# Cuman language

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Extinct West Kipchak Turkic language

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Cuman Kuman, Kipchak, Polovcian[1] Tatar til Codex Cumanicus, 14th century Native to Cuman–Kipchak Confederation, Golden Horde Region Cumania Ethnicity Cumans, Kipchaks, Tatars Extinct In Kunság: 1770, with the death of István Varró[2] Other regions: evolved into Kipchak-Cuman languages Language family Turkic Common Turkic Kipchak Kipchak–Cuman[3] Cuman Writing system Latin Language codes ISO 639-3 qwm Linguist List qwm Glottolog cuma1241 Map of territory occupied by the Cumans around 1200

**Cuman** or **Kuman** (also called **Kipchak**, **Qypchaq** or **Polovtsian**, self referred to as **Tatar** (*tatar til*) in [Codex Cumanicus](/source/Codex_Cumanicus))[4] was a [West Kipchak](/source/Kipchak_languages) [Turkic language](/source/Turkic_languages) spoken by the [Cumans](/source/Cumans) (Polovtsy, Folban, Vallany, Kun) and [Kipchaks](/source/Kipchaks); the language was similar to today's various languages of the West Kipchak branch. Cuman is documented in medieval works, including the Codex Cumanicus, and in early modern manuscripts, like the notebook of Benedictine monk Johannes ex Grafing.[5]

## History

The Cumans were nomadic people who lived on the steppes of [Eastern Europe](/source/Eastern_Europe), north of the [Black Sea](/source/Black_Sea), before the [Golden Horde](/source/Golden_Horde). Many Turkic peoples including the [Crimean Tatars](/source/Crimean_Tatars), [Nogais](/source/Nogais), [Karachays](/source/Karachays), [Kumyks](/source/Kumyks), [Crimean Karaites](/source/Crimean_Karaites), [Krymchaks](/source/Krymchaks) and [Balkars](/source/Balkars), [Manavs](/source/Manavs) are descended from the Cumans. Today, the speakers of these various languages belonging to the [Kipchak](/source/Kipchak_languages) branch speak variations closely related to the Cuman language.[6][7][8][9]

The literary Cuman language became extinct in the early 18th century in the region of [Cumania](/source/Kuns%C3%A1g) in [Hungary](/source/Kingdom_of_Hungary), which was its last stronghold. The Cuman language in Crimea, however, managed to survive. The Cuman language is considered the direct ancestor of the current [language of the Crimean Tatars](/source/Crimean_Tatar_language) with possible incorporations of the other languages in the region, like [Crimean Gothic](/source/Crimean_Gothic).[10][11][12]

By a preponderance Cumanian population of the Crimea acquired the name "Tatars", embraced [Islam](/source/Islam), and retained the Quman-Qipchaq Turkic language, and the process of consolidating the multi-ethnic conglomerate of the Peninsula began, which has led to the emergence of the Crimean Tatar people.[13]

The Cuman-Kipchaks had an important role in the history of [Anatolia](/source/Anatolia), [Kazakhstan](/source/Kazakhstan), [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine), [Russia](/source/Russia), [Georgia](/source/Georgia_(country)), [Hungary](/source/Hungary), [Romania](/source/Romania) (see, for example, the [Basarab dynasty](/source/House_of_Basarab)), [Moldavia](/source/Moldavia), [Bessarabia](/source/Bessarabia) and [Bulgaria](/source/Bulgaria).[14][15][16][17]

[Radlov](/source/Vasily_Radlov) believed that among the current languages Cuman is closest to the [Mishar dialect](/source/Mishar_Tatar_dialect) of the [Tatar language](/source/Tatar_language).[18]

## Sample

From the book known as the *[Codex Cumanicus](/source/Codex_Cumanicus)*, a Cuman Kipchak Turkic [Pater Noster](/source/Pater_Noster) (transcribed in the [Common Turkic Alphabet](/source/Common_Turkic_Alphabet)):

*Atamız kim köktesiñ. Alğışlı bolsun seniñ atıñ, kelsin seniñ xanlığıñ, bolsun seniñ tilemekiñ – neçik kim kökte, alay [da] yerde. Kündeki ötmegimizni bizge bugün bergil. Dağı yazuqlarımıznı bizge boşatqıl – neçik biz boşatırbız bizge yaman etkenlerge. Dağı yekniñ sınamaqına bizni quurmağıl. Basa barça yamandan bizni qutxarğıl. Amen!*[19]

