Analysis of compound nouns containing the word "Alp" in Mahmud Kāshgarī's Dīwān Lughāt al -Turk

Dīwān Lughāt al - Turk by Mahmud Kāshgarī is a significant work in the study of linguistics and literary works from the 11th century AD. It covers cultural, social, political, geographical subjects, and the use of compound words such as "Alp" is prevalent throughout the book. The work is considered unique among the Turk nation from a scientific, historical, and linguistic point of view. The Kāshgarī's linguistic view, the introduction of words, grammatical rules, and phonetic features of Turkic languages are examined in this book. The work was written during the reign of the Khaqani Turks, and it reflects the use of specific old Turkish nouns by members of the nobility. For example, each member of the nobility had old Turkish nouns like: Tegin çağr, Tegin küç, Qutluğ Tegin, Tegin kömüş, Tuğ Tegin, börı Tegin, Toŋa Tegin, Arsalan Tegin, tuğrul Tegin, Yenal Tegin, Qara Tegin. The Khaqan kings also used the word "Öge(üke) Tegit" to refer to their youngest children and individuals removed from their positions. The book analyzes the structure of compound nouns with the word "Alp", such as "Alp Aya", "Alp Er Toŋa ”, "AlpAağut", and "AlpTegin", using the library method. The semantic and formal features of these compound nouns are also examined, drawing on reliable scientific sources and data from Dīwān Lughāt al -Turk . Overall, this research provides a detailed examination of the linguistic and historical significance of Dīwān Lughāt al -Turk.


Introduction
The 11th century was a period of significant growth and development of science and culture in central Asia.During this time, scholars like Mahmud Kāshgarī made important contributions to the field of linguistics (Kamal, 2004).
Mahmud Kāshgarī, the pioneering linguist and researcher of the 11th century, expressed his linguistic perspective in the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk.This work is widely regarded as an important contribution to historical linguistics.Kāshgarī's treatise encompasses the classification and grammatical characteristics of Turkic languages, as well as various other topics such as literary, folkloric, social, geographical, legal, and military aspects from a linguistic standpoint.One of the compound words in Kāshgarī's Divan is "Aya Alp" or "Alp Aya", with the second element "Aya" derived from the infinitive "Ayamoq," signifying respect, honor, dignity, pride, and interest," as well as "palm" (Claus, 1972, p. 267).Furthermore, the word "Aya" also conveys the meanings of "mother, teacher, educator, showing respect to elders", and signifies "the best" (Amanoğlu, 2000, p. 8).
Mahmud ibn Hussayen ibn Muhammad al-Kāshgarī was an 11th-century KaraKhanid scholar and lexicographer from Kashgar, known for his contributions to the Turkic languages.His father, Hussayen, was the mayor of Barsgan, a town in the southeastern part of the lake of Issyk-Kul, which is now the village of Barskoon in Northern Kyrgyzstan's Issyk-Kul region.Around 1057 C.E., Mahmud Kāshgarī became a political refugee before settling down in Baghdad (Kamal, 2004) .
In Baghdad, Kāshgarī studied the Turkic languages of his time and compiled the first comprehensive dictionary of Turkic languages, the Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk (English: "Compendium of the languages of the Turks"), in 1072-74 (Clauson, 1961).The dictionary was intended for use by the Abbasid Caliphate, the new Arab allies of the Turks.Mahmud Kāshgarī's comprehensive dictionary, later edited by the Turkish historian Ali Amiri, contains specimens of old Turkic poetry in the typical form of quatrains, representing all the principal genres: epic, pastoral, didactic, lyric, and elegiac (Roudik, 2007).His book also included the first known map of the areas inhabited by Turkic peoples, which is housed at the National Library in Istanbul (Clark, 1998).
Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk also contains linguistic data about multiple Turkic dialects that may have been gathered from merchants and others involved in trade along routes that travelled through the Oguz steppe.The origin of the compiled information is not known.Scholars believe it is likely that Kāshgarī would have gathered most of the content about Oguz-Turkmen from Oguz tribes in Khorasan, since he himself was a student in Seljuk Baghdad.However, it is possible that some of this material could have come from early Turkmen (Clark, 1998).Other scholars believe that the compendium was based on the Turkish language of the Chigil tribe in the Kara-Khanid confederation.However, scholars have not yet come to a settled conclusion .
