Classification of the main dialectal areas and subdialectal groups of Gagauz Turkic according to the variants of the present tense suffix

Abstract

In this study, the usage of the present tense suffix, which is one of the criteria frequently used by dialectological researchers in the determination and classification of dialect areas, was evaluated in Gagauz Turkic and the main dialect areas and sub-dialect groups of Gagauz Turkic were classified according to this criterion. In order to obtain data on the usage patterns of the present tense suffix based on the classification, compilations were made from the Gagauzia Autonomous Region of the Republic of Moldova, Odessa of Ukraine, Evros of Greece, Varna and Dobrich regions of Northeastern Bulgaria, where Gagauz Turks, who continue to exist in different dialectal areas today, live intensively, source texts were created with the transcription technique based on the compilations, and these texts were deciphered and the compiled dialectal materials were examined in detail. Based on the data obtained as a result of the language analyses, the findings were interpreted, all dialect regions were evaluated independently, the place of these dialect regions within the dialects of Gagauz Turkic was determined according to the usage forms of the present tense suffix, and in cases where the present tense suffix was not sufficient as a criterion, other criteria were applied and the main dialect areas and sub-dialect groups of Gagauz Turkic were tried to be classified. At the end of the study, the main dialectal areas and sub-dialectal groups of Gagauz Turkic were analysed according to the use of the present tense suffix in a way that can be a source for the language atlas studies to be prepared in the future.

Keywords

• dialectology
• gagauz turkic dialects
• present tense