What writing system was used for Karamanli Turkish?

Karamanli Turkish was an extinct dialect of the Turkish language written using the Greek alphabet. While official Ottoman Turkish relied on the Arabic script, the Christian Karamanlides community maintained their own literary tradition in Greek script until the adoption of the Latin alphabet and the 1923 population exchange.

What we know

• Karamanli Turkish was written using the Greek alphabet rather than the Arabic script used in official Ottoman Turkish. [1, 2]
• The dialect had its own literary tradition and produced printed works in the 19th century through publishers like Evangelinos Misailidis. [2]
• The written form of Karamanli Turkish ceased to be used immediately after Turkey adopted the Latin alphabet. [2]
• A manuscript fragment written in Karamanli Turkish was discovered in the Cairo Geniza. [2]

Still open

• The exact ethnic origin of the Karamanlides remains disputed by scholars, as they could be descendants of Byzantines or Christian Turkic soldiers.

Where to go next

• the bigger pictureWho were the Karamanlides?
• what caused itHow did the 1923 population exchange affect speakers?
• compared withWhat was the Armeno-Turkish alphabet?
• whenWhen was the modern Turkish alphabet adopted?
• whoWhat role did Evangelinos Misailidis play in printing?
• an unexpected connectionHow did a Turkish dialect appear in the Cairo Geniza?A fragment of a manuscript written in Karamanli Turkish was surprisingly discovered preserved inside the Cairo Geniza.

Sources

• [1]Karamanli Turkish (Wikidata Q3562711) · CC0 1.0
• [2]Karamanli Turkish · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [3]Turkish alphabet · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [4]Karamanlides · CC BY-SA 4.0
• [5]Armeno-Turkish alphabet · CC BY-SA 4.0

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8. /What writing system was used for Karamanli Turkish?