Proto-Turkic/Printable version

Proto-Turkic

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Introduction

The various Turkic languages share a common ancestor. Though no surviving examples of this language have been found (that is to say, it is unattested), linguistic reconstruction allows for insight to be gained about how the language worked and operated.

Yet, there are lexical descriptions about Proto-Turkic, but little is known about its grammar and morphology. Some linguists like András Roná-Tas in his chapter The reconstruction of Proto-Turkic and the genetic question, have described the grammar of Proto-Turkic. However, his reconstructions have Common Turkic features like -z- in place of -ŕ- (like rat but palatalized with y as in young), and he said that:

... But Proto-Turkic can only be reconstructed by taking the Kipchak languages, thus also Proto-Kipchak, into consideration.

—András Roná-Tas, "The reconstruction of Proto-Turkic and the genetic question", The Turkic Languages (1998)

Because of this, the users BurakD53 and DanielWhernchend have reconstructed the Proto-Turkic grammar by relying on some sources and also, original research.

It is not recommended to use this book as a reference in Wikipedia article as it represents original researches of two users.

Contributors

This Proto-Turkic page on Wikibooks first created by User:BurakD53 in 21 July 2021. This is a list of contributors to this page (please don't add if you don't have important contributions):

• BurakD53 — The author of this page, has uploaded several images to be used in one of the lessons
• DanielWhernchend — Contributor of mostly minor edits, but nevertheless created few subpages
• Mbrickn — Added Tonyukuk inscription as its illustration
• Yorınçga573

History of Proto-Turkic language

Xiong-nu language

The history of the Proto-Turkic language is mostly written from the Xiong-nu period, which we have not yet reached from the first-hand sources, but which we can obtain from the second-hand sources past the Chinese written sources.

The Xiong-nu state is still considered complex in terms of its ethnic structure, it is a common view that it is multinational. It is controversial whether the rulers are Mongolic, Turkic or Tungusic, and it is a federation that it somehow accepts as the ancestor of all of them. It is also associated with European Huns due to their different pronunciations. Professor C. Atwood continued using the term “xwn” to establish phonological equivalence with Chinese Xiongnu, Sogdian Xwn, Sanskrit Hūna, Greek Ounnoi, and Latin Hunni. The French Orientalist Joseph de Guignes first proposed in 1756 that the ancestors of the mysterious Huns were the Xiongnu of Northeastern Asia, as based on the phonetic resemblance of the ethnonyms of the two peoples. It is believed by some historians that the Oghurs founded the European Hun state when they migrated to the west. But the identity of European Huns is not clear either.

Reading of “匈”
Preclassic Old Chinese	sŋoŋ
Classic Old Chinese	ŋ̥oŋ
Postclassic Chinese	hoŋ
Middle Chinese	xöuŋ
Modern (Beijing) reading	xiōng

Xiong-nu language in Chinese inscriptions

Xiong-nu language texts in Chinese sources are limited. Let's take a look at these limited resources.

撑犁 (Chēng lí)

撑犁 term in Chinese inscriptions is associated with the old Turkic tengri. Tengri means sky.

Pu Liben, quoting Perhier (Pelliot 1944), pointed out that the word chēng lí, which many think is related to the Huns and Turkic languages, actually constitutes the pronoun tärim in Turkish. There are also variants of this word. The fact that it is undecided in both Turkic and Mongolian languages indicates that the Hunnic word chēng lí may be a borrowed word.

头曼 (Tóu màn)

头曼 means ten thousand. This word is also found in Mongolic and Tungusic, and it is a word that is most likely taken from each other.

In addition, the name of the founder of the Xiong-nu state was Tóu-màn.

瓯脱 (Ōu tuō)

瓯脱 has many meanings.

瓯脱 was used in many meanings and was likely borrowed from Proto-Turkic *ordu/*ortu, which is also the root of English horde. *ordu/*ortu means palace and was also used in Old Chinese to denote the Xiong-nu people.

Others

• 居次 (jū cì) means girl, daughter. Compared to Proto-Turkic *kï̄ŕ (girl).

• 冒顿 (mò dú) is a Chanyu from Xiongnu state. Compare to Turkic Mete.

• 熐蠡 (mì lǐ) explains Xiongnu villages. Compared to Proto-Turkic *bialïk (city).

• 径路 (jìng lù)

First Turkic inscriptions

Orkhon inscriptions

The Orkhon inscriptions have been found around everywhere in territory of Mongolia - from east to west, from north to south. The most important of these are the Tonyukuk, Kül Tigin and Bilge Kagan monuments, which are the khanate monuments. It is estimated that the Kül Tigin inscription was erected in 732, Bilge Kagan was erected in 735, Tonyukuk was erected between 716-734. Inscriptions are called as Orkhun because it is located around the Koça-Çaydam lake in Central Mongolia, near the Orkhon river.

Kül Tigin inscription

In this inscription erected by Bilge Kagan, the elder brother of Kul Tigin, II. The struggles of the heroes who founded the Eastern Turkic Khaganate and their sons to protect their lives and countries are mentioned.

Bilge Kagan inscription

It is an inscription that is estimated to have been erected by Bilge Kagan's son, Tengri Kagan, on September 24, 735, upon the death of his father on November 25, 734. He explained the services of Bilge Kagan and stated that he was a Khan for a nation that was scattered and fragmented, and that he resurrected and fed the dying nation with the grace of God.

Tonyukuk inscription

In the inscription erected by the great statesman of the Second Eastern Turkic Khaganate, Vizier Tonyukuk, the historical events of this period, the troubles for independence, the struggles and the successes of Tonyukuk are explained. Bilge Tonyukuk states that he was enthroned by İlteriş and Kapgan khan, and that the state became the state, the nation a nation with them.

Yenisei inscriptions

The written monuments concentrated along coast of the river Yenisei are named "Yenisei inscriptions". Nevertheless, Yenisei inscriptions are short inscriptions that belong the Turkic world, old Turk states, namely times of "the Kirghiz state" on historical aspect, and which are not of historical importance, but consist of simple sentences that are important in terms of language.

Script and transliteration differences between Elegest and Orkhon (Kül Tigin, Bilge Kagan and Tonyukuk) inscriptions

	Göktürk (Orkhon)	Yenisei (Elegest)
I; me	𐰋𐰤 (ben)‎‎‎, 𐰢𐰤 (men)	𐰌𐰥 (ben)‎‎
not	𐰖𐰸 (yok)	𐰖𐰆𐰹 (yook)
blue	𐰚𐰇𐰚 (kök)	𐰚𐰇𐰝 (köök)

First Oghuric inscriptions

Oghur languages are precious for Proto-Turkic. Because if they had not migrated to the west and formed a new group, it would not have been possible to go back this far in this language today. That's why inscriptions from the Oghur group are important, even if they appeared much later than those of the Shaz group.

Volga Bulgar inscriptions

Volga Bulgarian texts consist of tombstones that contain many Arabic words. It was written for the same purpose as the Yenisei inscriptions, but the difference is that the Volga Bulgar inscriptions are written from the mouth of the person who wrote it, not the mouth of the deceased. At the same time, the Volga Bulgarian inscriptions give the exact date of the death of the deceased according to the Hijri calendar.

Volga Bulgarian texts dazzle with their proximity to Proto-Turkic. But unfortunately, today's Chuvash language has changed this language a lot. Since the Volga Bulgarian inscriptions are tombstones that give full dates, most of the numbers can be reached. Let's look at the numbers and examine how far Chuvash has moved away from the Volga Bulgar language.

It should be noted that some Volga Bulgarian texts were written in Shaz Turkic and in all respects they show the characteristics of Shaz Turkic. Presumably, these texts do not belong to the Volga Bulgars, but to the Kipchaks who lived around the Volga river at that time. Although these texts are included in the Volga Bulgarian texts, they cannot be included in the language.

In one of the Volga Bulgarian texts, the prayer part was written in Shaz Turkic, the cause of death and the date part were written in Volga Bulgarian Turkic. The text of the prayer is exactly the same as the prayer in the Kipchak Volga Bulgar inscriptions and it is definitely a quote. This monument can be considered written in Bulgar language only in the part of the cause of death and date.

Alphabet

Hi! Welcome to the Proto-Turkic alphabet.

Alphabet

Since Proto-Turkic is a configuration language like other proto-languages, it is expressed with Latin letters.

Uppercase	Lowercase	Pronunciation
		IPA value	Closest approximation
A	a	/ä/	cacao
Ā	ā	/äː/	Same as above but longer
Ạ	ạ	/ə/	bird
Ạ̄	ạ̄	/əː/	Same as above but longer
Ӑ	ӑ	(unclear)
B	b	/b/	bird
Č	č	/tʃ/	check
D	d	/d/	dark
E	e	/ɛ/	met
Ē	ē	/ɛː/	Same as above but longer
Ẹ	ẹ	/e/	Australian bed
Ẹ̄	ẹ̄	/eː/	Same as above but longer
Ӗ	ӗ	(unclear)
G	g	/ɡ/	guard
H	h	/h/	heart
I	i	/i/	Same as below but shorter
Ī	ī	/iː/	see
Ï	ï	/ɨ/	roses
Ï̄	ï̄	/ɨː/	Same as above but longer
K	k
L	l
Ĺ	ĺ
M	m
N	n
Ń	ń
Ŋ	ŋ
O	o
Ō	ō
Ö	ö
Ȫ	ȫ
P	p
R	r
Ŕ	ŕ
S	s
T	t
U	u
Ū	ū
Ü	ü
Ǖ	ǖ
Y	y

Unlike today's Turkic languages, there are no /z/ and /š/ sounds in Proto-Turkic. Instead, there are palatalized sounds /ŕ/ and /ĺ/ whose later became /z/ and /š/ in Common Turkic, but /r/ and /l/ instead in Oghur languages. The letters ⟨J j⟩, however, are usually used over ⟨Y y⟩.

Diacritics

Carons

Carons on the letter ⟨č⟩ is pronounced /tʃ/ as in charge.

Macrons

Vowel letters with lines on them give the same sound as letters without, but are pronounced long.

Dots

Dots below on the letters ⟨ạ⟩ and ⟨ẹ⟩ represents a schwa /ə/ and a closed /e/, respectively.

Breves

The usage of breves on the letters ⟨ă⟩ and ⟨ĕ⟩ is unclear.

Next Lesson: Phonology

Phonology

Welcome to the Proto-Turkic pronunciation. More general explanation about pronunciations can be found at the previous lesson.

Consonants

		Bilabial	Dental or alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Glottal
Plosives and affricate	Unvoiced	*p	*t	*⟨č⟩ t͡ʃ	*k
	Voiced	*b	*d		*g
Fricatives			*s			*h
Nasals		*m	*n	*⟨ń⟩ nʲ	*ŋ
Liquids	Lateral(s)		*l	*⟨ĺ⟩ lʲ
	Rhotic(s)		*r	*⟨ŕ⟩ rʲ
Semivowel				*⟨y⟩ *j

There are no */ʃ/ and */z/ phonemes in Proto-Turkic, instead, the phonemes are developed from *ĺ and *ŕ. The original phoneme *ń survives nowhere in modern Turkic languages, but for historical reasons (e.g. *ańaŕ are derived from a lost root *ań-, c.f. *ań-gɨr- > Kazakh аңызақ) it is reconstructed. In intervocalic and word-final positions, /b/, /d/, and /ɡ/ was pronounced as allophones /β/, /ð/, and /ɣ/, respectively. Such allophones can be known from the descendants, like Turkish dağ ← *tag "mountain", deve ← *tebe "camel", and ayak ← *adak "foot". Additionally, /k/ are also pronounced as /q/ when adjacent to back vowels.