Kāshgarī promoted monolinguals and linguistic purity in the Turkic languages, and he believed in the superiority of nomadic people, as the Turkic tribes had traditionally been nomads, over urban populations.Most of his Turkic-speaking contemporaries were bilingual in Tajik, which was then the urban and literary language of Central Asia .
Kāshgarī came from a noble family and was expected to serve as the 9th Khan in the Khanate-Khan dynasty.He hailed from an ancient historical city, which is now the namesake of the state capital of Eastern Turkestan, a region that is part of China (Kāshgarī, 2005, p. 26).
Kāshgarī, as the first Turkic scholar, is the focus of attention for many historians.He is the first person to have written a typology of Turkish languages and dialects in his books.Kāshgarī studied linguistic materials in the school of Arabic/Islamic linguistics.He authored two significant works titled "Al-Jawaher ul-Nahw Fi Lughat al-Turk" and "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk", although "Jawaher ul-Nahwu Fi Lughat al-Turk" remains undiscovered (Normanov, 2002, p. 48).

Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk
Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk is a dictionary in the Arabic language written about the Turkic language by Mahmud Kāshgarī in the 11th century.This book was initially written to teach Turkic to the Arabs, but it also covers the history, folklore, mythology, geography, anthropology, and literature of the Turkic peoples before and after Islam, as well as the grammar rules of Turkish languages and their dialectology.The dictionary is divided into eight books, each with two sections organized according to the norms of the Arabic language.It contains 7500 morphemes, 290 expressions, and 220 phrases.Kāshgarī wrote the books at the age of 82 and passed away at 97 at the end of the fifth century (Kāshgarī, 2004, p. 16).Each book is further divided into "Nouns" and "Verbs".In both sections, Turkic words from that era are listed in alphabetical order based on their syllable count, starting with two-syllable words and ending with six-syllable words.Therefore, "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk" is the first dictionary presented to readers as a compilation of Kāshgarī's general Turkic studies.Kāshgarī began this work in 464 AH and completed it in 466 AH with meticulous planning and hard work.In this work, Kāshgarī collected and compiled the lexicon of the Turkic language according to the morphological rules of the Arabic language, along with a detailed description and examples of oral literature, creating a Turkish dictionary.In essence, the book "Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk" is a comprehensive Turkic encyclopedia (Kāshgarī, 2004, p. 26).

Data Analysis
The dictionary is divided into eight books, each of which is further divided into two parts based on the morphology of the Arabic language.Each part contains 7500 morphemes, 290 expressions, and 220 phrases.Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk divided into eight chapters: like Hamzah, Salem, Maz'af, Misal, Zul-Thalasa, Zul-arb'aa, Zul-Ghunna, and Zul-Sakinin.Each chapter then divided into two parts, "Nouns" and "Verbs".In this research, we will examine the compound nouns containing the word "Alp" in Mahmud Kāshgarī's Dīwān.Alp conveys adjectives such as hero, warrior, power, strength, and bravery, as well as the concept of being young, brave, tall, and having a wide-neck, including a military term (Gömeç, 2000, p. 929).The term "Alp" is associated with war and military conveys the meaning of strength, force, warrior, brave, hero, and the meaning of the word "soldier" in the Persian language and "brave" in the Mongolian language (Turan, 2018, p.165).
