Contact-Induced Linguistic Phenomena between the Khazar and Hebrew Languages in the Context of the Khazar Conversion to Judaism

Abstract This paper examines contact-induced linguistic phenomena between the Khazar language and Hebrew within the historical context of the Khazar conversion to Judaism (8th–10th centuries). The study adopts an interdisciplinary framework integrating historical linguistics, Hebraic studies, Turkology, and sociolinguistics, with particular emphasis on distinguishing structural linguistic influence from culturally conditioned language use. The Khazar language, classified within the Turkic language family, is only fragmentarily attested, primarily through personal names, titles, and isolated lexical items preserved in Hebrew, Arabic, and Byzantine sources. In contrast, Hebrew functioned as a highly standardized liturgical and administrative language characterized by strong normative stability. This asymmetry provides the central analytical framework for evaluating the nature and extent of linguistic contact. The analysis demonstrates that Khazar influence on Hebrew is limited and does not affect grammatical structure, syntax, or morphology. Instead, contact-induced phenomena are confined to lexical borrowings—especially political and administrative terminology—onomastic adaptation, and orthographic practices in which non-Hebrew elements are recorded in Hebrew script. The most reliable evidence of contact is found in personal names and titles reflecting direct transfer from the Khazar linguistic sphere into Hebrew textual tradition. The study further interprets the Khazar–Hebrew interaction as a case of asymmetric bilingualism and functional diglossia, where Hebrew operates as a high-prestige (H) variety and Khazar as a vernacular (L) variety. Consequently, linguistic influence remains restricted to peripheral domains of language use. The paper also addresses broader implications of the Khazar hypothesis in relation to Ashkenazi Jewish origins, concluding that there is no linguistic evidence supporting a substantial Khazar contribution to the structural development of Hebrew or to Jewish ethno-linguistic identity in Europe. Keywords: Khazars; Hebrew language; language contact; Turkic languages; onomastics; diglossia; historical linguistics; Khazar conversion; medieval Hebrew; sociolinguistics