Vowels

	front		back
	unrounded	rounded	unrounded	rounded
high	*i	*⟨ü⟩ *y	*⟨ï⟩ *ɨ	*u
mid	*⟨ẹ⟩ *e	*⟨ö⟩ *ø~œ	*⟨ạ⟩ *ə	*o
low	*⟨e⟩ *ɛ		*⟨a⟩ *ä

All vowels contrast short and long vowels. Long vowels are indicated by macrons at top of vowels, so the long vowels include ⟨ā⟩, ⟨ạ̄⟩, ⟨ē⟩, ⟨ẹ̄⟩, ⟨ī⟩, ⟨ï̄⟩, ⟨ö⟩, ⟨ȫ⟩, ⟨ü⟩, and ⟨ǖ⟩ orthographically. Also, some words are contrasted by vowel length, for example *at "horse" vs. *āt "name". Only a number of Turkic languages that use inherited vowel length, for example Turkmen, Khalaj, or Yakut; note that Kyrgyz vowel lengths are formed through compensatory lengthening processes.

Stress

Proto-Turkic words are prototypically stressed in the last syllable (adak "foot", tabïĺgan "rabbit"), like almost all today's Turkic languages. However, the negator suffix -ma/-me (placed between the stem and the tense ending), including its irregular formation in the present tense -maŕ, -meŕ are always unstressed (kẹlmedi "(he) not came", not kẹlmedi); although in Turkish even in Old Turkic the suffix -mez (< -meŕ) is always stressed, while in Chuvash makes these negative suffixes became uniformly stressed. These suffixes will explained in the lessons 3: Basics (for -meŕ) and 8: Verbals (for -me).

In a verb clause sentence, the main stress is always on the item before the predicate. If the predicate is at the beginning, the stress is on the predicate. Depending on this, the location of the items can of course change. E.g; The difference between Bẹ ebke tǖn kẹltim and Ebke tǖn bẹ kẹltim ("I came home at night.") is that the main stress is on tǖn in the first one and bẹ in the second, as in Ural-Altaic languages. (Underlined items are predicates.)

The main stress in the noun clause is always in the predicate. E.g; Bẹ ebe (turur) ("I am good."). However, if it is expressed together with the verb turur, it becomes a verb clause and since turur can only come after the predicate in noun clauses, the stress will automatically be in the same item. E.g; ebe (turur) bẹ or ebe turur bẹ. (never ebe bẹ turur. If you make that sentence, it will mean ebe bẹ turur "good is me")

There is no special stress in monosyllabic words except adverbs.

Notes

Phonemes that cannot start a word

Such phonemes include d-, g-, l-, ĺ-, m-, ŋ-, r-, and ŕ-. In Proto-Turkic language, there is no letter g at the beginning of the word. But sometimes some Altaic defenders have a g at the beginning of the word in Proto-Turkic, since there is a g at the beginning of the word in Proto-Mongolic. These configurations are wrong. The g per word is just an Oghuz variation.

Whether there is a d at the beginning of the word is another matter of debate. Sometimes in some words we accept d at the beginning of the word and the number *dȫrt is one of them. But this is a very rare configuration.

o (ö, ō, ȫ) at the second syllable

Except for the first syllable, there is no letter o in any syllable. The *dạmor configuration is an incorrect configuration. Its correct configuration is *tạmur.

Next Lesson: Pronouns and numbers

Pronouns and numbers

Welcome to your first Proto-Turkic lesson!

Pronouns

• I - *bẹ /be/, *ben- /bɛn-/
• we - *biŕ /birʲ/
• you (singular) - *sẹ /se/, *sen- /sɛn-/
• you (plural) - *siŕ /sirʲ/
• he/she/it - *ol /ol/, *an- /än-/
• they - *olar /olär/ (unclear)

Whether the Chuvash эпӗ derives from *ben or *bẹ is a matter of debate. However, the word п becomes м when it is suffixed in Chuvash and this phonetic change is not seen in эпӗ (epĕ), indicating that it is more likely to derive from *bẹ. The pronoun *olar is unclear since it was derived from *ol with a plural ending, Common Turkic has the reflexes of it, but Chuvash has вӗсем (vĕsem) instead (many plural endings of Proto-Turkic are disputed, see also the Plurality section of the third lesson).

The fact that the word has not experienced m-n affinity in Tonyukuk inscription, Old Anatolian Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, and Turkish is proof that this is a sound development that developed later. Therefore, the letter b does not turn into m when we add a suffix starting with n to the pronoun that starts with b. Also, pronouns ending in a vowel always take the n consonant when adding suffixes.

• my - *bẹ- > *beniŋ /beniŋ/
• our - *biŕ- > *biŕniŋ /birʲniŋ/
• your - *sẹ- > *seniŋ /seniŋ/
• your (plural) - *siŕ- > *siŕniŋ /sirʲniŋ/
• him/her/its - *an- > *anïŋ /änɨŋ/
• their - *olar- > *olarnïŋ /olärnɨŋ/ (unclear)

And unlike many other languages, there is no grammatical gender in Proto-Turkic. So there is no distinction between he, she and it. There's only ol. And unlike modern Turkic languages, there are no words like "am/is/are".

Numbers

Numbers in Proto-Turkic are in decimal basis, so the components for tens are often less clear, like suppletion between *ẹki "two" and *yẹgirmi "twenty", or adding suffixes which unclear in meaning like *altï "six" and *altmïĺ "sixty". To make teens, simply add numbers after tens (*ōn bīr "eleven", *ōn ẹki "twelve", *ōn üč "thirteen", ...).

• one - *bīr /biːr/
• two - *ẹki /eki/
• three - *üč /ytʃ/
• four - *dȫrt /døːrt~dœːrt/
• five - *bēĺ(k) /bɛːlʲ(k)/
• six - *altï /ältɨ/
• seven - *yẹti /jeti/
• eight - *sẹkiŕ /sekirʲ/
• nine - *tokuŕ /tokurʲ/
• ten - *ōn /oːn/
• twenty - *yẹgirmi
• thirty - *otuŕ
• forty - *kïrk
• fifty - *ellig
• sixty - *altmïĺ
• seventy - *yẹtmiĺ
• eighty - *sẹkiŕ ōn
• ninety - *tokuŕ ōn
• hundred - *yǖŕ
• thousand - *bïŋ

In Proto-Turkic we provide questions with *ka- and *nē-. In this case, the words *kanča and *nēnče are used to ask how much something is.

A: How much barley is there? - Kanča/nēnče arpa bār?

References

Next Lesson: Basics

Basics

Welcome to the second lesson of Proto-Turkic!

Basics

Clauses

Verb clauses

Verb clauses are formed by adding a tense to the end of the verb. Let's consider the aorist suffix *-ur, *-ür and its opposite *-maŕ, *meŕ.

• I love horses. - Bẹ ătïŕïg sebür.
• My mother doesn't love him. - Anam anï sebmeŕ.

However, in some Turkic languages like Turkish, Tatar, or even Old Turkic, this suffix was combined with another suffix *-aŕ or *-eŕ to form unpredictable choice of aorist form.

Noun clauses

There are no noun clauses in Proto-Turkic. The verb to stand or to be (auxiliary) takes the suffix *-ur, *-ür in the present tense, and noun phrases are provided in this way. If the sentence is positive, it may not take any verb or suffix.

• Hen is a bird - Tiakïgu kuĺ (turur/erür).
• Butter is not a fruit - Yāg yẹ̄miĺč turmaŕ/ermeŕ.

Family members

• mother - *ana
• father - *ata
• girl, daughter - *kï̄ŕ
• boy - *ēr
• son - *ogul
• elder sister - *eke
• elder brother - *ĕčey
• younger sister - *siŋil
• younger brother - *ini (unclear, perhaps Proto-Common-Turkic)
• bride - *kẹlin
• son-in-law - *küdegü
• a man's wife's younger sister - *bāldïŕ
• husbands of sisters - *bāčanak

The reason why *ini is not clear is that it is not found in the Oghur group. Sometimes some words are reconstructed for (Pre-)Proto-Turkic even though they are not found in Lir Turkic. These configurations include Proto-Common-Turkic, non-Lir legacy configurations are not (Pre-)Proto-Turkic.

Next Lesson: Locative-ablative case and plurality

Locative-ablative case and plurality

Welcome to the third lesson of Proto-Turkic!

Locative-ablative case

In Proto-Turkic, two different forms of the same suffix are used for locative and ablative: *-de for locative and *-den for ablative. Or just *-de can be used for both cases.

• There is no work at home. - Ebde īĺč yōk.
• I came from home. - Bẹ ebde(n) kẹlti.

Since the personal pronoun is added to the end of the tense in today's Turkic languages, it is not obligatory to use the personal pronoun. But in Proto-Turkic it is a must to use the personal pronoun to indicate who is doing the action. Because in the Proto language there is no suffix denoting the subject. But in the past tense seen, it may be the privilege of this situation. Because in Old Turkic there is am/is/are only for past tense and it matches with Chuvash.

Places in Proto-Turkic

• house - *eb
• fireplace, tent - *ōtag
• hut, hovel - *koĺ
• sea - *teŋiŕ
• lake - *kȫl
• mountain - *tāg
• hill - *tepü
• forest - *orman
• swamp - *batgak
• seashore - *kïdïg

Plurality

Indisputable suffixes

*-ŕ, *-iŕ, *-ïŕ, *-üŕ, *-uŕ

Plurality in Proto-Turkic is an imprecise issue. The suffixes used to indicate the plural in the Lir and Shaz group are different from each other. However, there is an attachment that is specific for paired objects. It is used very rarely and although it exists today, its uses are limited.

• we - *biŕ
• you (plural) - *siŕ
• twins - *ẹkiŕ
• triplets - *üčüŕ
• tribes - *okuŕ (origin of Oghur and Oghuz)

Disputable suffixes

*-lar, *-ler

The plural suffix in modern Turkic languages ​​can be configured as *-lar, *-ler for Proto-Common-Turkic, but its presence in Proto-Turkic is not clear. The suggested forms for Proto-Turkic differ from Proto-Common-Turkic. Even although, Róna-Tas, András (1998) in his chapter The reconstruction of Proto-Turkic and the genetic question said that these suffixes exist in Proto-Turkic with the Chuvash plural suffix -сем (-sem) being a late replacement.

The suffix -lar in today's Turkic languages may have been placed in Proto-Mongolic as -nar from Common-Turkic. The time between Proto-Turkic and Proto-Mongolic is quite long. While Proto-Turkic dates back to 500 BCE, Proto-Mongolic can go as far as 1000 AD. Therefore, not every word in Proto-Mongolic has to be in Proto-Turkic. While the Mongolic languages lived their Proto times, the Turkic languages were already divided into groups.

*-t, *-ït, *-it, *-ut, *-üt

Another suffix whose existence is controversial in Proto-Turkic is *-t. Although some linguists claim to have passed from Mongolic, it is found in old Turkic a lot. It is related to *-/d/ in Proto-Mongolic and *-/ta/, *-/te/ in Proto-Tungusic. If it did not pass through Mongolic, its presence in the Tungusic can be shown as evidence of its existence in Proto-Turkic.

•   sons - *ogulut

*-n, *-an, *-en

Another plural suffix is now dead, except for the stereotyped words. But more examples are needed to prove it.

• sons - *ogulan
• flames - *örten
• people, nation - *bodun
• Kurykans - *kurïkan (uncertain)
• cities, places - *orun (uncertain)

Next lesson: Past tenses and vowel harmony

Past tenses and vowel harmony

Welcome to the fourth lesson of Proto-Turkic!

Past tenses

There are two forms of past tense in Proto-Turkic:

1. Past tense seen or clear (*-di, *-dï, *-ti, *-tï)

The past tense, which we call the seen or clear past tense, is used when an event is encountered in the first degree. Even if it is clear, you cannot use this past tense in the case of history that you are not contemporary with. The certainty that is meant here is that the person is sure of what s/he sees. But this includes other sense organs. If you heard the sound of rain and you are sure that it is rain, you can use this past tense, but if you learned from the television news that it is raining, you cannot use this past tense even if you are sure of it. Another example; If you did not feel the earthquake, you cannot use this past tense. This past tense is actually the first-order witnessing past. The reason why I call it so is that it is also refer to as the past tense seen in Turkish.

• It rained – Yagmur yagdï.
• S/he sit – Olturtï

Contrast in Proto-Turkic

Contrary to modern usages, as in Old Turkic and Volga Bulgar language, the consonants l, r and n are followed by the strong consonant form (-t-); any other sounds are followed by the soft consonant form (-d-).