From Kāshgarī Dīwāns: Sü kəldi yər yapa Qarar qar tağ tapa Qaçtıti aŋar alp aya Ufut bolup ol yaşar (Anabiritanica, 1986, p. 470) Description: The army arrived on the land and horses' hooves covered the snowy mountains and hills.The warrior known as "Aya" Alp shame escaped and hidden.The word "Aya" is used as a noun, an adjective, or as a military degree in Uighur language and Orxon texts.The word "Alp" is mentioned in the inscriptions of Orxon and Qutadghobilik (Yusuf Has Hajeb1069) (Normanov, 2002).And among the Muslim Turks, it has been evaluated to "Gazi Alp, Alp Ghazi".And it is mentioned "Alp-Eranlar" in the Sufism Tariqa.During the Seljuk time, this term was used as a military title, and especially the rulers, the great Amirs, chose this title for themselves.Later, at the time of the establishment of the Turkish state, the title "Alp", together with the Turkish historical titles " Ishanch, Qutlugh, Belga ", became the official titles of rulers.During the time of the Khwarizmi's, Atabikans and Artoqis, the titles "Alp-Qutulagh", "Alp Ishanch-Qutlug Alp" and "Alp Ghazi" were used more.And in the period of the Georgians and Turkic governments in India, it became common and the great Amir's were given the title "Alp khan" by the rulers (Anabirtannica, 1986, p. 471).Alp is a term that is used as a title and as a combination of personal nouns (Memedeli, 1996, p. 97-98).The titles are mentioned with the word "Alp" in the combination of personal nouns can be seen in the following words: Alp âya, Alp Ertunga, Alp Qutlugh, and Alp Turkan (Memedeli, 1996: 98).
In addition, the term "Alp" is used in Turkish literature as a symbol to represent heroism, youth, and is also used in the plural form of Askari in the combination of personal nouns.The term "Alp" was historically used to refer to nobles belonging to noble families within the tribe.The adjective "Alp" was given as a noun to describe a young man with a pure heart, strength, zeal, skill in riding a horse, well-dressed, master of spear and bow, proficient in sword skills, and dedicated to serving the people.Those who possess high character, morale, and social standing in society are referred to as "Alp" (Yardımcı, 2006, p. 1-2).
According to the descriptions above, the word "Alp" is considered to mean honorable, proud, hero, and honor .
Alp Er Tunŋa: Brave.For example: "Alp yağida alçaq çoğida".explanation: brave known face to face with the enemy and a meek man in the conflict .
The legendary king of Turan, Alp Er Toŋa, is revered as the founding father of the Turkish governors and has been a symbol of heroism in the historical tales of Turkish clans.Toŋa Alp Er ruled in Transoxiana before Alexander and is widely regarded as the most renowned king of Turan.Alp Er Toŋa was constantly engaged in conflict with the dominant world powers, gaining fame during the Turko-Iranian wars of the 7th century, where he repeatedly defeated the Iranian army (Şenocak, 2019, p. 128).
With all these attributes, Alp Er Toŋa fought tirelessly for the well-being and prosperity of his clan until the end of his life.He was known as a just and formidable leader, and his virtues, youth, justice, wisdom, and other qualities were mourned by a nation and even the world after his passing.Alp Er Toŋa dedicated himself to promoting the idea of Turkish world sovereignty, establishing himself as a skilled politician (Şenocak, 2019, p. 133).The epic battles of Alp Er Toŋa are detailed in Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, and he met his demise at a treacherous gathering to which he was invited by the governor of the Medes, Kixaris (Anabirtanica, 1986, p. 475).
Alpağut: A courageous young man who fearlessly confronted the enemy alone and was never captured by either side.He is also depicted in this piece : Bužraç yemə qudurdı Alpağutın ažırdı Süsin yana qadırdı kəlgəlimət irkəşür (Kāshgarī, 2005, p. 140) Buzraj, the Beg Tirah of "Yabaghu," once again returned to his army and selected the courageous ones to gather for an attack (Kāshgarī, 2005, p. 142).
The noun "Alpağut" is mentioned in Qara Yüs and Köl Tigin inscriptions, and its plural form is "Yalpağut."It means "strong, agile, master of war, experienced soldier".
