A North-Western Karaim manuscript found in Lutsk – a case of dialect mingling?

The question of dialect mingling in Karaim has been raised by several authors. We know that there was continual contact between members of most Karaim communities during at least the last three centuries, but we know little about the intensity of the discussed phenomenon. Manuscripts reflecting the spoken language serve as our only source of knowledge. One must, however, be careful when editing them since not every manuscript that contains linguistic material referring to more than one Karaim dialect is to be treated as proof of dialect mingling. The present paper presents a critical edition of a Karaim manuscript written in 1868 which contains both north- and south-western elements, and aims to answer the question whether this document can be treated as a relevant example of dialect mingling.