• flew - *učdï
• walked - *yüridi
• gave - *bērti

Exceptions

If something has become an indisputable truth, this supplement can be used even if it is not witnessed. For example, it is not wrong to use the past tense suffix when saying Edison invented the light bulb. But it is not wrong to use the other past tense in the same way either.

2. Past tense heard or unclear (*-miĺ, *-mïĺ)

The past tense heard is a past tense that we use when we witness any event at a second or higher degree. What is meant by hearing is a partially obligatory term since no one was a first-degree witness in the event, but if you learned about an event that you did not witness first-degree by using your sight on television or your hearing on the radio, you would still use this past tense suffix. The term past tense heard is symbolic.

Its usage areas are also quite wide. This past tense is used in non-contemporary historical events. This suffix is used necessarily in literary works such as fairy tales, epics and partially in literary works such as novels and stories. You also often use this past tense suffix when gossiping with your friends. :)

• s/he knelt down - *čökmiĺ
• s/he came - *kẹlmiĺ

Past tense of past tense (*-miĺ erti, *-mïĺ erti)

These two past tense suffixes can be combined for the past tense of the past tense. This suffix is defined as *-miĺ erti with *-tur- (to stand) and *er- (to be (auxiliary)) in Proto and serves as the past of the past. The reason why it is not directly combined with the affix *-ti is that the verb cannot take the tense a second time after taking the tense once.

• First of all, he observed you for me. - İlik seni beniŋ üčün tẹrkemiĺ erti.

Present tense of the past tense (*-miĺ turur, *-mïĺ turur)

The present tense of the past tense is provided with *-tur- (to stand) and *er- (to be (auxiliary)) just like noun phrases. Because the verb that takes the tense once, again cannot take the tense a second time.

In modern Turkish, while the past tense with *-miĺ is mostly used in colloquial language, *-miĺ turur is used instead of *-miĺ in literature and history. Because values related to the past, such as the birth, achievements and death of someone, are always the same characteristics that do not change.

• Mustafa Kemal Ataturk died in 1938. - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk 1938(bïŋ tokuŕ yǖŕ otuŕ sẹkiŕ)'de ölmiĺ turur.

Past tense of the present tense (*-ür ermiĺ, *-ur ermiĺ, *-r ermiĺ, *-ür erti, *-ur erti, *-r erti)

The past tense of the present tense can be compared with the English used to tense. Usage distinctions are also distinguished by first-order and two- or more-degree testimony.

• She used to come every day. - Ol bārča kün kẹlür erti.

• My mother used to go to my father's grave every day. - Anam bārča kün atamnïŋ yẹbegine barur ermiĺ.

Past tenses in noun clauses

Non verbs cannot directly take past tenses. The verb Proto-Turkic *er- (to be (auxiliary)) takes the past tense suffix and with it the meaning of the past tense is provided.

A: It was a house. - Eb erti.

B: No, brother/old man told (me). It was a hut. - Yōk, ĕčey tēdi. Koĺ ermiĺ.

Usages

	Khalaj - خلج	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى
Original	Tulki téplikke kirmez-erti, bipte [bi buta] sipirge vāmış-artı.	𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰀: 𐱃𐰆𐰪𐰸𐰸: 𐰋𐰤: 𐰇𐰕𐰢: 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲: 𐰃𐰠𐰭𐰀: 𐰶𐰠𐰦𐰢: 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣: 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲𐰴𐰀: 𐰝𐰇𐰼𐰼: 𐰼𐱅𐰃: 𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰚: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣: 𐰴𐰣𐰃𐰤: 𐰉𐰆𐰞𐰢𐰘𐰤: 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲𐰑𐰀: 𐰑𐰺𐰡𐰃: 𐰴𐰣𐰞𐰦𐰃: 𐰴𐰣𐰃𐰤: 𐰸𐰆𐰑𐰯: 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲𐰴𐰀: 𐰖𐰣𐰀: 𐰃𐰲𐰚𐰓𐰃:	احٰكم ﷲالعلي ال كبير اليَاڛ اولِ اِسمَاعِيل اَولِ مُحَمَد بلوُي ک رَحمَﺔُ الَلهِ عَلِيهِ رَحمَﺔﹶ وَاسِٕعَه تَارِيخَ حىَات جُور حىَات حال دوالعَد اَيخِ اِشنَ اَجِ حرِمسَن شِونَ بَرسَ وَلتِ
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Bilge: Tonyukuk: ben: özüm: Tabgaç: iline: kılındım: Türk: bodun: tabgaçka: körür: erti: Türk: bodun: kanın: bulmayın: tabgaçda: adrıldı: kanlandı: kanın: kodup: tabgaçka: yana: içikdi:	Al-ḥukmu li-l-ilāhi-l-'aliyyi-l-kabīri Elyās awli Ismā'il awli Muḥamad belüwi kü raxmatu-l-lāhi 'alayhi rahmatan wāsi'atan tāriḫ-a čiyēti čǖr alṭïšï čāl ḏul-qa'da ayḥï išne eči. Čerimsen šïwna barsa velti.
English translation	The fox would not enter the hole, s/he had tied a broom to her/his tail.	I'm Bilge Tonyukuk. I was made (born) in the Chinese state. Turk tribes were dependent on China. Before the Turk tribes could find a khan, they left China, found a khan, (but) left the khan and returned to China again.	The judgment belongs to God the Most High, the Great Elyās' son Ismā'il's son Muḥamad's (sepulchral) monument is this. The mercy of God, be upon him with mercy abundant. According to history, it was seven hundred sixth year in the ḏul-qa'da month. He died having gone to the Čerimsen water.

Personal inflection in past tense seen

In the Proto-Turkic language, the personal inflections only exists in certain tenses, including the past tense seen. It is an inflection for person and numbers, so instead of using **bẹ erti for synthetic tenses, Proto-Turkic has (bẹ) ertim "I was" (pronouns were optional!). We will explain these endings in Lesson 8: Verbals.

Personal inflection in past tense
	Singular	Plural
First Person	*ertim	*ertimiŕ
Second Person	*ertiŋ	*ertiŋiŕ
Third Person	*erti	(unclear)

It differs in the first person plural in most modern Turkic languages such as Oghuz, Kipchak, Karluk branches. It uses the component *-k instead (*ertik).

Usages

	Kazakh - Қазақша	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Біз бүгін қатты шаршадық.	𐰲𐰃𐰢: 𐰴𐰍𐰣: 𐰋𐰃𐰼𐰠𐰀: 𐰃𐰠𐰏𐰼𐰇: 𐰖𐱁𐰞: 𐰇𐰏𐰕: 𐱁𐰦𐰆𐰭: 𐰖𐰕𐰃𐰴𐰀: 𐱅𐰏𐰃: 𐰾𐰇𐰠𐰓𐰢𐰕:	Юлашкинчен вара шутсӑр нумай кӗлӗ тунӑ тата вӑй хунӑ хыҫҫӑн чылайтанпа кӗтнӗ кун ҫитрӗ — эпир христианла шыва кӗме пултартӑмӑр. (Колоссӑ 1:9, 10 вуласа пар.)
Transcription	Biz bügin qatty şarşadyq.	eçim: kagan: birle: ilgerü: yaşıl: ögüz: şantuŋ: yazıka: tegi: süledimiz:	Yulaşkinçen vara şutsӑr numay kӗlӗ tunӑ tata vӑy xunӑ xıççӑn çılaytanpa kӗtnӗ kun çitrӗ — epir xristianla şıva kӗme pultartӑmӑr. (Kolossӑ 1:9, 10 vulasa par.)
English translation	We are very tired today.	We drove the soldiers east to the Green Ögüz Shantung plain with my uncle Kagan.	Finally, after prayerfully asking Jehovah for help and striving to make changes, that memorable day came and we were baptized (read Colossians 1:9, 10).

Vowel Harmony

Vowel harmony is an important feature in Proto-Turkic. Most Turkic languages, except Uzbek, preserved the feature. That is, words with final back vowels are always suffixed with back vowel variants, never front variants, and vice versa. Unlike Korean, Finnish, Hungarian, and Mongolian, there is no neutral vowels in Proto-Turkic. It specifically means that:

• Words with the last vowel in a, ạ, ï, o, and u always take suffixes with back vowel variant.
• Words with the last vowel in e, ẹ, i, ö, and ü always take suffixes with front vowel variant.
• If the suffix has rounded variants, words with the last vowel in o and u always take back unrounded variant, while ö and ü always take back unrounded variant.

Many suffixes has two variants, back or front variants. The Proto-Turkic suffixes are usually has final low vowels (-A-) or (both rounded and unrounded) high vowels (-X-), but also sometimes rounded high vowels alone (-U-), as in the case of the suffix *-ur, and sometimes unrounded high vowel vowels alone (-I-).

Vowel table (long vowels are not included)
			Front vowels		Back vowels
			Unrounded	Rounded	Unrounded	Rounded
Last vowels			e, ẹ, i	ö, ü	a, ạ, ï	o, u
Twofold suffixes	Low vowel (-A-)		-e-		-a-
	High vowel	(-U-)	-ü-		-u-
		(-I-)	-i-		-ï-
Fourfold suffixes (-X-)			-i-	-ü-	-ï-	-u-

Sample noun inflection
Nominative	Accusative		Locative
	Always:	Never:	Always:	Never:
"noun"	"the noun" (definite object)		"at, in, the noun"
*adak "foot"	*adaknï	**adakni	*adakda	**adakde
*eb "house"	*ebni	**ebnï	*ebte	**ebta
*kȫl "lake"	*kȫlni	**kȫlnu, **kȫlnü	*kȫlte	**kȫlta
*yōl "road"	*yōlnï	**yōlnü, **yōlnu	*yōlta	**yōlte

Sample verb inflection
Imperative	Present tense	Past tense
"verb!"	"verbing"	"verbed"
*ạl "take!"	*ạlur	*ạltï
*kẹl "come!"	*kẹlür	*kẹlti
*bōl "be!"	*bōlur	*bōltu
*öl "die!"	*ölür	*öltü

In the next lessons, you will see -A-, -I-, -U- and -X- for the suffixes' names instead.

Further discussion for the accusative case can be found at Lesson six: Genitive, accusative and dative cases.

Next lesson:  Vocabulary

Vocabulary

Welcome to fifth lesson in Proto-Turkic, wikibooks!

Vocabulary

The fact that the Lir group still has a living language keeps its vocabulary wide for Proto-Turkic. Although there are different configurations, they are close to each other. This takes us to a language very close to Xiongnu Turkic.

However, it is necessary not to rely on the Common Turkic and Altaic configurations made unconsciously. In this way, you can prevent information pollution.

The four elements in Proto-Turkic

• water - *sub
• earth - *toprak
• fire - *ōt
• wind - *yẹl

The words are short for the peoples who lead a nomadic life in the steppes of East Asia. Due to this lifestyle and various factors, people have formed words with one or two syllable roots. Long words are only provided with suffixes. Food and animal names are also made up of short words.

Foods in Proto-Turkic

• wheat - *bodagay
• barley - *arpa
• millet - *tạrïg
• egg - *yumurtka
• salt - *tūŕ
• onion - *sogan
• hen - *tiakïgu
• meat - *et
• milk - *sǖt
• honey - *bạl
• butter - *yāg
• cherry - *yidge (complicated)
• strawberry - *yidgelek (complicated)
• bird cherry - *yïmurt
• fruit, vegetable - *yẹ̄miĺč

In today's Turkic languages, an old Common-Turkic word *čiye and Proto-Turkic *yidgelek are blended. Therefore, there is confusion in inheritances.

Animals in Proto-Turkic

• horse - *ăt
• foal - *kulum
• cow - *ingek
• calf - *buŕagu
• dog - *it
• wolf - *bȫrü
• fox - *tilkü
• ox - *öküŕ
• bull - *buka
• worm - *kūrt
• bird - *kuĺ
• small bird - *torgay
• hawk, falcon - *kïrguy
• aquila fulva, eagle - *bürküt
• fish - *bālïk
• sheatfish - *yāyïn
• carp - *sāŕgan
• lion - *arsïlan
• snake - *yï̄lan
• mosquito - *siŋek
• wasp, bee - *ārï
• beetle - *koŋuŕ
• insect - *bȫg
• elk - *bulan
• he-goat - *teke
• sheep - *sarïk
• donkey - *eĺgek (/eĺčgek)

...

