Project Title

A Semantic Analysis-Based Comparison of the Lexical Wealth of Idil Bulgar Turkic and Chuvash Turkic

Supporting Organization(s)

FÜBAP

Project Time

Ercan ALKAYA

Project Abstract

Semantics, or the study of meaning, examines the primary, secondary, and figurative meanings of words. Just as a language undergoes changes in sound and form over various periods, it also experiences changes and variations in meaning. While the study of language changes across different periods generally falls within the scope of historical linguistics, the examination of semantic changes specifically belongs to the field of semantics. Studies conducted in this context are categorized under diachronic semantics.

Turkish, after the Old Turkish Period, branched into two main groups: Western Turkish and Eastern Turkish. While Eastern Turkish formed the common Turkish language, Western Turkish gave rise to the historical dialects spoken by the Oghuz, Bulgar, and Khazar tribes, as well as contemporary Chuvash Turkish. In modern scholarship, these two historical Turkish language branches are referred to as Old Eastern Turkish and Old Western Turkish. The historical period dialects of Old Western Turkish have limited documentation. The Danube Bulgar Turkish, which consists of a few written texts, and the Volga Bulgar Turkish, whose traces are found on tombstones, are examples of this limited documentation. The contemporary continuation of Volga Bulgar Turkish is Chuvash Turkish.

The Turkish dialects that developed from Old Western Turkish exhibit differences in phonetics, morphology, and semantics compared to Eastern or Common Turkish, as well as internal variations. This study aims to identify these changes by comparing the vocabulary of Volga Bulgar Turkish, a historical branch of Old Western Turkish, with its contemporary continuation, Chuvash Turkish, within the framework of semantics.

Project Title

Reduplications in the Dialects of Tatar Turkish

Supporting Organization(s)

FÜBAP

Project Time

Ercan ALKAYA

Project Abstract

Reduplications are formulaic expressions that arise from the sequential arrangement of words, taking into account their sounds, forms, and meanings, in order to achieve various purposes such as explanation, reinforcement, or clarification during the process of communication in a language. While some of these formulaic expressions persist in the written language, others live on in dialects. Reduplications, as enriching elements of a language, can be found in all dialects of Turkish. In Tatar Turkish, which belongs to the Idil-Ural branch of the Turkic language family, there are also many examples of reduplications. When examining previous studies, some research has been conducted on reduplications in the written language of Tatar Turkish. However, no studies have been identified that focus on the reduplications in the dialects of Tatar Turkish.

This study will examine the reduplications found in the three major dialects of Tatar Turkish—Central Region, Mishar, and Siberian—by analyzing the "Tatar Tĭlĭnĭŋ Zur Dialĭktologik Süzlĭgĭ," a dialect dictionary of Tatar Turkish. The reduplications in the dialects will be analyzed under three main headings: origin, word type, structure, and meaning.

In this way, the study aims to contribute specifically to the field of Tatar Turkish studies and more broadly to the area of Contemporary Turkic Dialects

Project Title

Examination of Consonant Harmony in Contemporary Turkic Dialects

Supporting Organization(s)

TÜBİTAK (TÜBİTAK-1002)

Project Time

Project Leader: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN
Researcher: Asst. Prof. Dr. Remzi ÇALIŞIR
Assistant Researcher: M.A. Student Aleyna ALEVSAÇAN

Project Abstract

Sounds, due to their characteristics as phonemes with the potential to bring about meaning changes, form the core of the entire vocabulary of a language. Furthermore, sounds are not only the source of words but also the source of all affixes in a language. These sounds, which play a crucial role in the formation of hundreds of affixes involved in word derivation and inflection, hold particular significance for agglutinative languages like Turkish.

The sounds that form the fundamental source of the morphological structures within a language’s vocabulary and its usage context have an inherent order. This order is ensured by the harmony between sounds. Sound harmony refers to the harmony among the vowels and consonants that make up words in a language when they come together. Harmony or disharmony between sounds is evaluated based on criteria such as their places of articulation or their manner of articulation.

In Turkish, sound harmony manifests in three main forms: vowel-vowel harmony, vowel-consonant harmony, and consonant-consonant harmony. The consonant-consonant harmony, which constitutes the main focus of this study, is based on the principle that, during word expansion with affixes or in adjacent syllables, two consonants must match in terms of voicing (voiced and voiceless) when they appear next to each other. According to this rule, a voiced consonant (/b/, /c/, /d/, /g/, /ğ/, /j/, /v/, /z/) can only be followed by another voiced consonant, while a voiceless consonant (/p/, /ç/, /t/, /k/, /h/, /ş/, /f/, /s/) can only be followed by another voiceless consonant. Voiced consonants without voiceless counterparts (/l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /y/) can occur next to both voiced and voiceless consonants. This rule represents a general consensus for consonant harmony, both in the context of Turkish grammar and in other dialect grammars written from the perspective of Turkish linguistics.

However, when considering this general rule in the historical and contemporary dialects of Turkish, it contains some internal contradictions. While there is no contradiction when voiced consonants follow other voiced consonants and voiceless consonants follow other voiceless consonants, a contradiction arises when voiced consonants that do not have a voiceless counterpart (/l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /y/) follow a voiceless consonant, as this situation would be considered harmonious. This creates a contradiction, as various Turkic dialects, such as Tuvan, Karakalpak, Kazakh, and Kyrgyz, demonstrate that voiced consonants without voiceless counterparts (/l/, /m/, /n/, /r/, /y/) tend to assimilate to the adjacent voiceless consonant when they appear together, thus demonstrating that both voiced-voiced and voiceless-voiceless harmony can function within their respective contexts.

This study will attempt to identify the harmony between the final sounds of word roots and stems and the initial sounds of affixes in contemporary Turkic written languages. The study will specifically examine the voicing harmony between consonants (voiced-voiced, voiceless-voiceless), while other structures, which may be considered harmonious due to the phonetic tendencies of individual dialects, will be evaluated as disharmonious according to the general harmony principles of Turkish. The aim is to determine how and to what extent voicing harmony is applied in contemporary Turkic written languages, and to identify which affixes resist this harmony."

Project Title

Traces of Old Turkish in the Microtoponyms of Oghuz Turkic Dialects

Supporting Organization(s)

YÖK (ADEP)

Project Time

Project Leader: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN
Assistant Researchers: Prof. Dr. Ahmet BURAN, Prof. Dr. Ercan ALKAYA, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mehmet ÖZEREN, Res. Asst. Veysel İbrahim KARACA, Asst. Prof. Dr. Remzi ÇALIŞIR, Asst. Prof. Dr. Ertuğrul ÇEÇEN, Res. Asst. Pervin EYVAZOV, Prof. Dr. Meherrem MEMMEDLİ, Prof. Dr. Nadejda ÖZAKDAĞ

Project Abstract

Language is a significant source that shapes and is shaped by the social, cultural, and physical features of the geography in which it is spoken, while simultaneously transferring the elements it has shaped over thousands of years to future generations. In this respect, language is not only a crucial factor in shaping culture, but it also embodies the identity words that reveal a nation’s self-awareness and perspective. Identity words are core terms that reflect the essence of a nation, formed within its unique social, cultural, historical, and literary understanding, and that have been present in the language since the earliest periods.

One of these identity words is microtoponyms, which have emerged from the historical, literary, social, and cultural context of the Turkish people. Microtoponyms, also referred to in the literature as place names, micro-geographical names, and sometimes as ghost toponyms, are a subset of toponyms, defined as names for geographical entities such as mountains, hills, pastures, arable lands, locations, riverbeds, mounds, wells, small stream bends, winter camps, springs, vineyards, and other small-scale geographic features. These names are known only by the local residents of a region or settlement and are passed down orally from generation to generation, often not appearing on official maps.

Microtoponyms hold significant importance for toponymy, as they exist primarily in the collective memory of the people and can only be identified through fieldwork and documentation. As such, they are an important focus in the study of language and culture.

Microtoponyms have become one of the areas that have been increasingly studied due to their potential to illuminate the past and reveal the cultural structure of societies. One of the most notable aspects of this area of research is the traces of Old Turkish found in microtoponym naming conventions. However, a review of microtoponym studies reveals that the majority of research has been focused on data collection and classification, with comparatively few studies dedicated to examining Old Turkish traces and archaic elements through comparative approaches.

