Examples of Archaism in Classical Turkish Poetry in Terms of Structure and Meaning
Sevda Özen Eratalay, Murat KeklikLanguage is both the preserver and transmitter of a culture. Cultural elements are retained and transmitted to the future thanks to written language. The richest period of Turkish literature in terms of written works is doubtlessly the Classical Turkish Literature Period. Texts from Classical Turkish Literature are rich sources not only for literary people but also for linguists. It is possible to track the vocabulary, grammatical structures and archaic elements of the Turkish language from the texts of classical Turkish literature. However, language structure has changed and even structures far removed from the real texture of the language sometimes emerged as classical Turkish literature extended over many centuries. It is necessary to properly understand the classical Turkish poetry and to know the characteristics of the historical periods of the Turkish language to examine and analyze these structures more effectively. In this study, the focus was seventeen archaic terms and idioms (ağzına sögmek, alaçlık olmak, ancalayın, arkalanmak, aylandurmak, baş koşmak, başına topraklar saçmak, bun demi, cân kefde baş etekte, cân yidmek, çığrışmak, ege komak, el kavşurmak, el yumak, gönlekcek, kan yalaşmak, tevbeyi sımak) determined in Hayretî’s Divan. The determined terms and idioms were reviewed in other divans and examples of couplets were reproduced. Terms and idioms were analyzed in terms of roots and structures, examples of couplets were translated within the language and the meaning frames of the related terms and idioms and the concepts they were used in were shown.
Yapı ve Anlam Bakımından Klasik Türk Şiirinde Arkaizm Örnekleri
Sevda Özen Eratalay, Murat KeklikDil kültürün koruyucusu ve aktarıcısıdır. Yazıya geçirilen dil sayesinde kültür öğeleri de muhafaza edilir ve geleceğe aktarılır. Türk edebiyatının yazılı ürünler bakımından en zengin dönemi hiç şüphesiz klasik Türk edebiyatı dönemidir. Klasik Türk edebiyatı metinleri yalnızca edebiyatçılar için değil dilciler için de zengin kaynaklardır. Türk dilinin söz varlığını, gramer yapılarını, arkaik unsurlarını klasik Türk edebiyatı metinlerinden takip edebilmek mümkündür. Ancak klasik Türk edebiyatı uzun yüzyıllara yayıldığından dilin yapısı evirilip değişmiş hatta bazen dilin gerçek dokusundan uzaklaşan yapılar ortaya çıkmıştır. Bu yapıları incelemek ve çözümleyebilmek için klasik Türk şiirini hakkıyla anlamak ve Türk dilinin tarihsel dönemlerine ait özellikleri bilmek gerekir. Çalışmada Hayretî Divanı’nda tespit edilen on yedi arkaik kavram ve deyim (ağzına söğmek, alaçlık olmak, ancalayın, arkalanmak, aylandurmak, baş koşmak, başına topraklar saçmak, bun demi, cân kefde baş etekte, cân yidürmek, çığrışmak, ege komak, el kavşurmak, el yumak, gönlekcek, kan yalaşmak, tevbeyi sımak) üzerinde durulmuştur. Tespit edilen kavram ve deyimler diğer divanlarda da taranarak beyit örnekleri çoğaltılmıştır. Kavram ve deyimler köken ve yapı bakımından incelenmiş örnek beyitlerin dil içi çevirisi yapılarak ele alınan kavram ve deyimlerin anlam çerçeveleri ve kullanıldıkları bağlamlar gösterilmiştir.
Poetry, which is one of the most peculiar means of expressing emotions and thoughts, is the reflection of harmony and aesthetic in language. Poets prefer powerful styles of expression in their work and to do this, they use different words, idioms, structures and notions. Poetic language is unique and strong, and what makes poetry great is the use of peculiar forms that poets created for solely their poems. One of the factors of the poems of masters of classical Turkish poetry is that they include archaic elements in their poems. This study analyzes how certain poets who dominate classical Turkish poetry use these archaic words or structures. To this end, whether these structures are used in today’s Turkish vernaculars and Turkish dialects will be discussed by carefully evaluating the structures in terms of etymon, meaning and phonetics. The phrase ‘ağzına sögmek’ (swearing at one’s mouth), which was used in poems as vulgarity and swearing, was analyzed in terms of phonetics alongside scientific studies conducted regarding this issue. By giving the semantic equivalent of the idiom ‘alaçlık olmak’ in Turkish dialects, its use in couplets was mentioned. Then, the notion of ‘ancalayın’ was highlighted. The study indicated in which structures and with what meanings in the periods of Turkish language the notion appeared. The verb “arkalanmak” was then discussed. The notion of “arkalanmak” was evaluated in semantic terms and examples from couplets were given. Furthermore, the notion of “aylandurmak” was tackled in terms of its uses in Turkish dialects and Turkish vernaculars and its semantic variety was thoroughly examined. Following this, the meanings of the idioms “başkoşmak” (work hard to succeed) and “başına toprak saçmak” were discussed and studies/articles regarding the topic were specified. Another interesting phrase in the study was “bun demi”. Both the phonetic and semantic equivalents as well as equivalents of the idiom in Turkish dialects were given and thus it was revealed that it is among the irreplaceable structures of classical Turkish poetry. It is possible to encounter this idiom in many couplets of different poets of that period and for this reason, couplet examples from different poets who lived in the 16th century were introduced. In classical Turkish poetry, where aesthetic and artistic value is deemed high, poets use various analogies, arts and concepts to stimulate a more impressive expression, as mentioned above. Sometimes, it is not precisely known why they administer such utilizations, or what kind of a connection they establish in the meaning framework when they incorporate a concept in the poem. One such utilization is the idiom “can kefdebaşetekte” which we attempted to explain drawing upon the couplets. Again, one of the most instructive elements on this matter is Turkish dialects. The idiom of “can yidürmek” [losing one’s soul] which is one of the most significant connotations of death or killing, is one of the idioms widely used by Classical Turkish poets in their poems. Hence, this idiom has been explained within a structural framework moving from the couplets from some of these poets. Another action “çığrışmak” [screaming] is among the structures we come across frequently in the couplets. This action is addressed within a structural context and the affixes it incorporates are discussed. Examples from remarkable poets of the era, e.g. Şem’i and Hayreti, were given benefiting from the previous studies conducted on the subject. The study proceeds with the idioms using the combined actions of “egekomak” and “el kavşurmak” [kowtowing], where we present structural analyses. Next, we move on to the idiom “el yumak” [hand washing] where the structure in the second part of this idiom is subjected to a structural linguistic analysis within the context of affixes; that is the action of “yu” [wash] is addressed. This is a very important action because it has been used since ancient times in Turkish. Therefore, several examples are given from the poets. The study, then addresses the concept of “gönlekcek” [with only one shirt] which was analyzed drawing on the -cAk/çAk diminutive suffixes. The study ends with the idioms “kanyalaşmak” [sucking each other’s blood] and “tevbeyisımak” [breaking repentance] where the importance of the “kanyalaşmak” [sucking each other’s blood] in Turkish society is highlighted and some of the studies on the subject are addressed. Regarding the idiom “tevbeyisımak” [breaking repentance], the action of “sı” [breaking] is emphasized and from that standpoint, its different meanings within various eras of Turkish are presented. In this study, each concept, idiom and structure that makes significant contributions to Classical Turkish Poetry and which bears artistic drive within the aesthetic framework are defined alongside presentations of several examples from poets.