Animals have a very wide range in this language. It's not strange at all, considering the years it was spoken.

Next lesson:  Genitive, accusative and dative cases

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Genitive, accusative and dative cases

Welcome to sixth lesson of Proto-Turkic!

Genitive and Possessive cases

Genitive case (*-nIŋ)

We have already mentioned the genitive case in lesson one. The suffix *-nIŋ gives us the genitive case.

Possessive case

The important thing here is how you will provide the possessive case. Because there are six different forms according to the pronoun. It takes *-Xm for first person singular, *-Xŋ for second person singular, *-XmXŕ for first person plural, *-XŋXŕ for second person plural, the forms *-sI and *-I for both third person singular and third person plural. Unlike Turkish or Azerbaijani, there is no separate third person plural possessive suffix.

First person singular (*-Xm, *-m)

• My father - Beniŋ atam
• My dog - Beniŋ itim
• My horse - Beniŋ atïm
• My arrow - Beniŋ okum
• My ox - Beniŋ öküŕüm

If you are confused about vowel harmony, please go back to the previous fourth lesson.

Second person singular (*-Xŋ, *-ŋ)

• Your father - Seniŋ ataŋ
• Your dog - Seniŋ itiŋ
• Your horse - Seniŋ atïŋ
• Your arrow - Seniŋ okuŋ
• Your ox - Seniŋ öküŕüŋ

First person plural (*-XmXŕ, *-mXŕ)

• Our father - Biŕniŋ atamïŕ
• Our dog - Biŕniŋ itimiŕ
• Our horse - Biŕniŋ atïmïŕ
• Our arrow - Biŕniŋ okumuŕ
• Our ox - Biŕniŋ öküŕümüŕ

Second person plural (*-XŋXŕ, *-ŋXŕ)

• Your father - Siŕniŋ ataŋïŕ
• Your dog - Siŕniŋ itiŋiŕ
• Your horse - Siŕniŋ atïŋïŕ
• Your arrow - Siŕniŋ okuŋuŕ
• Your ox - Siŕniŋ öküŕüŋüŕ

Third person singular and plural (*-sI, *-I)

It takes the suffix *-sI after the vowel and *-I after the consonant. Twofold suffix is only available in third person possessive. In Oghur, however, final vowels are deleted before adding the suffix -ï, as opposed to the rest of Turkic (ana → ana-ï → anï, ebniŋ anï).

• Ebniŋ anasï - mother of the house
• Dabulnuŋ adakï - the end of the storm
• Eligniŋ ạbučï - palm of hand
• Ẹk(k)iŕniŋ ētüki - boot(s) of twins

It is not necessary to have the genitive suffix in the third person. (e.g; eb anasï - mother of the house, dabul adakï - the end of the storm). If exists, such forms is only exist paradigmatical category.

Accusative and Dative cases

One of the complex subjects in Proto-Turkic is accusative and dative cases. Because these cases may vary if they have the possessive suffix.

So let's start with accusative.

Accusative case (*-nI)

In the Oghur group, both in Volga Bulgarian and Chuvash, accusative and dative are provided with the same suffixes. This of course creates confusion for linguists. But the fact that both cases watch as close attachments brings us to a configuration. In early Proto-Turkic, this suffix would be *-nIg, if the last letter isn't a later mongolic appendage, in Mongolic *-nig.

• me (accusative) — bẹni
• house (accusative) — ebni

The accusative case, which comes after the third person possessive suffix in some Common-Turkic languages, is added without the i letter. But it was probably a Shaz variant. That's why we don't experience any changes when it takes a possessive suffix. In this context, accusative is not as complex as dative.

• his/her/its house — anïŋ ebini

Dative cases (-kA)

Dative case is configured as *-kA.

• to the wall - *tāmka
• to the sea - *teŋiŕke

The letter k falls after the first, second and third possessive suffixes, it only takes the -a suffix in many Turkic languages but Yenisei Kyrgyz inscriptions and also modern Kyrgyz language don't have this change, shows that it was developed later. There's nothing different.

• to my sword - bẹniŋ kïlï̄čïmka
• to your bow - Sẹniŋ yāyïŋka

Initial in Proto-Turkic

If suffixes that start with a consonant come in a word that ends with a monosyllable and a vowel, they take the n consonant unless the initial letter is n, and in this context *bẹ becomes *ben. In Shaz Turkic, *ben has become stereotyped and has taken the place of *bẹ.

• at me — *bente
• from you — *senten
• to me — *benke

Same situation also applies to words with third-person possessive suffixes.

• on the mountains of country — ēlniŋ tāgïŕïnda
• from the border of wall — tāmnïŋ kïdïgïndan
• to his/her/its house — anïŋ ebinke

It would not be correct to say that these configurations are correct, as there is only -ne form in the Lir group. But what we have can lead us to this configuration at most. The probability of it being correct is therefore quite high.

Next lesson:  Suffixes used to create new words with new meanings

Suffixes used to create new words with new meanings

Welcome to seventh lesson of Proto-Turkic.

Languages belonging to the Altaic group are agglutinative languages. New words are always born from roots.

Suffixes that make nouns (or adjectives, adverbs) from a verb

In order to define the suffixes that make nouns from the verb, we first need a root verb. Nouns (or adjectives, adverbs) formed by this method are in close meaning with the root verb.

*-Xk

Here are some examples:

*uŕa- (“to be taller, to be longer”) → *uŕak (“far; long (time), late”)

*kīči- (“to tickle”) → *kīčik (“itching, tickling”)

*tīre- (“to support”) → *tīrek (“support”)

*sogï- (“to get cold”) → *sogïk (“cold”)

*-Xn

Here are some examples:

*kẹl- (“to come”) → *kẹlin (“bride”)

*yarï- (“to shine”) → *yarïn (“morning, tomorrow”)

*oy- (“to jump”) → *oyun (“game”)

*tüt- (“to smoke, reek”) → *tütün (“tobacco, smoke”)

*-gU

*bur- (“to bend”) → *burgu (“trumpet, horn; pipe (of a plant)”)

See dead verbs for more.

*-Xĺ

*yum- → *yumuĺ (“work”) (from a dead verb, perhaps from *yum- (“to round”))

The same suffix also has a different function. But that is the subject of Suffixes that make verbs from a verb.

*-Ug

*kam- (“to gather”) → *kamug (“all, together”)

*agrï- (“to ache, hurt”) → *agrïg (“ache, pain”)

*köpür- (“dead verb”) → *köpürüg (“bridge”)

*-gAk

*bat- (“to sink; to fit into, get into”) → *batgak (“swamp, marsh”)

See dead verbs for more.

Suffixes that make nouns (or adjectives, adverbs) from a noun

Some suffixes of this type do not change the meaning, and most suffixes have meanings very close to the root.

*-Ig

Here are some examples:

*el (“hand”) → *elig (“hand”)

*siar(ï) (“yellow, white”) → *siarïg (“yellow, white”)

*-lXg

It corresponds to the -ful suffix in English.

Here are some examples:

*kǖč (“power”) → *kǖčlüg (“powerful”)

*köpür (“bridge”) → *köpürlüg (“bridge-ful, with bridges”)

*us (“mind”) → *uslug (“well-behaved, mind-ful”)

*el (“hand”) → *ellig (“fifty; with hand”)

You can give the same meaning by adding this suffix to any word you want. But of course you can't get a new number by adding it to numbers. :) This is only for the number fifty.

*-sXŕ

It corresponds to the -less suffix in English.

*kǖč (“power”) → *kǖčsüŕ (“powerless”)

*köpürüg (“bridge”) → *köpürügsüŕ (“bridgeless, without bridges”)

*us (“mind”) → *ussuŕ (“mindless, without mind”)

You can give the same meaning by adding this suffix to any word you want.

*-lXk

It corresponds to the -ness suffix in English.

*kǖčlüg (“powerful”) → *kǖčlüglük (“powerfulness”)

*bẹ (“I, me”) → *benlik (“me-ness, my pair of shoes”)

*kara (“black, dark”) → *kara(n)lïk (“darkness”)

*it (“dog”) → *itlik (“dogness, dog's pair of shoes”)

*yubka (“thin, slender, unsubstantial”) → *yubkalïk (“thin-ness, slender-ness”)

You can give the same meaning by adding this suffix to any word you want.

*-čI

This suffix is identical to the English suffix -er.

• *sǖt (“milk”) → *sǖtči (“milkman”)

• *īĺč (“work”) → *īĺčči (“worker”)
• *oyun (“game”) → *oyunčï (“gamer”)

• *sub (“water”) → *subčï (“water seller”)

*-XnčI

Creates ordinal numbers from cardinal numbers.

The structure of this suffix may have been provided by the fact that the word takes the previous *-čI suffix after taking the instrumental.

*bīr (“one”) → *bīrinči (“first”)

*üč (“three”) → *üčünči (“third”)

*altï (“six”) → *altïnčï (“sixth”)

It just makes the noun an adjective. For example, it cannot be used as "**bīrinči kẹltim (I came first)". It should be used as follows: "*bīrinči bōlsa kẹltim (I came as being first)". Or there is the word *il(i)k, which you can use in the same sense, although it does not mean exactly the same on its own. (e.g: *il(i)k keltim, I came before).

Suffixes that make verbs from a verb

Such suffixes can answer questions such as who is performing the action, whether it is one person or more than one person, without a second additional sentence. They don't change the meaning of the verb, they just add.

Reciprocal (*-Xĺč-)

This appendix indicates that the action was performed by more than one person. The same sentence can be made without this suffix, but this suffix saves extra words. You can get this meaning by adding this suffix to any verb you want.

It is also sometimes used to mean doing something by oneself in some Turkic languages such as Turkish.

*kör- (“to see”) → *körüĺč- (“to see each other; to meet”)

*bạk- (“to look”) → *bạkïĺč- (“to look each other”)

*ur- (“to beat, hit”) → *uruĺč- (“to beat each other; to fight”)

*seb- (“to love”) → *sebiĺč- (“to love each other”)

Examples

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Kazakh - Қазақша	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Beni onla karıştırma.	Содан бері біз көріспедік.	Эпир ку тӑван ҫӗршыва ҫапӑҫса ҫӗнтертӗмӗр.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Sodan beri biz körispedik.	Epir ku tăvan şĕršıva şapăşsa şĕntertĕmĕr.
Translation	Don't confuse me with him.	We haven't met since then.	We won this war fighting.

Passiveness and Activeness (*-Xn-, *-n-, *-Xl-, -l-)

1. Indicates that a job is done by itself
2. Creates the passive state

First of all, this can be a bit difficult for non-native speakers to understand. Because the use of these suffixes varies according to the consonant in the last letter.

If the consonant in the last letter is t or n, it always takes the suffix *-Xl. If the consonant in the last letter is l, it always takes the suffix *-Xn. However, other consonants may vary from Turkic languages to Turkic languages and are irregular in some Turkic languages. It has been observed that in Turkish, vowel endings always have -n suffix and no -l suffix. On the contrary, the Kazakh word bastaw takes the suffix -l and the new verb becomes bastalw. Since there is no -l suffix in Turkish, başlamak became başlanmak.

In general, *-In is used more like in the first item, and *-Il more like in the second item. In some verbs, a suffix can provide both clauses. For example, since the word *kat- ends with the letter t, it cannot take the suffix *-In and necessarily provides both with *-Il.

*seb- (“to love, like”) → *sebil- (“to be loved, liked (by)”), *seb- (“to love, like”) → *sebin- (“rejoice in oneself”)

*ker- (“to stretch”) → *keril- (“to be stretched (by)”), *ker- (“to stretch”) → *kerin- (“give oneself a stretch”)

*ēn- (“to go down”) → *ēnil- (“to be gone down (by); to go down on one's own”)

*ạt- (“to throw”) → *ạtïl- (“to be thrown (by); to throw on one's own”)

*ạl- (“to take”) → *ạlïn- (“to be taken (by); to take on one's own”)

Causative and Transitivised (*-tUr-, *-t-)

This suffix provides the meaning of making someone do it or causing.