Based on the explanations of the above poems, the word "Alpağut" is associated with the meaning of "heroes", and its plural form is depicted in the following poem : Qorqma aŋar otru turup təgrə Qapsa anıŋ alpağutın andan yar Explanation: Do not be afraid of the enemy, confront him, stand face to face, turn over the braves and leach them like a prism (Kāshgarī, 2004, p. 613).Alp Tegin: About "Alp Tegin" is explained at Dīwān Lughāt al-Turka follows: "Tigin" originally means "bondman".Bondman of Simin and Simgun were called Kümüştigin, bondman of brave, called "Alptigin", and the bondman of blessed "QutluğTigin".Then this noun was used only for the children and grandchildren of the Khaqans.This word is used with the noun of one of the hunting birds.For example: "Çağrı Tigin" This means: "Tegini" attacking like an eagle."Küç tigin" strong means.Later, this noun was taken from slaves and bondman and applied to the children of Afrasiab.They respected their fathers.Whenever they spoke or wrote something to their fathers, they write: "This servant did this and this servant did that."And this noun remained on them gradually.But they also added a word to this, to separate their noun from the noun of the bondman (Kāshgarī, 2004, p. 250).The issue of naming of people, beings even bondman in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turks are also met in a difficult way.With the above explanation, the noun of a person called "āyas" refers to a bondman who has a bright face; and the term "Tegin" with the meaning of "prince" (Amanoğlu, 2000, p. 9).There are different views on the naming and pronunciation of the title and rank "Tegin" which was given to some children (sons) of the Turkic governors.According to Chavannes, the word "To" is an abbreviated form of Tokin "Tegin".According to Ramstedt, "Teggin" is likened to "Tegin" and this word is connected to the word Tek(virtue)+in(person) in Korean language.It means "authoritative person".Also, "Altheim" confirmed its pronunciation as Tekkin(Teggin), which he considers its meaning in Chinese or Iranian language origin.Like Altheim, Gabian also connects some nouns like "Tegin" to the Middle Iranian language (Odabaşı, 2019, p. 180).
In the inscriptions of the Kuk Turks "Kül Tegin, Yulluğ Tegin and Toŋa Tegin" and in the historical sources of the Uyghurs, "Or Tegin and Menglig Tegin", the word "Tegin" is also seen in the monetary units of the Āqhuns, in the Qarakhanids, Ghaznavids and the Seljuks.According to the above resource, Mahmud Kāshgarī has shown the idiomatic meaning of "Tegin" as "bondman"."Tegins" also held the title-rank "Yabğu" or "Şad" during their duties as a commander in the military or as governors in one of the regions.The title "Tegin" has been changed depending on the region and time.To separate the members of the bondman family from the governors, before the word "Tegin" or according to the character of the people, nouns like: Tegin çağrı, küç Tegin, QutluğTegin, kömüş Tegin, Tegin Tuğ , Börı Tegin, Toŋa Tegin, Tegin Arsalan , TeginTuğrul, Tegin Yenal, Qara Tegin" are mentioned.Khaqans used the word "Öge (üke) Tegit" for their youngest children and the people who were removed from their position."Tegit" is the plural form of the word "Tegin".The princes of the Huns were also called "Tegin" (Odabaşı, 2019, p. 180).
"Tegin", which was given by the Khaqans as a great title for their children, also means "slave and prince" and has been used in the combination of personal nouns (Memedeli, 1996: 100).

Conclusion:
The term "Alp" is an old Turkish word used as a title or nickname in combination with personal nouns such as Alp Aya, Alp Er Toŋa, Alpağut, Alptegin, and others.Additionally, "Alp" is a military term that means "brave person, hero, man of the field."The noun "AlpAya" denotes a proud and honorable hero.Alp Er Toŋa is the Turkish noun for Afrasiab and the noun for the epic kingdom of Turan/Turks of the world.This noun is a combination of three terms (Alp-Er-Toŋa), where "Alp" means "hero," "Er" means a successful young man, and "Toŋa" is the name of a tiger, which means "heroic person".The noun "Alpağut" is also a military term, which is the plural form of the word "Alp" and means "hero and master of war ".Furthermore, "Alp Tegin" is a compound noun, and its second part "Tegin" is used as a title, meaning "prince."The noun "Alp Tegin" refers to the brave prince.This analysis focuses on the word "Alp" with other compound words.The analysis of the compound words of Dīwān Lughāt al-Turks is beyond the scope of this article.Therefore, future researchers are recommended to conduct further research on the topics of compound nouns in Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk .