʻontoʼ.If the yōḏ functions to indicate palatalisation, it is not indicated consistently in the Karaim texts.The most obvious case can be observed in Lutsk Karaim materials, where yōḏ serves a clear palatalisation function; however, it occurs only once in the word ʻGodʼ in letter no.5: ‫ִי‬ ‫ְיר‬ ‫ֵינ‬ ‫ט‬ teńri ʻGodʼ (Németh 2011, 377).In Halich Karaim texts, the palatalisation is not indicated at all.

History of the Hebrew script among the Turkic peoples
The notion that conversion to a religion results in the establishment of the alphabet of that particular religion is generally accepted.Since there is no written historical evidence for a conversion to Judaism among the Turkic-speaking peoples, no circumstances of the introduction of the Hebrew script into the Turkic groups are known.However, it is not only the lack of historical sources that poses challenges in the study of the Turkic-Hebrew script, but also, for example, in the case of the Krimchaks, the shortage of materials published in their language and of scholarly studies on the use of the Hebrew script in it.It is thus an important task to locate additional sources and make them available for future investigations into the Krimchak language and orthography.
The history of the Hebrew script used in Turkic-speaking groups is much better documented in the Karaim communities; i.e., the most publications in the Hebrew script are available in Karaim and it is the changes in the orthography used by the Karaim that can best be examined.Therefore, in the following, I describe the history of Karaim orthography and the key factors that shaped its development.
In the Middle Ages and up to the beginning of the nationalist movements in the nineteenth century, the collective identity was usually based on religion, e.g., the self-identification of the Krimchaks was yehudi ʻJewsʼ or srel balalarï ʻchildren of Israelʼ until the end of the nineteenth century, when they started to call themselves Krimchaks (Zand, Kharuv 2007, 357).Similarly to the Krimchaks, the Karaim used religion-based terms for themselves, such as yehudim ʻJewsʼ or yehudim qaraʼim ʻKaraim Jewsʼ (Harviainen 2003a, 642).
Certain changes in Karaim self-identification ensued in the early nineteenth century after most of the Karaim communities fell under the control of the Russian Empire with the partition of Poland in 1772, 1793 and 1795.
In 1795, the Crimean Karaim sent a delegation to St Petersburg to request an exemption from the double taxation levied on Jews in the Russian Empire.Claiming that they were Karaites, they succeeded in persuading the Russian authorities to exempt the Karaim from paying double taxes (Harviainen 2003a, 648).
In 1827, the Karaim again sent a delegation to St. Petersburg to be released from the military service expected of Jews in return for paying a special tax.The process continued with the official separation from the administrative bodies of the Rabbanite Jews in 1837 with the establishment of the Karaim Spiritual Consistory (Harviainen 2003a, 649).
The nationalist movement in nineteenth-century Europe also influenced the Karaim movement,14 as captured in their desire to seek out their origins, which prompted them to turn to their Turkic roots and to strengthen their Turkic selfidentification.Shifting from a religious minority to an ethnic minority caused many changes, for instance, in their attitude to the Karaim language.Soon the Karaim started to publish in their vernacular, e.g., Zemerler, a collection of Karaim canonical and semi-canonical poetry and the literary almanac Onarmach ʻDevelopment, Successʼ.15Moreover, their Karaim language was introduced into the ceremonies held in kenesa, the house of prayer (Harviainen 2003a, 650).
The growing gap between Rabbanite Jews and the Karaim and the change in selfidentification and attitude towards the Karaim language also caused changes in their attitude towards the Hebrew script that the Karaim had used for centuries.
First, the Crimean Karaim community switched from the Hebrew orthography.They shifted from Karaim to Crimean Tatar-and also to Russian-during the nineteenth century.They had therefore lost their ability to read the Hebrew script by that time.They also introduced the Cyrillic alphabet for writing Karaim texts (Csató, Nathan 2007, 211).The first publication with the new alphabet was a book of poems (Yrlar ʻPoemsʼ) written in 1904 by Kobiecki, a Russian officer of Karaim descent, in the Trakai Karaim variety (Shapira 2003, 676).The new literacy tradition still continues among the Karaim of Russia.
Halich and Trakai Karaim communities used Hebrew script up to Soviet times, but they also developed a Latin script based on Polish orthography (Csató, Nathan 2007, 212).Among the first publications in this alphabet was a journal, the Karaj awazy edited by Aleksander Mardkowicz from 1931 on, and a dictionary, the Karaj sez-bitigi ʻKaraim Dictionaryʼ published also by Aleksander Mardkowicz in 1935.
World War II prompted new changes in Karaim orthography.Lithuania fell under the supremacy of the Soviet Union, and thus the medium of education became Lithuanian and Russian.Since then, the Trakai Karaim community started to use Cyrillic orthography.In order to escape Russian control, many members of the Halich Karaim community migrated from their homeland to Poland during the Soviet period and continued to use the Polish-based Latin alphabet (Csató, Nathan 2007, 213).
The collapse of the Soviet Union resulted in another change in the Karaim orthography as the Lithuanian-based Latin orthography was created in the Karaim community of newly independent Lithuania, e.g., Karaj koltchalary (ʻPrayers of Karaimʼ) edited by Mykolas Firkovičius and published in 1993, Mień karajče ürianiam (ʻI learn Karaimʼ) written by Mykolas Firkovičius and published in 1996.Nowadays, the Karaim are not literate in the Hebrew script.

Conclusions
The history of the Karaim and the history of Karaim orthography show an interesting parallelism with the European nationalist movements that started in the nineteenth century.At the outset, the Karaim movement had a religious background, since the desire to be dealt with separately from the Rabbanite Jews in the region motivated the first actions.Later, however, the movement entered the domain of ethnic issues.This was, on the one hand, inspired by representatives of the Russian authorities who, in 1839, put a number of questions related to the origins of the Karaim and their faith to the Karaim Spiritual Consistory (Harviainen 2003c: 880).This change in the Karaim movement was also the result of influence from the surrounding societies with whom the Karaim had constant and close contact.As Harviainen states: "it would be a real miracle if the Karaims … had remained untouched by other national movements [in Europe-Zs.O.]" (2013a, 53).
Although the theory of a Khazar origin was first deeply investigated by Abraham Firkowicz, who was entrusted by the Karaim to ascertain the answers to questions from the Russian authorities, according to Troskovaite, it was Seraja Szapszal who played the most important role in the formation of a pure Turkic self-identification among the Karaim (2013, 217).
It is also remarkable how the orthography reflects a parallel history with Karaim self-identification.As long as the Karaim regarded themselves as Karaite believers, the Hebrew language and the Hebrew script played an almost exclusive role in Karaim written culture.The strengthening of Turkic self-identification, however, had a weakening effect on the importance of the Hebrew language and thus on the use of the Hebrew script.
Nevertheless, it would be narrow-minded to disregard the role of contemporary political and historical circumstances in the process of shifts in orthography.For instance, the language, religion and minority policy of the Soviet Union contributed to the disappearance of religious practice, e.g., among Krimchaks, and to the dispersion of communities-including those of the Karaim.As a result, the Turkic vernacular vanished among the Krimchaks and that of the Karaim has become extremely endangered.

Table 2 .
The representation of labial vowels in Krimchak