Ancient Turkic-Azerbaijani relations

Ancient Turkic-Azerbaijani relations—The preservation of the characteristics of ancient Turkish in the historical and modern stages of the Azerbaijani language, as well as in its dialects. Information provided in "Divanu Lugat-it-Turk" (11th century) and Ibn al-Muqaffa's dictionary (13th century) indicates a genetic connection between ancient languages and the Azerbaijani language. In the early stages of the development of literary Azerbaijani language, it maintained the common Turkic characteristics of the Oghuz group, which was understood by both Turkmen and Anatolian Turks.

Language rules and vocabulary
The presence of an ė sound between e and i in Orkhon monuments (beginning of the 8th century) was explained by bringing evidence from Azerbaijani Turkic: er "male" — ër "early". However, the e-i change is not always understood because it is mostly written as e in Azerbaijani, and in some cases it is i: bėl, dė. In two words in Azerbaijani, i is seen as a counterpart to e/ė in ancient Turkish: two, twenty. In addition, the suffix -mish, which has been transposed in Azerbaijani Turkish, comes from "ermiş" in ancient Turkish.

In ancient Turkish, words starting with "k" underwent a change to "g" in Turkish spoken in Turkey (such as gibi, gönül, göç, göğüs), while in Azerbaijani, they remained the same as in ancient Turkish (köç, könül, köç, köks). Similarly, the shift from "t" to "d" that occurred during the transition from ancient and medieval Turkish to Western Turkish did not occur in some Azerbaijani words: tikmək (to pull), tökmək (to pour), toxunmaq (to touch).

The dialects of the Azerbaijani language are very important in terms of preserving the vocabulary of Turkic languages. This is because these dialects contain many archaic elements belonging to ancient Turkish. Complex words consisting of two words from ancient Turkish (compounds) are also preserved in Azerbaijani language in a lively manner (for example, in the Aghjabadi dialect, the word "yencih-yencih" means "to speak without thinking"). Compounds in Azerbaijani dialects are encountered in "Divanu Lugat-it-Turk" (11th century). The words "curcur" (meaning "waterfall" in Gabala), "çırçır" (in Qazakh), "şar-şar" (in Mingachevir), "şırşır" (in Goygol, Shusha), and "şorşor" (in Qakh, Oguz, Shamkir) in the sense of "water flowing with noise" are given in "Divanu Lugat-it-Turk" as "çar çur/çaq çuq/çar çar/şar şar."

In the dialects of Nakhchivan, some ancient Turkish words that cannot be preserved in Azerbaijani Turkish are present. Among them, words indicating kinship hold a special place. For example, the word "giyəv/göyüm," used in Nakhchivan and Zaqatala dialects to mean "relative," is used in "Divanu Lugat-it-Turk" and Ibn al-Muqaffa's dictionary (13th century). This word is also found in Azerbaijani sources such as "Kitabi-Dede Gorgud" (13th-15th centuries) and "Dastani-Ahmad Harami" (13th century).

The inclusion of some words from the Talish language in ancient Turkic writings indicates the antiquity of Azerbaijani-Talish language relations. Additionally, traces of the Khazar language influence can be observed in the northern and northeastern dialects of the Azerbaijani language. Linguists use similarities between Azerbaijani dialects and the Chuvash language in the study and reconstruction of the Khazar language.

Toponymy
The toponym "Yevlakh" is derived from ancient Turkish and, according to the Soviet geographer Yevgeniya Pospelova from the 20th century, means "swamp." The toponym "Kelbajar" is derived from ancient Turkish "Kelbicer." "Kelbicer" means "fortress on the upper reaches of the river" ("kelbi" - "upper reaches of the river," "cer" - "fortress").

According to the legend recorded by the 19th-century author I.Linevich, until the 16th century, the city of Qakh was called "Toragay." This word is found in Mahmud al-Kashgari's dictionary "Divanu Lugat-it-Turk," where it means "refuge among the mountains" in the language of the Kipchaks. Considering that the city of Qakh is located in a valley between mountains, it can be assumed that the Kipchaks, who came through the Northern Caucasus, settled in Qakh and named it "Toragay."