Forward Elements in Yenisei Inscriptions

Abstract

The Yenisei (Tuva and Hakasya) region inscriptions are gravestoneinscriptions engraved in stone with old Turkic script. In the light of theavailable data, these inscriptions, the dates of which are unknown, containsome differences from other inscriptions and manuscripts written in theold Turkic script. Some font characters, grammatical structures, semanticconnotations and words in context used in these inscriptions are some ofthe elements that make up these differences. Besides their differences,inscriptions and manuscripts have common elements. In the contextof these commonalities, the examination of the inscriptions of Yeniseiregion in terms of vocabulary contributes to the understanding of theseinscriptions. At this point, determining the root forms of some derivedwords is an important issue. The authors of the inscriptions were awareof the root forms of the words of which they used the derived forms.Although this type of root forms are absent in the context, structures withderived forms are called forward element. In this article, forward elementsseen in the Yenisei inscriptions will be determined. This will contributeto the determination of the commonalities and connections of the Yeniseiinscriptions in terms of vocabulary with other old Turkic inscriptionsand manuscripts. The determination of root forms has an important placein understanding the richness of the Yenisei inscriptions in terms ofvocabulary. In the study, the structures determined as derived forms willbe analyzed structurally and semantically until reaching the root form.This study will also contribute to the understanding of word derivation,semantic dimensions of words, voice changes and developments, and thedialect differences of the Turkic language in that period. In addition, deepetymological explanations of the mentioned words will be made.