Why Some Old Turkic Words Begin with a Vowel and Others with “Y”

What is it about?

Old Turkic words sometimes begin with a vowel (ø-) and sometimes with y-, and this study collects all such Old Uyghur examples to explain why. By comparing them with modern Turkic cognates and reconstructing earlier forms, it shows that y- is usually a later development from an older *h- (only rarely an “extra” y- added for ease of pronunciation), and that in a few cases an original y- actually disappears. That y-loss matches later Oghuz patterns, especially in Azerbaijani, South Oghuz, and Khorasan Turkic, suggesting the change began earlier than the historical record, and it may also explain why some Khalaj words have h- where y- would be expected.

Featured Image

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash

Photo by The Cleveland Museum of Art on Unsplash