Translation and scholarly commentary on the Old Uyghur script copy of Latafat-nama (the Otrar library collection)

Abstract

The Kabul copy of Latāfatnāma by Khodjandi, written in the Old Uyghur script, is preserved in the Otrar Library Collection of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The manuscript consists of 56 folios and 313 lines. In stylistic terms, Latāfatnāma is closely related to Khwarazmi’s Mahabbatnāma and Yusuf Emri’s Dakh-nāma, composed within the same literary tradition. However, the text is distinguished by its relative linguistic conservatism and is of particular significance as a source reflecting linguistic features characteristic of the Karakhanid period. The language of 11^th century Turkic written monuments, particularly those of the Karakhanid era, subsequently underwent substantial structural changes. Although the literary school of this period eventually declined, its poetic conventions continued to be preserved for centuries. At the time of the composition of Latāfatnāma, a common literary koine was in use, incorporating local dialectal features and enjoying broader circulation than earlier literary varieties. Its dialectal basis differs from that reflected in Kutadgu Bilig and Atabat al-Haqāyiq. The present study demonstrates that the language most closely related to that of Latāfatnāma is Khwarazmian Turkic; accordingly, this linguistic variety was used as the principal reference point for the transcription of the text. Since this work had not previously been translated into Kazakh, the aim of the study was to produce a translation of the Kabul version, provide scholarly commentary, and introduce the text into academic circulation. The study also includes a review of the history of research on the work and an examination of historical figures associated with it, along with several original interpretative observations. In preparing the transcription of the original text, particular attention was paid to the limited graphemic inventory of the Old Uyghur script, in which phonemic distinctions such as a/e, o/u, y/i, k/g, and b/p are represented by single graphemes. The transcription was conducted with careful consideration of the linguistic features of Khwarazmian Turkic. An analysis of the verse Tabīʿatdın çıḳardım naẓm bisyār / acunda bulmadım ikev ḫarīdār (“I composed many poems expressing my nature, yet found not even two recipients in this world”) suggests the possible existence of additional works by Khodjandi. During the translation process, individual lexical items were supplemented with scholarly commentary and interpreted on the basis of lexicographic sources. A structural analysis of the text identified its compositional organization, consisting of an introduction, ten main chapters, and a conclusion. Throughout the translation, the semantic structure of the original was preserved, while explicative and descriptive translation techniques were employed where necessary.