## István Varró

Tradition holds that the last speaker of the Cuman language was István Varró. As a [Notary](/source/Notary) in the town of [Karcag](/source/Karcag) in Hungary (in today's [Jász–Nagykun–Szolnok County](/source/J%C3%A1sz%E2%80%93Nagykun%E2%80%93Szolnok_County)) and as a representative from Cumania, István Várró was a part of a delegation in 1744 arrived in [Vienna](/source/Vienna) to see [Empress Maria Theresa of Austria](/source/Maria_Theresa) to obtain certain privileges. At the invitation of the historian and ethnologist [Adam František Kollár](/source/Adam_Franti%C5%A1ek_Koll%C3%A1r), he recited the [Lord's Prayer](/source/Lord's_Prayer) in Cuman to provide an example of their ancient language. This prayer, along with a few others and a number of short phrases, were then the only remnants of the extinct language, and even then they served only for instruction in Hungarian schools in memory of Cuman pupils. The text of this school lesson, transmitted by tradition and available in several copies in Hungary, was later published by the Hungarian orientalist [Ármin Vámbéry](/source/%C3%81rmin_V%C3%A1mb%C3%A9ry). István Várró later died in 1770.[2][20]

## See also

- [Mamluk-Kipchak](/source/Mamluk-Kipchak)

