EMİR ALİ ŞİR NEVAÎ. (1925). MUHAKEMETÜ’L-LUGATEYN. (Ed. ABDÜLHAKİM GULMUHAMMEDOV). POLTORATSKİ (AŞKABAT): TÜRKMENİSTAN DEVLET NEŞRİYATI. 90 pp.

Abstract

Muhakamat al-Lughatayn by Ali-Shir Nava’i (also called Alisher Navaiy) has the most important value in the intellectual history of Turkic people. There are also different studies about this work in the Soviet Turkmenistan and the most important one is Mir Alisher Navaiy’s Muhakamat al-Lughatayn, which is the first edition of the work in Cedid alphabet, published by Abdulkerim Gulmuhammedov in Asghabat, 1925. The editor, A.Gulmuhammedov started the introduction part with the Prologue (also called Söz başı in Turkmen) that reveals the subjects of Turkic people’s language until Ali-Shir Nava’i’s period. Moreover, “Mir Ali- Shir” chapter of the introduction part gives the information about his life and works. The end of the assessment informs that although 430 years passed after Mir Ali-Shir Nava’i’s death his evergreen works are read by Turkic people as the oeuvre of Chrestomathy in the Central Asia and also adds that Turkic devans are found in each houses of Turkmen people. The work’s handwriting of that period is associated with the later handwriting, lithographies and editions identifying the history of Turkmen language. Muhakamat al-Lughatayn edited by Gulmuhammedov has the most important place in the history of Turkmen Language. Moreover, Gulmuhammedov explains his own ideas and genius of the period in the introduction part. On the other hand, there is also criticism against his assessment in the work and the article “Turkmen language” by Ali Böriyev in 1931, criticizes Gulmuhammedov in the context of Chagatai language (extinct Turkic language) and Nava’i’s Muhakamat al-Lugatayn is shown as an evidence for his criticism. This study tries to reveal the importance of Muhakamat al-Lughatayn, which was published by Gulmuhammedov in 1925, Ashgabat in Cedid alphabet, during the history of Turkmen language and idea.

Keywords

• muhakamat al-lughatayn
• ali shir nava’i
• gulmuhammedov
• the soviet turkmenistan
• turkicpeople.