*ol- (“to become”) → *oltur- (“to make someone be, to sit”)

*kẹl- (“to come”) → *kẹltür- (“to cause something come, to bring; to make someone come”)

*öl- (“to die”) → *öltür- (“to make someone die, to kill”)

*seb- (“to love”) → *sebtür- (“to make someone love”)

If it is multiple syllables, it takes the suffix *-t.

*semir- (“to fatten”) → *semirt- (“to cause something fatten”)

*okï- (“to read”) → *okït- (“to make someone read") (Shaz)

If the last letter is t or n, it does not take the letter t even if it is multiple syllables, it takes the form *-tUr.

*ẹlit- (“to hear”) → *ẹlittür- (“to make something heard by someone; to cause someone hear”)

*sebin- (“to love oneself”) → *sebintür- (“to make someone love oneself”)

The word can take from these suffixes twice.

*kẹltür- (“to cause something come, to bring”) → *kẹltürt- (“to make someone cause something come, to make someone bring”)

*öltür- (“to make someone die, to kill”) → *öltürt- (“to cause someone make someone die, to cause someone kill”)

Let's explain with a few examples since it seems confusing.

S/he died. - Ol öltü.

S/he killed him. - Ol anï öltürtü.

S/he had her killed by him. - Ol anï anka öltürtdü.

Negation (*-mA-)

By adding this suffix to the verbs, the meaning of negation is provided.

• *seb- (“to love, like”) → *sebme- (“to not love, not like”)
• *bar- (“to go”) → *barma- (“to not go”)

See next lesson 8: Verbals for more information about negation suffix.

Suffixes that make verbs from a noun

*-lA-

Here are some examples:

*tïŋ (dead noun) → *tïŋla- (“to listen; to hear; to consider, meditate”)

*āŋ (“intelligence”) → *āŋla- (“to understand; to hear; to discern”)

*yï̄g (“weeping, crying”) → *yï̄gla- (“to weep, cry”) (Proto-Shaz)

*āb (“hunt”) → *ābla- (“to hunt”) (Proto-Shaz)

*-lAn-

It is provided by the previously mentioned *-lA- and *-n-. This suffix gives the meaning of to have (something). Here are some examples:

*eb (house) → *eblen- (“to have a house; to marry”)

*āb (“hunt”) → *āblan- (“to have a hunt”) (Proto-Shaz)

*-Ar-, *-r-

This suffix gives the meaning of to turn (something). It seems to be used only in colors. Here are some examples;

*kȫk (blue) → *kȫker- (“to turn blue”)

*kara (black) → *karar- (“to turn black”)

*siarïg (yellow, white) → *siarïgar- (“to turn yellow, white”)

*-gA-

Here are some examples:

*kẹr (dead noun) → *kẹrge- (“to need”)

*em (“dead noun”) → *emge- (“to suffer, be tortured”)

Sometimes this verb takes a noun suffix and becomes a noun again, but the suffix *-gAk added to verbs and *-gA- added to nouns should not be confused with each other. For example, *bat- is a verb and becomes a noun by taking the suffix *-gAk. But *kẹr is a noun, and it becomes a verb by taking the suffix *-gA-, and then it becomes a noun again by taking the suffix *-k. In Lir, same noun takes the *-lIg verb deriavtional suffix from noun.

Dead Verbs

Dead Verbs

We come across dead verbs from time to time in Proto languages. A noun has taken the noun suffix from the verb lives, but the root verb dies when it is not needed enough. Any root used in ancient inscriptions may no longer survive.

Even after splitting into branchs, new roots can be developed. For example, çekmek (to pull) used only by the Oghuz and Arghu today may be a late formation. While havlamak (to bark) in Turkish can be associated with the sound of dogs, the word ürümek (to bark) should have been used more often than havlamak. Because ürümek comes from Old Turkic ür- (to blow) and compare to Mongolic uri- (to blow). This shows that there is a new root born in Anatolia. That's how verbs don't just die, sometimes new roots can be born no matter what century you're in.

Here are some dead verbs from Proto-Turkic language:

*döle- → *dölek (“tranquil, sedate, quiet”)

*topra- (“to turn into dust, dry out”) → *toprak (“earth, soil”)

*süŋ- (“to battle, war”) → *süŋgü (“lance, spear”)

*buŕa- (“to bear a calf”) → *buŕagu (“calf”)

*küde- → *küdegü (“bridegroom, son-in-law”)

*tiakï- → *tiakïgu (“hen”)

*yum- → *yumuĺ (“work”)

*in- → *ingek (“cow”)

*eĺ-(/eĺč-) → *eĺgek (“donkey”)

*čï̄p- → *čï̄pgan (“furuncle; rash, pimple”) (see next lesson verbals for the suffix)

Next Lesson: Verbals

Verbals

Welcome to eighth lesson of Proto-Turkic!

In the previous leasons, we learned about the verb tense suffixes like *-mIĺ, *-dI, or *-Ur, but in this lesson we will learn more verb suffixes.

Verbal Nouns

*-mAk, *-mA

They exist so that we can use the verb in a noun clause.

• I want to go - Bẹ barmaknï/barmanï kǖsedi.
• Everbody wants to be loved - Bār kiĺi sebilmekni/sebilmeni kǖser.
• Staying is harder than leaving - Kiālma(k), kē(y)tme(k)den kạtï.
• Isn't it easy to get into a heart? - Köyŋilke kīrme(k) keŋes ermeŕ mi?

However, *-mA form is the same as *-mA- negation suffix, and since both are for verbs, sometimes the meaning distinction can only be made by reading the sentence or by hearing the accent (or tone). You can also use both at the same time. For example; sebmeme ("to not loving"), barmama ("to not going").

Modern usage

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Eve gitmek/gitmeyi istedim çünkü burada kötü anılarım var.	Ҫулсем хӑйсенне илеҫҫӗ, ватӑ ҫынсене, тен, утма, ҫиме тата мӗн те пулин асра тытма йывӑртарах та йывӑртарах пулса пырать.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Çulsem хӑysenne ileççӗ, vatӑ çınsene, ten, utma, çime tata mӗn te pulin aspa tıtma yıvӑrtarax ta yıvӑrtarax pulsa pırat'.
English translation	I wanted to go home because I have bad memories here.	As the years take their toll, older ones may find it increasingly difficult to walk, eat, and remember.

Verbal Adjectives

*-gAn

Indicates how through the verb.

• dog who love me - bẹni sebgen it

• falcon that snatches its hunt - ābïnï kapgan kïrguy
• the fish that eaten by - yēngen bālïk

Usage notes

Sometimes verbal adjectives turn into an adjective pronoun and become stereotyped for one thing. For example; ‎*sïč- (“to shit”) + ‎-gan → ‎*sïčgan (“(someone) who shit”) became stereotyped for rat, mouse; ‎*tabïĺ- (“to run”) + ‎-gan → ‎*tabïĺgan (“(someone) who run”) became stereotyped for hare.

In some of modern Turkic languages, this suffix changed its meaning to past tenses (indefinite value, but also sometimes used as past participles).

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Kyrgyz - Кыргызча
Original	غُلَمَاڛَمنَ سَوَان مَسجِذڛَمنَ غَمَاڔَة طَنَان آكِل خَيرَاتلُ الُوي بَڔَكاتلُ موُن سُوَاڔ يَالِ	𐰚𐰘𐰚: 𐰘𐰃𐰘𐰇: 𐱃𐰉𐰽𐰍𐰣: 𐰘𐰘𐰇: 𐰆𐰞𐰺𐰆𐰺: 𐰼𐱅𐰢𐰕: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣: 𐰉𐰆𐰍𐰕𐰃: 𐱃𐰸: 𐰼𐱅𐰃:	Сен үйгө келгенде мен сага тамак жасаган адам болбойм.
Transcription	Golemasemne sewen mesjidsemne ğemaret tanan ekilé xayratlü, elüwi bereketlü Mün Suwar yalı.	Kiyik yiyü, tabışgan yiyü olurur ertimiz. Bodun boguzı tok erti.	Sen üygö kelgende men saga tamak jasagan adam bolboym.
English translation	Who loved the scholars, who built mosques, gracious, benefactor, from the clan of Mün-Suvar.	We used to eat deer, eat rabbit and sit. The throats of the tribes were full.	I won't be the one who cook for you when you get home.

*-dUk

Synonym of *-gAn.

Usages

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Turkish - İstanbul Türkçesi
Original	اَوْڔاَن اَولِ وُڔُمْ اَلِبْ بلوُي كُ رَحمَﺔُ الَلهِ عَلِيهِ رَحمَه دُنياَڔاَن ڛَفَڔْ طَنْڔُوى تَاڔِيخَ جِياَتِ جُوڔِ طُخِڔ حَال ڔَحَبْ اَيْخِ وَنِم كُواَن اَت	𐰋𐰃𐰠𐰢𐰓𐰇𐰚𐰤: 𐰇𐰲𐰇𐰤: 𐰋𐰃𐰕𐰭𐰀: 𐰖𐰭𐰞𐰑𐰸𐰃𐰤: 𐰖𐰕𐰃𐰦𐰸𐰃𐰤: 𐰇𐰲𐰇𐰤: 𐰴𐰍𐰣𐰃: 𐰇𐰠𐱅𐰃	Gidilmedik, bakılmadık yer kalmadı ama bir adım dahi ilerleyemedik. Aramaya başladığımızda nerede isek yine aynı o yerdeyiz.
Transcription	Ävrän awlï Wurum Alïb belüwi ku. Raxmetu-l-lāhi 'alayhi raxmatan wāsiatan dünyā-ran safar tanruwi tārix-a jiyēti jüür toxïr jāl Rajab ayxï wanïm küwēn eti.	Bilmedükin üçün; biziŋe yaŋıldukın, yazındukın üçün kaganı ölti.	(The text is already written in Latin script)
English translation	This is the monument of Ävrän's son Wurum Alïb. The mercy of God, be upon him with mercy abundant, the day that he cruised from world was tenth day of Rajab month in the year seven hundred nine.	His khan died because he didn't know, because he was wrong against us, because he became alienated from us.	There is no place that we did not go, that we did not look, but we could not advance even one step. We are in the same place where we were when we started the search.

See lesson: 12 to clear up confusion in usages.

Verbal Adverbs

*-sA

1. This suffix gives the verb the meaning of "by ...ing, while ...ing".
2. Gives the meaning of "if". (preposition)

In today's Turkic languages, the meaning of the verbal adverb has lost its existence by being overshadowed by the new suffixes. But the old Shaz Turkic inscriptions, Volga Bulgar inscriptions and Chuvash language prove that this meaning belongs to Proto-Turkic. Let's base it on a few examples of these uses.

While/by ...ing

	Volga Bulgar - البلغَاڔِى	Old Turkic - 𐰚𐰜𐱅𐰇𐰼𐰜𐰲𐰀	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	جرِمسَن شِونَ بَرسَ وَلتِ	𐰋𐰃𐰼: 𐰚𐰃𐰾𐰃: 𐰖𐰍𐰞𐰽𐰺: 𐰆𐰍𐱁𐰃: 𐰉𐰆𐰑𐰣𐰃: 𐰋𐰃𐰾𐰰𐰃𐰭𐰀: 𐱅𐰏𐰃: 𐰶𐰃𐰑𐰢𐰕:𐰼𐰢𐰾	Пӗр ҫур сехетрен,— каласа парать Ронда,— центр патне машина пырса тӑчӗ те унтан виҫӗ тӑван тухрӗ.
Transcription	Çerimsen şıvına barsa velti.	Bir kişi yaŋılsar oguşı, bodunı, bişükiŋe tegi kıdmaz ermiş.	Pӗr çur sexetren,— kalasa parat' Ronda,— tsentr patne maşina pırsa tӑçӗ te untan viçӗ tӑvan tuxrӗ.
English translation	He died while going to the Çerimsen water.	A person does not kill his son, his tribe, his cradle by being mistaken. (second or more-degree past tense, it's a proverb)	Rhonda recalls(by recalling): “About half an hour later, three brothers got out while a car coming into the center."

When the meaning of 'if' is meant, a Farsi word eger can be added to the beginning in modern languages.

If (not a verbal)

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Kazakh - Қазақша	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	(Eğer) gelmeyecek( i)sen senin yerine ben gidebilirim.	(Егер) мені сүйсең, сезіміңді дәлелде.	(Эхер) кӑсӑклӑ кӗнеке курсассӑн тархасшӑн мана валли ил.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	(Eger) meni süyseñ, sezimiñdi dälilde.	(Exer) kӑsӑklӑ kӗneke kursassӑn tarxasşӑn mana valli il.
English translation	If you won't come, I can go instead of you.	If you love me, prove your feelings.	If you see an interesting book, please buy it to me.

Negation in verb clauses

*-mA-

1. Negating the verb (as in "I don't come")

Like the section above, do not to be confused with *-mA in the sense of verbal nouns. Contrary to the rule that Proto-Turkic words were stressed in the last syllable, in many of Turkic languages, *-mA- are always unstressed while as the verbal noun are always stressed (i.e. sebme, "don't love (it)", sebme, "to love"). To make negation to other tenses, place this suffix between the verb's stem and the tense ending (sebmedi "(he) don't love (it)", sebmemiĺ "(he's) seems not love (it)").

However, when negating the present tense (-Ur), it becomes *-mAŕ, with irregular palatalization on final -r → -ŕ (it is already explained on the previous lesson 2: Basics). However, some languages featured alteration between Common Turkic -z (< -ŕ) : -r, as in Turkmen gelmerin "I don't come": gelmez "he doesn't come". This alteration is because the palatalization on final -r- affected by unstressed -ĭ, the third-person singular copula suffix for verbs (see section below), in early times: sebmér-ĭ → sebméŕĭ > sebméŕ.

Copula

Unlike the English verb be, Proto-Turkic has multiple copulas, but not conjugated as one suppletive verb. Bōlma(k) is the regular verb for "to be", while erme(k) is the auxiliary verb. However, the latter verb is defective, usually only exists in positive clear and unclear past tenses (erdi, ermiĺ), conditional (erse), negative present (ermeŕ) (this tense exists in languages such as Uzbek, Uyghur, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Salar...) and the verbal adjective (ergen). However, the auxiliary one was likely fully conjugated in Old Turkic, as in the present form erür.

In addition to those verbs, we can use personal pronouns after the noun or adjective. Copulas can also left without overt marking (teŋiŕ kȫk "the sea is blue", note the absence of "is"), a rule of zero copula, which happens in many languages. Also in the third person singular, the verb form turur (< turma(k) "to stand") is also used for emphasis.

*it ben/bẹ	"I'm (a/the) dog"
*it sen/sẹ	"you're (sg.) (a/the) dog"
*it (ol), it turur	"he's (a/the) dog"
*it biŕ	"we're (a/the) dog"
*it siŕ	"you're (pl.) (a/the) dog"
*it olar (unclear)	"they're (a/the) dog"

To negate nouns or adjectives, add ermeŕ into front of them, except as we said before this form only exists in some languages.

*it ermeŕ	"he's not (a/the) dog"

The another choice is using degül plus forms of erme(k) or bōlmak (for forms unfilled by former except present tense, negative forms of both verbs were excluded, however as we said before in Old Turkic the former verb was fully conjugated). It is found in all branches except Lir. Therefore, we cannot include it in the Proto-Turkic language, but Proto-Shaz-Turkic.

*it degül	"he's not a dog"
*it degül erti	"he was not a dog"
*it degül bōlmalïg/ermeli (discussed in the next lesson)	"he should not a dog"

Verbal "copula"

Verbal copulas are inflections for number and person. It only exists in the clear past and conditional tenses, but because we have explained it in previous lessons in the case of past tense, it will not explained in this section.

Most tenses, however, are not inflected for person and number, it is again done by adding personal pronouns after verb forms as in above (kẹlür ben "I come"), except turur is not allowed in the third person singular, unlike nouns or adjectives.

However, certain tenses, including the tenses past seen, negative present, conditional, are inflected for person and numbers. Unlike other tenses, these tenses do not require pronouns after the verbs. The set of endings were initially similar to that of possessive ones, except there is no -sI allophony in the third person (he/she/it/they). Because of this, instead of expected forms **kẹlti ben and kẹlse ben you will found kẹltim and kẹlsem instead (however, the analytic alternative forms for kẹlsem, kẹlse ben is found in Old Turkic).

Components
Subject pronoun (English)	Suffix
I	-m
you	-ŋ
he/she/it/they	-∅
we	-mXŕ
you (plural)	-ŋXŕ

Historically, the third person form ends in **-I, but later unmarked (-∅ meant being unmarked). However, this ending preserved in -mAŕ (negative present, plus the unstressed **-I) and -gAy (either future or optative tense, it will explained in future lessons). However, the latter suffix always requires pronouns and does not have synthetic inflection (there is no such expected **-gAm, **-gAŋ, **-gAmXŕ, ...), while the former one is added here due to Turkmen alteration in the section above (that is, the inflections were originally **-mArXm, **-mArXŋ, ..., note depalatalization of final -ŕ-).

The first person plural ending in most languages, including the Oghuz, Karluk, Kipchak branches, however used the ending -k instead of -mXŕ.

Next lesson: Optatives, necessitatives and questions

Optatives, necessitatives and questions

Welcome to the nineth lesson of Proto-Turkic!

Optatives

Optative is a controversial subject in Proto-Turkic, as they only exists in some languages.

*-gA (Shaz)

The optative meaning is used by the suffix -gA. In some languages including Old Uyghur and Tuvan, this suffix were further compounded by the archaic demonstrative pronoun *I (follows vowel harmony) to form -gAy (it originally inflected for numbers and persons, but later become an uninflected tense). In Old Turkic, this suffix was repurposed as the future tense suffix. The optative suffixes only exist in some Turkic languages, including Turkish, Khorasani Turkic, and Tuvan.

• *seb- (“to love, like”) → *sebge(y) (“may (s/he) love, like”)

• *bar- (“to go”) → *barga(y) (“may (s/he) go”)

*-gIttI (Lir)

Attested as -ӗччӗ in Chuvash, this optative suffix is reconstructed through regular sound changes (note with the sporadic geminates).

Necessitatives

The meaning of necessity is provided by *-lig and *-me, which we mentioned in the last two lessons.

*-mAlIg

This suffix somehow lives only in Oghuz and Oghur languages.

• *seb- (“to love, like”) → *sebmelig (“(s/he) should love, like”)

• *bar- (“to go”) → *barmalïg (“(s/he) should go”)

It is a noun clause for Turkmen and Chuvash languages. Therefore, it takes the suffixes that make the noun clause negative.

• *sebmelig (“(s/he) should love, like”) → *sebmelig ermeŕ (“(s/he) should not love, like”)

• *barmalïg (“(s/he) should go”) → *barmalïg ermeŕ (“(s/he) should not go”)

Modern usage

	Azerbaijani - Azərbaycan türkcəsi	Turkmen - Türkmençe	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Bu oyunu qazanmalıyam.	Öý işimi ertire çenli tamamlamaly.	Пире мӗнле питӗ кирлӗ ӗҫ хушнӑ тата ҫак ӗҫ ҫине пирӗн мӗнле пӑх-малла?
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	(the text is already written in latin script)	Pire mӗnle pitӗ kirlӗ ӗç xuşnӑ tata çak ӗç pirӗn mӗnle pӑx-malla?
English translation	I have to win this game.	I should finish my homework by tomorrow.	What important assignment has Jesus given us, and how should we view it?

*kẹr-

You can give the same meaning with this root. *kẹr-lig for Lir, *kẹr-ge-k for Shaz.

• I need a bow and sword. - Benke kïlï̄č bi(r)le yā(y) kẹrgek.

Modern usage

	Uzbek - Oʻzbek tili	Khakassian - Хакас тілі or Тадар тілі	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Menimcha, sutga ortichqa maza tam qo'shish kerak emas.	Чоох тоосчатсаң, кізілерні хайдағ-да киректі идерге кӧӧктірчеткен, кӧп нимес, килістіре сӧстер таллап ал.	Эпир хамӑр пуҫҫапнинче тӳрӗ чунлӑ тата хытӑ тӑрӑшатпӑр пулсан, ку питех кирлӗ мар тесе шутлаҫҫӗ хӑшпӗрисем.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Çoox toosçatsañ, kizilerni xaydağ-da kirekti iderge kööktirçetken, köp nimes, kilistire söster tallap al.	Epir xamӑr puççapninçe türӗ çunlӑ tata xıtӑ tӑrӑşatpӑr pulsan, ku pitex kirlӗ mar tese şutlaççӗ xӑşpӗrisem.
English translation	In my opinion, there is no need to add flavoring to the milk.	For a stimulating and effective closing, don't stretch your words too long more than enough(needed).	Some say that as long as we are sincere and zealous in our worship, there is no need to worry.

Questions

*-mI

Where interrogative pronouns are absent, questions are provided with *-mI interrogative suffix. This appendix asks questions that can be answered with yes or no and asks for the item before it.

A: Do you have a younger sister? - A: Seniŋ siŋiliŋ bār mï? (Literally is there any younger sister belongs to you?)

B: Yes, I have/No, I don't. - B: Bār/yōk. (Literally there is/there is not)

A: Is what you have younger sister? - A: Seniŋ siŋiliŋ mi bār?

B: Yes, it is/no, it's not. - B: Ide/yōk.

A: Are you nine years old? - A: Sẹ tokuŕ yāĺta mï?

B: Yes, I am/No, I am not. - B: Ide/yōk.

A: Are you the one who is nine years old? - A: Sẹ mi tokuŕ yāĺta?

B: Yes, I am/No, I am not. - B: Ide, bẹ/Yōk, bẹ ermeŕ.

When there is a negative interrogative sentence, the answer is different than in English.

A: Aren't you nine years old? - A: Sẹ tokuŕ yāĺta ermeŕ mi?

B: Yes, I am nine years old. - B: Yōk, tokuŕ yāĺta bẹ. (literally no, i am nine years old).

Since it is a preposition, it is written separately in some Turkic languages, but not in others. Prepositions such as with, for, until... are written separately in most of the Turkic languages ​​if they do not have a sound change. However, since the preposition 'mi' has a sound change, there are differences between languages. (i.e. Turkmen barmy?, Kazakh bar ma?)

Questions: Interrogative Pronouns

1. what - *nē(me)
2. who - *kem
3. why - *nē(me) üčün (Literally for what?)
4. how much, how many, how old - *nēnče, *kanča

*nē(me)

It is put in the blank part whose answer is expected in the sentence.

A: What is your name? - A: Seniŋ ātïŋ nē(me)?

B: My name is Tou-man. - B: Beniŋ ātïm Tou-man.

A: What did you do? - A: Nē(me) ēttiŋ?

B: I did sit and waited - B: Olturtum, kǖtdüm.

Modern usage

	Kumyk - Къумукъ тили	Uyghur - ئۇيغۇرچە	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Не этип турасан?	توم دائىم شۇ دەرىجە پەس سۆزلەيدۇكى ئۇنىڭ نېمە دېگىنىنى ناھايىتى تەستە چۈشۈنەلەيمەن.	Том сана Машукпа мӗн пулнӑ пирки каламарӗ вӗт, ҫапла и?
Transcription	Ne etip turasan?	Tom da'im shu derije pes sözleyduki uning nëme dëginini nahayiti teste cüshüneleymen.	Tom sana Maşukpa mӗn pulnă pirki kalamarӗ vӗt, çapla i?
English translation	What are you doing?	Tom always speaks in such a low voice that I can barely understand what he is saying.	Tom didn't tell you what happened to Mary, did he?

*kem

It is put in the blank part whose answer is expected in the sentence.

A: Who are you? - A: Sẹ kem?

B: I am Tou-man. - B: Bẹ Tou-man.

A: Who did this? - A: Bunï kem ētti?

B: I did (this). - B: (Bunï) bẹ ētti(m).

Modern usage

	Shor - Шор тили or Тадар тили	Yakut - Саха тыла	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Кем чöрча? Эртен тöрт азақтығ, кӱндӱс ийги, иирде ӱш.	Өлбутүн кэппэ туох буоларын ама ким билиэҕэй?	Пулӑшу пирки тархасласа ыйтакансене кам хӑтарӗ?
Transcription	Kem çörça? Erten tört azaqtığ, kündüs iygi, iirde üş.	Ölbütün keppe tuox buoların ama kim bilieğey?	Pulӑşu pirki tarxaslasa ıytakansene kam xӑtarӗ?
English translation	Who walks? With four feet(legs) in the morning, with two in the daytime, with three in the evening. (Answer: boys)	Who knows the truth about what we become after we die?	Who will save those who cry out for help?

*nē(me) üčün

It is put in the blank part whose answer is expected in the sentence.

A: Why are you there? - A: Sẹ nē(me) üčün anda?

B: Because I am Tou-man. - B: Tou-man bolganïm üčün anda. (*-gan may not have been used in this sense in Proto-Turkic. In Old Turkic inscriptions there is only -duk.)

A: Why did you do this? - A: Bunï nē(me) üčün ēttiŋ?

B: To feel joy. - B: (Bunï) bẹ̄kenmek üčün ēttim.

Modern usage

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Turkmen - Türkmençe	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Tom onun niçin Fransızca öğrenmek istediğini anlayamadı.	Diňleýji aýatlaryň manysyna düşüner ýaly näme etmeli we näme üçin?	Мӗнле сӑлтавсене пула хӑшӗ-пӗрисем шыва кӗме шутлаҫҫӗ тата мӗншӗн ҫав сӑлтавсем тӗрӗс мар?
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	(the text is already written in latin script)	Mӗnle sӑltavsene pula xӑşӗ-pӗrisem şıva kӗme şutlaççӗ tata mӗnşӗn çav sӑltavsem tӗrӗs mar?
English translation	Tom couldn't understand why s/he wanted to learn French.	What should we do to help our listeners understand the meaning of the verses and why?	Why are some baptized and why are these reasons not enough?

*nēnče, *kanča

We have already mentioned this pronoun in our lesson 1: Pronouns and numbers, and we even gave an example. So we won't be doing this again. The remaining details about it will be in lesson 11: Equative and instrumental.

Other interrogative pronouns that you can create with suffixes

You can turn case suffixes into interrogative pronouns by adding them to question roots. (for example: *nēnte/*kanta, *nēnten/*kantan, *nēnke/*kanka, *nēni/*kanï, *nēniŋ/kanïŋ, *nēnče/*kanča...). To add endings to them, add -n- into the case endings except in accusative and genitive cases (*nēnte; but *nēni, the case suffix itself already contain -n-). In many of modern Turkic languages, the -n- allomorph is now removed from those.

Next lesson: Vocabulary 2

Vocabulary 2

Welcome to tenth lesson of Proto-Turkic! This is the second of vocabulary lesson and in this lesson we will improve our vocabulary.

Vocabulary

Let's start with a text.

Yạrïn ōtagïmïŕnï buŕsa köčme(k) üčün ătïmïŕka olturtumuŕ. Teŋride küneĺ bār, bulut yōk erti. Eligimiŕ bi(r)le köŕümüŕni kapma(k)dan ālïmïŕnï körmese sǖrtümüŕ. Ïsïg erti. Yẹ̄miĺč ạlmïĺ ertimiŕ, biŕte bōlmagan sub erti. Kạrïnïmïŕ tōlï, tilimiŕ kūrïk erti. Kȫl tăpmasa ertimiŕ, ölür ertimiŕ. Teŋri sạkïdï.

Translation:

Today (morning) we mounted our horses to migrate while gathering our tents. There was sun in the sky, (but) there were no clouds. We couldn't see in front of us by covering our eyes with our hands. It (the weather) was hot. We took food (with us), what we didn't have was water. Our stomach was full (but) our tongue was dry. We would die if we didn't find a lake. God forbad.

Since plurality is a controversial issue in Proto-Turkic, plural cases other than pronouns are written in singular in this text. There is no previously unprocessed grammar in the text. The body parts mentioned in the text are given below. Simple verbs come right after it. Words related to time will be explained in the next lesson.

Parts of body

Parts of Face in Proto-Turkic

English	Proto-Turkic
head	*baĺč
face	*yǖŕ
hair	*s(i)ač
eyebrow	*k(i)āĺč
eyelash	*kirpik
eye	*köŕ
ear	*kulkak
nose	*burun (Shaz) *sumsa (Lir)
lip	*tōtak
mouth	*agïŕ
tongue	*til
chin	*ēŋek

Parts of Body in Proto-Turkic

English	Proto-Turkic
neck	*bōyn (shaz?)
throat	*boguŕ
Adam's apple	*bogurdak
shoulder	*omuŕ *egin
shoulder blade	*yarïn
breast	*kögüŕ *tȫĺ
breast (female)	*čičig
arm, hand	*kol
forearm	*kar
elbow	*čïkan(ak)
belly	*kạrïn
waist	*bẹ̄l(k)
hand	*elig
handful	*ạbuč
finger	*biarŋak
fingernail	*tïrŋak
anus, buttocks	*köt
leg, thigh	*būt (shaz)
thigh, hip	*satan
calf of leg	*b(i)altïr (shaz)
foot	*adak
sole	*tāpan

Basic Verbs

English	Proto-Turkic
to take	*ạl-
to give	*bēr-
to come	*kẹl-
to go (away)	*bar-, *kē(y)t-
to walk	*yorï-/*yüri-
to organize, make	*ēt-
to do, make	*kïl-
to know (something)	*bil-
to know (someone)	*tạnu-
to sit	*oltur-
to stand	*tur-
to stay behind, remain	*kiāl-
to put, leave, abandon	*kod-
to put, throw	*sal-
to live	*tīri-
to see	*kör-
to look, watch	*bạk-
to hear	*ẹĺit-
to speak	*kele-, *seble-
to say	*tē-
to say, tell; to ask, demand	*ạyït-
to touch	*tẹg-
to eat	*yē-
to migrate	*köč-

The exception of the palatals

We've talked about this before. However, as we start to learn new words, we need to mention it again, as it is a situation that you will encounter more and more.

Contrast noun-verb

You may have noticed above. Aren't the word *köŕ and the word *kör- similar? Similar? Only when it is noun the r sound is palatal, when it is a verb it is not palatal.

Some words in Turkic have both noun and verb forms. For some reason, when the r sound, which is palatal in some words, is at the end, it lacks palatal in the verb form.

• *köŕ (“eye”) but *kör- (“to see”)

• *semiŕ (“fat”) but *semir- (“to fatten”)

• *kūtuŕ (“mad, enraged”) but *kūtur- (“to become mad, rage”)

Contrast without suffix-with suffix

Some words with suffixes are without palatal. But when there is no suffix, it is palatal.

• *sakïŕ (“gum, resin”) but *sakïrtka (“tick (animal)”) (The existence of an r-form in a Shaz language is sufficient to prove that the word belongs to the Proto-Turkic language. Because if there was a formation formed in Shaz Turkic, it would be sakïz+tka=sakïztka. But this word is not in that form because it was formed in the Proto period.)
• *boguŕ (“throat”) but *bogurdak (“Adam's apple”)

Grammar

In an agglutinative language, suffixes form the structure of the language. There are two types of suffixes.

Inflectional suffixes

Inflectional suffixes are suffixes that do not change the structure. Suffixes such as plural suffixes, case suffixes, tense suffixes are inflectional suffixes.

Verbs can take tenses only once. If the latter is needed, it is provided with an auxiliary verb.

Derivational suffixes

Derivational suffixes are suffixes that change the structure. All suffixes in the seventh lesson are derivational suffixes. Verbals are also derivational suffixes (The meaning of if mentioned in the lesson verbals is not a derivational suffix.).

It is debatable whether the negative suffix is a derivational suffix.

Next lesson: Equative, instrumental and imperatives

Equative, instrumental and imperatives

Welcome to our eleventh Proto-Turkic lesson! In this lesson, we will learn three new cases.

Equative

*-čA

As the name suggests, this suffix indicates equality. This equality suffix can come to the end of nouns, adjectives just like other cases, but not to verbs. It usually transforms the word it comes from into an adjective or adverb and is therefore considered a derivational suffix.

*uŕïn (“long”) → *uŕïnča (“equal to long; longly”)

*kạtïg (“hard”) → *kạtïgča (“equal to hard; hardly”)

*sebgen (“who love”) → *sebgenče (“like who love”)

*sogïk (“cold”) → *sogïkča (“equal to cold; coldly”)

*bār (“there is”) → *bārča (“all; every”) (künniŋ bārčasï means all (of) day (it covers 24 hours); bārča kün means every day (it covers days of week, month or year). However, today it can be used with the same meaning without this suffix.)

Languages are also supplied with this suffix in Shaz Turkic.

*türük (“Turk”) → *türükče (“Turkic (language)”) (Shaz?)

*türük (“Turk”) → *türük tili (“Turkic (language)”) (Proto-Turkic)

*nēnče, *kanča

The numbers are asked with these question pronouns, but this suffix is not used when answering.

A: How many children does he have? - A: Anïŋ nēnče/kanča bālasï bār? (literally Are his children equal to what?) / Anta nēnče/kanča bāla bār? (literally Are children there belongs to him equal to what?)

B: He has two children. - B: Anïŋ ẹk(k)i bālasï bār./Anta ẹk(k)i bāla bār.

Unlike in English, there is no need for any plural suffix since plurality is indicated by numbers. (e.g; three houses, üč eb )

Numbers never take this suffix for equality.

Modern Usages

	Kyrgyz - Кыргызча	Western Yugur - Yoɣïr lar	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Ар бир изилдөө сайын канча маалымат талкуулоо керектигин кантип аныктоого болот?	Sende neçe mula var er?	Эсӗ миҫе ҫулта?
Transcription	Ar bir izildöö sayın kança maalımat talkuuloo kerektigin kantip anıktoogo bolot?	(the text is already written in latin script)	Esӗ miçe çulta?
English Translation	What factors determine how much material to cover during a Bible study?	How many children do you have?	How old are you?

Instrumental

*-Xn

This instrumental case is provided with *-Xn. Unfortunately, it is not used today except for stereotyped words. It comes after the noun just like other cases. In this context, it differs from the *-Xn suffixes that we mentioned in the lesson 7.

*il(i)k (“before, earlier”) → *il(i)kin (“at first, at before, firstly”)

*ok (“arrow”) → *okun (“with arrow”)

*yāŕ (“summer, spring”) → *yāŕïn (“at summer, at spring”)

*kïĺ (“winter”) → *kïĺïn (“at winter”)

*bi(r)le

The word *bi(r)le, which means with, can also provide this case. In addition, its usage area is unlimited.

*sẹ (“you”) → *sẹ bi(r)le (“with you”)

*kǖŕ (“autumn”) → *kǖŕ bi(r)le (“with autumn, at autumn”)

*anam (“my mom”) → *anam bi(r)le (“with my mom”)

*kāŕ (“goose”) → *kāŕ bi(r)le (“with goose”)

Imperatives

The imperative mood changes in Lir and Shaz groups.

Imperative (Shaz)

The configuration below is based on the language used in the Orkhon inscriptions. For example, the second person plural imperative differs in some Shaz languages.

The first person imperative is also the optative mood. Because a person cannot give orders to oneself, and in such a case, since there is no imperative, the optative mood is used.

Imperatives
Person (English)	Suffix
First person singular	*-(A)yIn
Second person singular	*-∅, *-gIl
Third person singular & plural	*-zU(n)
First person plural	*-(A)lIm
Second person plural	*-(X)ŋ

Note: Turkish optative -(y)AyIm and Proto-Shaz optative *-(A)yIn are not cognates. Turkish optative comes from *-gA ben>-(y)AyIn>-(y)AyIm. And every optatives except first person plural in Turkish provided by *-gA optative suffix. (E.g; varayım, varasın, vara, varalım(/varak), varasınız, vara). But second and third person imperatives in Turkish come from Proto-Shaz imperatives that we mentioned in this lesson.

Imperative (Lir)

The following configuration has been prepared by considering Chuvash and Volga Bulgar language. Because resources are limited for the Lir branch.

Imperatives
Person (English)	Suffix
First person singular	*-(A)m
Second person singular	*-∅
Third person singular	*-tUr
First person plural	*-(A)ŕ
Second person plural	*-(I)ŕ
Third person plural	*-ttUr

Next lesson: Converbs and sentence formation

Converbs and sentence formation

Welcome to the twelve lesson of the Proto-Turkic!

Sentence formation

Unlike English which has subject–verb–object (SVO), the basic Proto-Turkic word order is SOV, that it is subject–object–verb. The precise order look like this:

Parts of speech by order
Adjective (attributive)	Subject	Adjective (predicative)	Postposition	Object (anything)	Adverb	Verb	Pronoun (certain tenses, see more)

There is no prepositions in Proto-Turkic, postpositions, of which succeeds its objects, serve that role instead. This is a list of some postpositions found in Proto-Turkic:

• *üčün "for, because of"
• *togru "toward"

Examples

Sentence	*Bẹ ebke tǖn kẹltim.
Gloss	"I house-dat night come-past-1sg"
Part of speech	Pronoun (subj.)	Object	Adverb	Verb
Meaning	"I came to the house night."

Sentence	*Anam doŋuŕ eti yēdi.
Gloss	"Mother-1sg.poss pig meal-3sg.poss eat-past.3sg."
Part of speech	Subject	Object (compound)	Verb
Meaning	"My mother ate pork (← pig meal)."

Converbs

Converbs are conjunctions that connect verbs to sentences. In Turkic languages, verbs can be connected to sentences when they turn into verbal.

In English this is mostly done by conjunctions and prepositions. This is how we translate it. But have you noticed that verbs are not connected the way we translate them into sentences. For example, when we say while going, we are actually saying goingly (just like rallingly). The linking of verbs is through being either nouns, adjectives or adverbs. These are connected to a sentence on their own without the need for a conjunction like while, and they even have a meaning on their own. Considering that we count words such as winningly, seethingly, meaningly as words alone, there are verb-based endless adverbs in a Turkic language.

All right, so why is there such a title?

*verb-verbal adjective (as a noun)-possessive-ablative

"Since I came late yesterday, everyone was already asleep." Note that there is no because in Proto-Turkic. So how do we connect this sentence and translate it into Proto-Turkic?

We use adjective verbs and possessives.

"Tǖn kēč kẹldükümten, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

Let's examine the first part of the sentence.

From my coming late yesterday - Tǖn kēč kẹldükümten

Next up is the second part you know.

Everybody was asleep - bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti

verb	verbal adjective (as verbal noun)	possesive	ablative
kẹl	dük	üm	ten

"Since (from) I (my) came (coming) late yesterday, everyone was (already) asleep (sleeping)."

"Tǖn kēč kẹl dükümten, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

*verb-verbal adjective (as a noun)-possessive-locative

When I came late yesterday, everyone was already asleep. - "Tǖn kēč kẹldükümte, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

Let's examine the first part of the sentence.

At my coming late yesterday - Tǖn kēč kẹldükümte

Next up is the second part you know.

Everybody was asleep - bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti

verb	verbal adjective (as verbal noun)	possesive	locative
kẹl	dük	üm	te

"When (at) I (my) came (coming) late yesterday, everyone was (already) asleep (sleeping)."

"Tǖn kēč kẹldükümte, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

*verb-verbal adjective (as a noun)-possessive for

Since I came late yesterday, everyone was already asleep. - "Tǖn kēč kẹldüküm üčün, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

Let's examine the first part of the sentence.

For my coming late yesterday - Tǖn kēč kẹldüküm üčün

Next up is the second part you know.

Everybody was asleep - bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti

verb	verbal adjective (as verbal noun)	possesive	for
kẹl	dük	üm	üčün

"Since (for) I (my) came (coming) late yesterday, everyone was (already) asleep (sleeping)."

"Tǖn kēč kẹldüküm üčün, bārča kiĺi ūdïma(k)da erti."

*verb-verbal adjective (as a noun)-possessive-equative

I saw as I came. - "Kẹldükümče, körtüm."

Let's examine the first part of the sentence.

As I came (this much) - Kẹldükümče

Next up is the second part you know.

I saw - körtüm

verb	verbal adjective (as verbal noun)	possesive	equative
kẹl	dük	üm	če

Notes:

1. In many modern Turkic languages there is *-gAn instead of *-dUk. But *-dUk used in Yenisei inscriptions, Köktürk inscriptions and both Volga and Danube Bulgarian inscriptions. So using *-dUk is more realistic to Proto-Turkic language.
2. Today, some Turkic languages use as follows: pronoun verb-verbal adjective-ablative/locative/ for/equative

Next lesson: Abilities, future tense and present continuous

Abilities, future tense and present continuous

Welcome to the final lesson of the Proto-Turkic! Thank you for being with us so far and choosing the Wikibooks Proto-Turkic course.

Abilities

Ability by *bil-

In Chuvash and most Turkic languages, the meaning of competence is provided by the verb to know. However, while it is not a stand-alone structure in Chuvash, it is a stand-alone structure in other Turkic languages. We will consider the case that it is not a structure by itself, because system in Chuvash is a strictly correct sentence in terms of its structure.

• *kẹlme (“coming”) → *kẹlme bilür (“s/he knows to come; s/he can come”)

• *yu(b)ma (“washing”) → *yu(b)ma bilür (“s/he knows to wash; s/he can wash”)
• *sebme (“loving”) → *sebme bilür (“s/he knows to loving; s/he can love”)
• *yạŕma (“writing”) → *yạŕma bilmeŕ (“s/he doesn't know to writing; s/he can't write”)

Modern usage

	Turkish - Anadolu Türkçesi	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Ben şu ağaç dalının bittiği yere kadar zıplayabilirim.	хурсем вӗсем валли хӑйсемех апат тупма пӗлеҫҫӗ.
Transcription	(the text is already written in latin script)	Hursem vĩsem valli hĭysemeh apat tupma pĩleşşĩ.
English translation	I can jump up to where that bough ends.	Geese can find food on their own.

Ability by *bōl-

It is also a proficiency structure found in some Turkic languages, including Chuvash.

• *kẹlme (“coming”) → *kẹlme bōlur (“s/he becomes to come; s/he can come”)

• *yu(b)ma (“washing”) → *yu(b)ma bōlur (“s/he becomes to wash; s/he can wash”)
• *sebme (“loving”) → *sebme bōlur (“s/he becomes to loving; s/he can love”)
• *yạŕma (“writing”) → *yạŕma bōlmaŕ (“s/he doesn't become to writing; s/he can't write”)

Modern usage

	Tuvan - Тыва дыл	Chuvash - Чӑвашла
Original	Бир эвес орук дуглаглыг апарза, өске оруктарны тып ап болур.	Улӑп ҫичӗ хуйха та чӑтма пултарнӑ.
Transcription	Bir eves oruk duglaglıg aparza, öske oruktarnı tıp ap bolur.	Ulĭp çiçĩ huyha ta çĭtma pultarnĭ.
English translation	If you encounter an obstacle, you can go another way.	Alp(warrior) was able to endure all seven worries.

Ability by *ạl- (Shaz)

Today it is used in Central Asia.

• *kẹlme (“coming”) → *kẹl(m)e ạlar (“s/he takes to come; s/he can come”)
• *yu(b)ma (“washing”) → *yu(b)(m)a ạlar (“s/he takes to wash; s/he can wash”)
• *sebme (“loving”) → *seb(m)e ạlar (“s/he takes to loving; s/he can love”)
• *yạŕma (“writing”) → *yạŕ(m)a ạlmaŕ (“s/he doesn't take to writing; s/he can't write”)

Ability by *u(y)- (Shaz?)

Used in Old Turkic, Old Uyghur, Yakut, Chuvash (not certain), Azerbaijani, and Turkish (in a form of a suffix in two last languages). In many of Turkic languages this verb becomes dead, or merged as an inflectional suffix. It takes the auxiliary converbs *-(y)A or *-(y)U, and negative tense suffixes in the verb *u(y)- (umaŕ, umadï, ...).

• *kẹlme (“coming”) → *kẹle u(y)(u)r, *kẹlü u(y)(u)r (“s/he can come”)
• *yu(b)ma (“washing”) → *yu(b)(y)a u(y)maŕ, *yu(b)(y)u u(y)maŕ (“s/he cannot wash”)
• *sebme (“loving”) → *sebe u(y)maŕ, *sebü u(y)maŕ (“s/he cannot love”)

Future Tense

There is no future tense in the Proto-Turkic language. There is no future tense in most of today's Turkic languages, as well. The future tense is often provided with the present tense suffix.

Present-Future tense (*-Ur, *-r)

Just specify the time.

• *kẹlür (“s/he comes”) → *yạrïn kẹlür (“s/he comes tomorrow”)

• *barur (“s/he goes”) → *bu āń(k) barur (“s/he goes this month”)

Future tense by *-čX

With this suffix we mentioned earlier, the future tense is provided in today's Turkic languages. Considering the usage logic of the suffix, the future tense can be provided in the Proto-Turkic language with this suffix. But it may not be used in this way at that time.

• *kẹlme(k) (“coming”) → *kẹlme(k)či (“cominger”) → *Ol kẹlme(k)či (“s/he is cominger; s/he is going to come.”)

• *barma(k) (“going”) → *barma(k)čï (“goinger”)→ *Biŕ barma(k)čï (“We are goingers; we are going to go.”)
• *sebme(k) (“loving”) → *sebme(k)či (“lovinger”) → *Bẹ sebme(k)či (“I am lovinger; I will love.”)

• *olturma(k) (“sitting”) → *olturma(k)čï (“sittinger”)→ *Sẹ olturma(k)čï (“You are sittinger; you will sit.”)

Future tense by *-sXk (Shaz, Old Turkic)

This suffix only exists in Old Turkic and creates necessitive future tense. Can take personal suffixes like -dI past tense.

• *ölme(k) (“to die”) → *ölsüküm (“I will inevitably die”)

Present continuous

Present continuous by locative

Present continuous, can be provided with locative. This is similar to logic of *-čX suffix in Proto-Turkic. Such a sentence structure can be established in most of modern Turkic languages.

• *kẹlme(k) (“coming”) → *kẹlme(k)de (“on coming”) → *Ol kẹlme(k)de (“s/he is on coming; s/he is coming.”)

• *barma(k) (“going”) → *barma(k)da (“on going”)→ *Biŕ barma(k)da (“We are on going; we are going.”)
• *sebme(k) (“loving”) → *sebme(k)de (“on loving”) → *Bẹ sebme(k)de (“I am on loving; I am loving.”)

• *olturma(k) (“sitting”) → *olturma(k)da (“on sitting”)→ *Sẹ olturma(k)da (“You are on sitting; you are sitting.”)

Helper verbs (Shaz)

It is provided with verbs that called helper in some Shaz languages.

• *kẹlip (“while coming”, (Shaz)) → *kẹlip yorï/yüri (literally “walk while coming” but means ”s/he is coming.”)

• *bara (“to go with -A suffix”) → *bara tur (”s/he is going.”) (helper verb is *tur- to stand.)

Farewell

We are very happy to have you with us on this long journey. But unfortunately now it's time to say goodbye.

Now you know everything about the Proto-Turkic language. Of course, you will encounter configurations created by different linguists, but it is an undeniable fact that they will not differ much from the configurations of other linguists, that is, they will all look alike. Note though that every Proto language is a configuration. While writing this in the back of your mind, imagine that this language was spoken in the steppes of East Asia, under the rule of the Huns.

Goodbye everyone! Take care of yourself!