A Study of the Vocabulary in al-Qavânîn al-Kulliyya li-Ẓabṭ al-Luġat at-Turkiyya

Abstract

The multi-layered cultural structure of the Mamluk Kipchak area can be seen in the language of the period. The linguistic evolution of the Turkmens and Kipchaks, the initial settlers of the region, is documented in contemporary grammars and dictionaries. The language of the Eastern Turks also became incorporated as their numbers in the region gradually increased. This study investigates the vocabulary used in al-Qavânîn al-Kulliyya li-Ẓabṭ al-Luġat at-Turkiyya, one of the grammars of the period. The first stage of the study was to identify words with the same meanings and equivalent pairs that may be indicators of how the dialect of the period has changed. The status of the words which were considered to be indicators of the dialectal differences between the historical text, and that of the Turkic languages of contemporary Oghuz and Kipchak groups, was then analysed. Results indicate that 37.03% of the fifty-eight words analysed in this study still exist in contemporary Oghuz, while 25.93% are still present, and even have the same meaning, in contemporary Kipchak. The rate of equivalent pairs identified in this historical text was 37.03%.