What is it about?
The study traces the Proto-Turkic verbal base *pïrŭ-, meaning ‘to foretell’ (and generating nouns for ‘omen’ and ‘divination’), and shows that it was borrowed into Kitan, Jurchenic, Proto-Mongolic, and Proto-Korean. The widespread diffusion of this word confirms the cultural and spiritual impact of Turkic-speaking peoples on adjacent prehistoric cultures.
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Why is it important?
The study traces the prehistoric spread of the Proto-Turkic word *pïrŭ- ‘to foretell’ (which forms nouns for ‘omen’ and ‘divination’) across these language groups. The wide diffusion of this single term confirms that the spirituality and cultural impact of the Turkic-speaking peoples had a significant effect on adjacent cultures in the prehistoric era. Additionally, the findings challenge recent linguistic arguments that classify certain related words as loans originating from Mongolian instead of Turkic.
Perspectives
The study initially began with an attempt to relate the Proto-Turkic verb pïrŭ- ‘to foretell’ to a Hurro-Urartian word, but this etymology was eventually abandoned during the peer-review process.
Dr. Orcun Unal
Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Gottingen
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This page is a summary of: A word of Turkic origin in Altaic languages: *<em>pïrŭ</em>- ‘to foretell’, Turkic Languages, January 2023, Harrassowitz Publishing House,
DOI: 10.13173/tl.27.1.035.
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