Dialect features of the azerbaijani turkish in the gagauz language

Abstract

In the article the common phonetic, lexical and grammatical features between the dialects of Azerbaijan Turkish and Gagauz language which are classified in the Western Oghuz group of Turkic languages family were researched. Many features of Azerbaijani dialects are observed in the literary Gagauz language. The reason behind the existence of common elements in these Turkic dialects goes back to the ancient layers of the history. Famous turkologist Ferhad Zeynalov showed that learning dialects is organically related to the problem of learning the history of Turkic languages. In the research, it was found out that the phonetic features (later lengthening process, violation of the harmony law, diphthongization and so on), usage of the words belonging to the ancient Turkic layer and the accusative case suffix –yı in the Gagauz language are also available in the dialects of Azerbaijan Turkish. It was justified with comparative facts and examples from both Turkic dialects. The language elements used in the literary Gagauz language is observed mostly in the Western Azerbaijani dialects. This is explained by the geography where the western dialects are located in. The place has been the land of the Turkic tribes from ancient ages. Toponymical names and folklore examples verify this fact, too. Dede Korkut researchers showed that inner Oghuz lands covered the junction of Kura and Aras (Aran). It is possible to see the vocabulary put forward in the Southern and Northern-east dialects.

Keywords

• azerbaijan
• gagauz
• langıage