- [Armeno-Kipchak](/source/Armeno-Kipchak)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["The Kuman Language"](https://web.archive.org/web/20080923184851/http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=qwm). [LINGUIST List](/source/Linguist_List). Archived from [the original](http://linguistlist.org/forms/langs/LLDescription.cfm?code=qwm) on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2025.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Melnyk_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Melnyk_2-1) Melnyk, Mykola (2022). [*Byzantium and the Pechenegs: The Historiography of the Problem*](https://books.google.com.au/books?id=FpxjEAAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false). [Brill Publishers](/source/Brill_Publishers). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9789004505223](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9789004505223). Retrieved 2026-04-22. István Varró, a member of the Jász-Cuman mission to the empress of Austria Maria Theresa and the known last speaker of the Cuman language, died in 1770.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [Glottolog entry for Cuman](https://glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/cuma1241)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Florin Curta (2007). *The Other Europe in the Middle Ages: Avars, Bulgars, Khazars and Cumans*. p. 406.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Knauer, Georg Nicholaus (2010). "The Earliest Vocabulary of Romani Words (c. 1515) in the Collectanea of Johannes ex Grafing, a student of Johannes Reuchlin and Conrad Celtis". *[Romani Studies](/source/Romani_Studies_(journal))*. **20** (1): 1–15. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.3828/rs.2010.1](https://doi.org/10.3828%2Frs.2010.1). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [170292032](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:170292032).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Yilmaz, Adil (2018). ["Bızans'in Anadolu'ya Yerleştırdığı Son Türkler"](https://www.academia.edu/36801899) [The Last Turks Settled in Anatolia by Byzantium]. *Eski̇çağ Araştirmalari Dergi̇si̇* [*Journal of Ancient Researches*] (in Turkish) (3): 29–32.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["YALAKOVA'DAN YALOVA'YA Prof. Dr. Halil İnalcık Anısına Yalova Tarihi Araştırmaları"](http://www.yalovaozelidare.gov.tr/kurumlar/yalovaozelidare.gov.tr/Tasarim/yayinlarimiz/6_Yalakova_dan-Yalova_ya-Kitap-Metni.pdf) (PDF).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Anadolu'ya yerleştirilen Kumanlar (Manavlar)"](http://m.belediyehaberleri.com.tr/yazarlar/ekrem-hayri-peker/anadoluya-yerlestirilen-kumanlar-manavlar/369#:~:text=Kumanlar%C4%B1n%20di%C4%9Fer%20ad%C4%B1%20K%C4%B1p%C3%A7ak't%C4%B1r,Anadolu'ya%20yerle%C5%9Ftirildikleri%20de%20yazmaktad%C4%B1r.).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Acar, Kenan (January 2022). ["GAGAVUZ TÜRKÇESİ İLE KOCAELİ YERLİ (MANAV) AĞIZLARI ARASINDAKİ PARALELLİKLER, 2022, VI. Uluslararası Türklerin Dünyası Sosyal Bilimler Sempozyumu, PARALLELS BETWEEN GAGAVUZ TURKISH AND KOCAELİ NATİVE TURK (MANAV) DİALECTS, Kenan Acar, 2022, VI. International Turkish World Social Sciences Symposium"](https://academia.edu/resource/work/90576741). *VI. Uluslararası Türklerin Dünyası Sosyal Bilimler Sempozyumu*.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** István Vásáry (2005) Cumans and Tatars, Cambridge University Press.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Stearns(1979:39–40).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** "Crimean Tatar proper, called the 'central dialect', belonged to the West Kipchak subbranch as a descendant of Kuman." (Lars Johanson, Turkic, Cambridge University Press, 2021, pg. 62)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Vozgrin2_13-0)** Vozgrin, Valery ["Historical fate of the Crimean Tatars"](http://kitap.net.ru/vozgrin1.php) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20060711080144/http://tavrika.by.ru/books/vozgrin_ists/html/index.htm) 11 July 2006 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** Sun, Kevin (2019-04-07). ["Sun Language Theory, Part 2: The Steppes of Tartary (Tatar, Bashkir, Kazakh, Kyrgyz)"](https://medium.com/bahasantara/sun-language-theory-part-2-the-steppes-of-tartary-tatar-bashkir-kazakh-kyrgyz-acfe3793938b). *Medium*. Retrieved 2019-09-17.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Ayönü_15-0)** Ayönü, Yusuf (August 2012). ["Bati Anadolu'dakı Türk Yayilișina Karși Bızans İmparatorluğu'nun Kuman-Alan Topluluklarini Balkanlardan Anadolu'ya Nakletmesi"](https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1267764) [The Transfer of Cumans and Alans from Balkans to Anatolia by Byzantine Empire against the Turkish Expansion in the Western Anatolia]. *Belleten* (in Turkish). **76** (276). Turkish Historical Society: 403–418. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.37879/belleten.2012.403](https://doi.org/10.37879%2Fbelleten.2012.403). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [245309166](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:245309166). Retrieved October 12, 2022. [DOI: English version](https://belleten.gov.tr/ozet/2688/eng)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Rustam M. Shukurov. ["Latent Turkification of Byzantium (ca. 1071–1461)"](https://www.doaks.org/research/byzantine/fellows/shukurov-2004-2005). Dumbarton Oaks.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:0_17-0)** Dimitri Korobeinikov (2015). ["The Cumans in Paphlagonia"](https://www.academia.edu/22592533). *Karadeniz İncelemeleri Dergisi* (18): 29–44.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Публикация ННР О языке куманов: По поводу издания куманского словаря"](http://books.e-heritage.ru/book/10085556). *books.e-heritage.ru*. Retrieved 2023-07-03.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** Kuun; Géza; et al. (1880). ["Codex cumanicus, Bibliothecae ad templum divi Marci Venetiarum primum ex integro editit prolegomenis notis et compluribus glossariis instruxit comes Géza Kuun"](https://archive.org/details/codexcumanicusbi00kuunuoft). Budapest: XLIX. Retrieved August 11, 2016 – via Archive.org.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** Sévérien Salavill (1914). [*Un peuple de race turque christianisé au XIIIe siècle : les Comans*](http://www.persee.fr/doc/rebyz_1146-9447_1914_num_17_106_4136) (in French). Vol. 17. [Échos d'Orient](/source/Revue_des_%C3%A9tudes_byzantines). p. 193–208.

## Sources

- Güner, Galip (2013), Kıpçak Türkçesi Grameri, Kesit Press, İstanbul.

- Mustafa Argunşah, Galip Güner (2015), Codex Cumanicus, Kesit Yayınları, İstanbul.

## External links

- [Texts in Ukrainian Cuman](https://web.archive.org/web/20121016110753/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-cuman.html)

- [Lord's Prayer in Hungarian Cuman](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231448/http://www.christusrex.org/www1/pater/JPN-cuman-hungary.html)

- [Kipchak Middle Age literature](http://www.unesco.kz/qypchaq/Memorials-En.htm)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Cuman language](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuman_language) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuman_language?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.