Geographical and place names are critical source materials for understanding the settlement and cultural history of societies. In this context, the identification of Old Turkish traces in microtoponyms, which represent one of the key areas for tracking a society’s historical, cultural, and social footprints, holds significant importance for the establishment of linguistic, historical, and cultural relationships with the past.

The project aims to provide a comparative perspective on microtoponym research, using both synchronous and diachronic linguistic methods, document analysis techniques, and field studies. The study will focus on identifying Turkish microtoponyms in written language and dialect dictionaries of the Oghuz Turkic dialects, including Turkish (Turkey), Azerbaijani, Gagauz, and Turkmen. These microtoponyms will be analyzed phonologically, morphologically, and semantically and compared with the Old Turkish microtoponyms to uncover the traces of Old Turkish in the Oghuz Turkic dialects.

The project will contribute not only to the study of toponyms and microtoponyms but also to the shared vocabulary of the Turkic dialects, offering new insights into these linguistic areas."

Project Title

Development of a Brain-Based Linguistic Development Discovery Architecture Using Machine Learning: Kâşif

Supporting Organization(s)

European Union (COST)

Project Time

Project Leader: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şengül DOĞAN
Researcher: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Türker TUNCER
Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN

Project Abstract

Development of an Automatic Language/Accent Classification Program Using Speech Signals

Project Title

Development of an Automatic Language/Accent Classification Program Using Speech Signals

Supporting Organization(s)

TÜBİTAK (TÜBİTAK-1002)

Project Time

Project Leader: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Erhan AKBAL
Researchers: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Şengül DOĞAN, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Türker TUNCER
Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN

Project Abstract

Development of an Automatic Language/Accent Classification Program Using Speech Signals

Project Title

Managing Conflict Language Related to Disasters with Artificial Intelligence

Supporting Organization(s)

TÜBİTAK (TÜBİTAK-1001)

Project Time

Project Lead: Assoc. Prof. Ayşe MEYDANOĞLU, Researchers: Assoc. Prof. Beyzade Nadir ÇETİN; Assoc. Prof. Enes ERDİM, Assoc. Prof. Mesut TOĞAÇAR; Assoc. Prof. Tuncay KARATEKE, Prof. Kenan PEKER Advisor: Assoc. Prof. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN

Project Abstract

Managing Conflict Language Related to Disasters with Artificial Intelligence

Project Title

Traces of Old Turkic Appellative Microtoponyms in Khakas Turkic

Supporting Organization(s)

FÜBAP

Project Time

Project Lead: Assoc. Prof. Süleyman Kaan YALÇIN

Project Abstract

Onomastics constitutes one of the most important fields of linguistics. Place names form one of the most significant sub-branches of onomastics. Place names are divided into two categories: proper place names (onyms) and generic place names (appellatives) that are not based on a specific naming.

While place names constitute a significant part of linguistic studies, they have become one of the most studied areas in terms of shedding light on the past and revealing the cultural structure of societies. One of the most remarkable features related to this field is the traces of Old Turkic in place names.   

Place and geographical names are important source materials in illuminating the settlement and cultural history of societies. In this respect, identifying the traces of Old Turkic in place names, which constitute one of the most important areas where the historical, cultural, and social traces of society can be traced, is of particular importance in terms of establishing linguistic, historical, and cultural connections with the past.

When determining the traces of Old Turkic in place names in the Khakas Turkic vocabulary, linguistic units that emerge through the exact preservation of the forms of words used in historical periods or through matching them as closely as possible to their historical forms will be considered.

This study aims to reveal the traces of Old Turkic carried by all place names in Khakas Turkic in terms of vocabulary. For this purpose, the work "Khakas Turkic Dictionary," published by the Turkish Language Association and containing 16,665 headwords, will be scanned, and Old Turkic matches in generic place names that are not based on a specific naming will be presented. In addition, if necessary, compilations from people of Khakas origin living in Turkey or online interviews with Khakas people living in Khakassia will be conducted regarding the study. In this respect, the study aims to contribute to the science of place names in Khakas Turkic in particular and to Turkic onomastics in general.