Semantic evolution of ethnolexical units in Kazakh, Azerbaijani, and Yakut (Based on old Turkic roots)

Abstract

The aim of the study is to describe the semantic features and provide a comparative analysis of ethnographic vocabulary formed on the basis of Old Turkic morphemes in the Kazakh, Sakha (Yakut), and Azerbaijani languages. The root morpheme, as a semiotic unit of language, expresses connection with the object of reality through its lexical meaning, which can be historically and ethnoculturally determined. The article presents a comparative description of the modern semantic structure, similarities and differences of ethnographic vocabulary in the Kazakh, Yakut, and Azerbaijani languages, the origins of which go back to Old Turkic roots. The selection of these three languages is explained by their significant areal distance despite their genetic and typological commonality. This allows us to identify how ancient semantic layers are preserved in the root morphemes of modern Turkic languages, as well as to show semantic changes in Turkic words caused by different cultural and historical environments. The study is based on the data from the Old Turkic Dictionary (DTS) and etymological dictionaries, a selection of 16 Old Turkic roots related to key semantic spheres was carried out: natural environment (su, kün, taş, kök, jol); nomadic economy (at, mal, süt, kümüş); social relations (kiši, aqa, beg, bala); spiritual culture (til, baš, jüräk). For each root, all lexico-semantic variants (LSVs) were identified according to the Old Turkic Dictionary, and their fate in the modern languages under study was traced using data from explanatory dictionaries and national corpora (QazCorpus, SakhaCorpus, AZLEKS). Comparative, semantic, and contextual analysis methods were used. The main characteristics of the modern semantic state were determined: preservation of nominative semantics, presence of metaphorical meanings, results of semantic narrowing and broadening. It was found that the vocabulary of the natural environment and material culture demonstrates high stability, while the vocabulary of social relations and the spiritual sphere is subject to metaphorization, narrowing or broadening of meanings. In areal terms, the most significant semantic specificity was recorded in the Yakut language, which is explained by the influence of substrate factors and a unique cultural environment. In the Yakut language, both archaic elements (preservation of ancient meanings) and innovations (semantic shifts, development of new connotations, for example, tyl as "word", ağa as "father") are noted. The Kazakh and Azerbaijani languages demonstrate generally similar semantic models. Special attention is paid in the study to ethnographic lexemes related to nomadic economy, social status, and worldview concepts. Their comparison shows both the stability of ancient categories and semantic differences that arose as a result of changes in social structure and other factors. The preservation of common semantic patterns in languages that developed under different historical conditions confirms their origin from a shared Turkic proto-language base.