An evaluation of the archaic elements in the vocabulary of Central Black Sea sub-dialects

Authors : Vehbi Akdi

Pages : 621-637

Doi:10.48146/odusobiad.1731157

View : 36 | Download : 47

Publication Date : 2025-07-31

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :Dialectology is the field that studies the branches of a stem language, such as dialects, accents, and sub-dialects, that emerge as a function of time and space. Dialects are formed by deep divergences within a language; accents by the threshold of mutual intelligibility among dialects; and sub-dialects by minor linguistic differences within accents. Following consolidation within its administrative borders, Türkiye Turkish comprises its own sub-dialects. The sub-dialects of the Central Black Sea regions (Samsun, Ordu, Amasya, Çorum, and Tokat) are classified within the Western group, one of the main groups of Türkiye Turkish in the general classification plan (Karahan, 2014). Many linguistic units in the sub-dialects of Türkiye Turkish, from their vocabulary to their affixal and phonological elements, carry features from the older periods of Turkish. Such archaic elements in a language are considered archaic features. The definition, scope, and characteristics of archaism are described by Demirci (2022) as the tendency to use words, phrases, or syntactic structures belonging to older periods of the language, as linguistic units from an old period. Even if profound changes occur in a language, archaic elements can continue to be actively used in its modern variants (Demirci, 2022, p. 26). In this study, evaluations were made on the usage and conceptual fields of archaic linguistic elements identified in the regions of Samsun, Ordu, Amasya, Çorum, and Tokat. It was identified that archaic elements originating from the Old Turkic period, specifically the emphatic particle oḳ/ök, are still actively used in the sub-dialects of the Central Black Sea region. Additionally, the demonstrative particle ma, which appears in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk with the meaning “here it is” or “take it,” continues to be present in the sub-dialects of Türkiye Turkish. According to Gülensoy (1988), the final -n sound found in expressions, such as çıḳādıy͜ ḳın and dediy͜ kin, and the -m sound in forms like sonam, do not reflect natural phonological development, and these are archaic elements retained from earlier suffixes -ġına / -gine and -ma / -me used in older stages of the Turkish language (Gülensoy, 1988, p. 69). The sub-dialects of the Central Black Sea region, which fall under the Western group of Türkiye Turkish, preserve phonological and morphological characteristics and lexical items that reflect features of early Turkish. Furthermore, these sub-dialects display similarities in the presence and semantic use of such archaic elements.
Keywords : Ağız bilimi, Orta Karadeniz yöreleri, kalıntı unsurlar, ma/me gösterme edatı

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