Valency of the verb 'ayt' in the Manuscript “Gulistan bit turki”

Abstract

This article analyzes the valency of the verb ‘ayt’ in the medieval manuscript "Gulistan bit Turki." Valency theory, which is closely related to collocations and syntactic structures, gives an opportunity to identify the logic of word compatibility in a language and offers insight into the syntactic potential of lexemes in the text, as well as to understand the mental intentions of the Turkic peoples. The study focuses on analyzing the valency structure of ‘ayt’ in "Gulistan bit Turki" and compares its semantics with that of the same verb in modern Kazakh. The research employs syntactic-semantic, historical-comparative, and statistical-corpus methods. The statistical-corpus method is used to analyze the meaning of ‘ayt’ in the manuscript, while the historical-comparative method compares its structural features in the medieval Turkic language with modern Kazakh. Syntactic-semantic analysis enables exploration of semantic-structural nature of word combinations formed with ‘ayt’. To determine the valency of the verb, the study analyzes actant structures in verb phrases with ‘ayt’. It was found that ‘ayt’ appears with various actants, including agent, modifier, patient, and addressee, and that the verb has six valency roles. The results indicate that ‘ayt’ had broader semantic and syntactic possibilities in the medieval Turkic language than in modern Kazakh. Various grammatical forms such as aytti, aytur, ayttim, and aytkan demonstrate its high conjugational versatility in historical context. While the syntactic valency of ‘ayt’ has remained unchanged, its semantic scope has narrowed over time. The semantic load of the verb in the monument's language has undergone functional and stylistic differentiation in modern Kazakh. in the manuscript, ‘ayt’ conveyed a broader range of meanings, including 'to speak,' 'to show,' 'to command,' wheres in modern Kazakh, it functions primarily as a verb of speech.
The theoretical conclusions of this study lay a foundation for further examination of valency, semantic classification, and structural continuity in the development of Turkic languages. The findings clarify the role of linguistic units and structures in written monuments in shaping modern Turkic languages, including Kazakh. Studying the continuity of linguistic systems opens new avenues for resaerch in linguistics.