An Altaysthetical Analysis on the #h Consonant in Khalaj Turkish
Abstract
The name Khalaj is an ancient tribal name. Among the Bactrian finds, a Brahmin coin from 720 AD contains the term "Hitivira Kharalaca," thought to have been used to describe the ruler of Kabul. In Chinese sources, the Xin Tangshu, while providing information on the Zabulistan region, uses the word Khalaj in two forms: Hedaluozhi and Gedaluozhi. In Islamic sources, it is rendered as "Halluh." In some fragments, the 6th-century Byzantine historian Menandros describes the visit of a Byzantine ambassador named Zemarkhos to the Western Turkic Khagan Istemi Khagan (553-575) in 569, mentioning a city called "Kholiatai." In Byzantine sources from the 6th and 7th centuries, the names "Hvls-Holas" and "Holac" are also encountered. The Khalaj, whose ancestry stems from the ancient Turks, were among the first Turkic tribes to fight against the Arabs during their initial campaigns against Turkestan (in the 7th century). The Khalaj chieftains, known as "Rutbil," played a particularly active role in Tokharistan during this period. The fact that the Khalaj Turks are considered among the first Turkic tribes to encounter Islamic raids suggests that they were among the first Turks to embrace Islam. During the Islamic period (7th-11th centuries), the Khalaj founded the "Kabul-Shahi" State, which ruled along the Kabul River south of the Hindu Kush. Mahmud of Ghazni ended the Khalaj rule in this region. Between the 13th and 14th centuries, they undertook conquests in South India on behalf of the Delhi Sultanate, ultimately establishing the Khalaji period, which lasted from 1290 to 1320. The Khalaj migrated southwest from Tokharistan. Settlements named Khalaj can be found in various parts of North and South Azerbaijan and Anatolia. The Khalaj, who still exist in the Qom province of Iran today, became a Pashtun group in the Ghazni region of Tokharistan, and underwent a transformation under the name "Ghilzai." The Khalaj tribal name is encountered in Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Russia, India, and Iran, as well as in the Turkish provinces of Afyon, Bolu, Çankırı, Giresun, Istanbul, Kastamonu, Niğde, Tokat, Uşak, Yozgat, and Zonguldak (in the form of village names), such as Halaç, Halaca, Halaçlar, or Halaçlı. This Turkic tribe lives in Khalajistan, a sub-unit governed by the fermandari sub-unit in present-day Iran, west of Qom Province. Khalaj Turkish, recognized by UNESCO as a language in danger of extinction, has seven dialects. While Khalaj Turkish was on the verge of extinction, Ali Asker Cemrasi, born in Talhab-Khalajistan, managed to temporarily halt this threat of extinction by studying his native language and publishing a dictionary.
Although Khalaj Turkic resembles the late-period Salar Turkic spoken in Gansu Province in northwestern China and incorporates many elements of ancient and medieval Turkic languages, maintaining common characteristics as it did during the Karluk era, it has been unable to maintain its presence in India and has been unable to prevent widespread Persianization in Iran, where it originated. Its number of speakers has been decreasing since the 1970s. Khalaj Turkic originates from an ancient Turkic dialect called Argu. The XI th-century Turkish lexicographer Mahmud of Kashgar was the first to provide written examples of Argu, largely consistent with modern Khalaj. Gerhard Doerfer, who rediscovered Khalaj Turkic, has proven that this archaic Turkic dialect was the first to diverge from Common Turkic. Khalaj Turkic, which shares archaic linguistic features with its dialects, is considered endangered, along with its dialects.
It possesses extremely important phonetic features in Turkish and Altaic studies. One, perhaps the most important, is the consonant "h," whose origin can be traced back three thousand years. Therefore, it possesses crucial linguistic sound values in the context of the age of the Turkish language. The study focused on these sounds and analyzed the testimonies. This study focused on the Turkish of the Khalaj people, who descended from the Argus. After providing a brief historical overview, the fundamental phonetic characteristics of Khalaj Turkish were examined. Primary long vowels and secondary long vowels were identified and evidence demonstrated that the initial "h" consonant originated from five distinct Altaic origins.
