Mishar Tatar | |
Nativename: | Mişär Tatar |
Pronunciation: | pronounced as /[miʃær tatar]/ |
States: | Russia, Finland |
Region: | Mordovia, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Tatarstan, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Chuvashia, Bashkortostan, Samara, Volgograd, Saratov |
Ethnicity: | Mishar Tatars |
Speakers: | ? |
Familycolor: | Altaic |
Fam1: | Turkic |
Fam2: | Common Turkic |
Fam3: | Kipchak |
Fam4: | Kipchak–Bulgar or Kipchak-Cuman |
Fam5: | Tatar |
Script: | Cyrillic, Latin |
Isoexception: | dialect |
Glotto: | west2405 |
Glottorefname: | Western Tatar |
Mishar Tatar or Western Tatar (Мишәр, Mişär, Мишәр Татар, Mişär Tatar, көнбатыш татар, könbatış tatar) is a dialect of Tatar spoken by Mishar Tatars, mainly in Penza, Ulyanovsk, Orenburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Volgograd, and Saratov oblasts of Russia, in Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Chuvashia and Mordovia, and also in Finland.
Some linguists (Radlov, Samoylovich) think that Mishar belongs to the Kipchak-Cuman group of languages rather than to the Kipchak-Bulgar group.[1] Especially the regional dialect of Sergachsky district (Nizhny Novgorod) is said to be faithfully close to the ancient Kipchak language. Increased contacts with Kazan Tatars have lessened these differences.[2]
Mishar is the dialect spoken by the Tatar minority of Finland. The origins of the Tatar community living in Finland rest upon the merchants coming from the villages of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast (then-Governorate).[3]
Mishar Tatar dialects (сөйләшлер) are according to Makhmutova two (Ch and Ts)[4] or according to Gabdulkhay Akhatov three (Ch, Ts and mixed)[5] groups.
In the Western (Mişär) dialect Ç is pronounced pronounced as /[tʃ]/ (southern or Lambir Mişärs) and as [ts] (northern Mişärs or Nizhgars). C is pronounced pronounced as /[dʒ]/. There are no differences between v and w, q and k, g and ğ in the Mişär dialect. The Cyrillic alphabet doesn't have special letters for q, ğ and w, so Mişär speakers have no difficulty reading Tatar written in Cyrillic.
Classification of Mishar Tatar dialects: