Abstract
PHONETIC AND MORPHOLOGICAL EVIDENCES OF DIALECTS IN THE KOKSHETAU COPY OF DIVAN-I HIKMET
The Kokshetau copy of Divan-ı Hikmet [Book of Wisdom] is written in Eastern Turkish; and it is written in Chagatai Turkish, which is one of the two historical periods of Eastern Turkish. There are 58 aphorisms in the Kokshetau copy, and the total number of aphorism lines is 1940. The copy consists of 88 sheets and has an average of 11 lines per page.
The fact that Kazakh and Uzbek Turkish, two of the contemporary Turkish dialects, influenced the Kokshetau copy in terms of some phonetic and morphological features reinforces the possibility that the copy may have been written in the post-classical era of Chagatai Turkish. In the Kokshetau copy, some Oghuz features are observed besides the phonetic and morphological features of Kazakh language, which belongs to the Kipchak group of Turkic dialects, and of Uzbek language, which belongs to the Karluk group of Turkish dialects.
In the article, the dialect features in the Kokshetau copy have been determined, and the opinions have been expressed on by whom, where and at what time it might have been written.
Keywords
Divan-ı Hikmet, Kokshetau, Kazakh Turkish, Oghuz dialect.