Keywords
Halaç Türkçesindeki #h Ünsüzü Üzerine Altayistik Bir İrdeleme
Abstract
Halaç ismi kadüm bir boy adıdır. Baktriya bulguları içinde yer alan 720 yılına ait Brahmice bir sikkede Kâbul hükümdarını nitelemek için kullanıldığı tahmin edilen “Hitivira Kharalaca” ifâdesine rastlanılmıştır. Çin kaynaklarında ise Xin Tangshu’da, Zabulistan bölgesi üzerine malumat verilirken Hedaluozhi ve Gedaluozhi şeklinde iki farklı formda Halaç kelimesi geçer. İslâm kaynaklarında “Halluh” şeklinde ifâde edilmiştir. VI. yy. Bizans tarihçisi Menandros bazı Fragmanlarında, Zemarkhos adlı Bizans elçisinin 569 yılında Batı Gök Türk kağanı İstemi Kağan’ı (553-575) ziyaret edişi olayını tasvir ederken “Kholiatai” isimli bir şehirden haber verir. VI-VII. yy. Bizans kaynaklarında ise “Hvls-Holas”, “Holac” ismine rastlanmaktadır. Kadim Türklere soyu dayanan Halaçlar, Arapların Türkistan’a sefer düzenlediği ilk yıllarda (VII. yy.) onlarla savaşan ilk Türk boyları arasındadır. Bilhassa bu süreçte “Rutbil” ünvanlı Halaç Beyleri, Tohâristan’da etkin bir role sahipti. Halaç Türklerinin İslâm akınları ile karşılaşan ilk Türk boyları arasında gösteriliyor olması, onların ilk İslâmlaşan Türkler arsında olduğunun söylemesine imkân sağlar. Halaçlar İslâmî dönemde (VII-XI. yy.) Hindukuş’un cenubunda, Kâbul nehri boyunca hüküm sürecek olan “Kâbul-Şâhî” Devletini kurdular. Halaçların bu bölgedeki hükümranlığını Gazneli Mahmud sonlandırmıştır. XIII-XIV. yy.’lar arasında ise Delhi Türk Sultanlığı adına Güney Hindistan’da fütuhat yaptılar ve nihayetinde 1290’dan 1320 yılına kadar devam edecek olan Halacîler evresini kurdular. Halaçlar, Tohâristan’dan güney-batıya göç ettiler. Kuzey-Güney Azerbaycan ve Anadolu’nun farklı yerlerinde Halaç isimli yerleşkelere rastlanır. Günümüzde İran’ın Kum eyaletinde hâlâ varlık gösteren Halaçlar Tohâristan’ın Gazne bölgesinde bir zümre Peştunlaşıp “Gılzey” adı altında değişime uğradı. Halaç boy adına Afganistan, Azerbaycan, Rusya, Hindistan ve İran’da olduğu gibi Türkiye’nin Afyon, Bolu, Çankırı, Giresun, İstanbul, Kastamonu, Niğde, Tokat, Uşak, Yozgat ve Zonguldak gibi illerinde (köy adı şeklinde) Halaç, Halaca, Halaçlar veya Halaçlı biçiminde rastlanılmaktadır. Bu Türk boyu günümüz İran’ında -Kum eyaletinin batısında- fermandari denilen alt birimle yönetilen Halacistan’da yaşamaktadırlar. UNESCO tarafından yok olma tehlikesi altındaki diller arasında kabul edilen Halaç Türkçesinin 7 diyalekti vardır. Halaç Türkçesi yitim sürecindeyken Talhab-Halacistan doğumlu Ali Asker Cemrasi konuşuru olduğu kendi ana dili üzerine çalışmalar yaparak ve bir sözlük de neşrederek bu yok olma tehlikesini geçici bir süre de olsa duraklatabildi.
Keywords
