REFLECTION OF THE PECULIARITIES THE DIALECT OF SEMIRECHENSK REGION IN “THE TALE OF KARA-MERGEN”

Abstract

The article describes vowel and consonant features of “The Tale of Kara-Mergen” (Kazan, 1901) from N. N. Pantusov’s collection which was recorded in Semirechye. The author considers in detail the monument`s writing system and analyzes the phonological and morphological features of the text’s language in comparison with the data of previously studied Cyrillic books in the Kazakh language [Wisdom of Jesus the Son of Sirach 1891; Primer for Kyrgyz people 1892; School of Piety 1892; The Baptism of Russia 1892], which were published within the framework of the Kyrgyz mission at the end of 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. The analysis showed that the vocalism presented in “Kara-Mergen” does not differ significantly from the vocalism of the compared first Cyrillic books in Kazakh. A review of examples illustrating the tendencies of labial vowel harmony showed that the labialization of narrow vowels of the second, third and fourth syllables is fixed in writing in all cases. As a result of the study, it was concluded that the system of vowel harmony in “Kara-Mergen” differs from the literary Kazakh language and from the first books studied earlier. This confirms the fact that scientists have not previously studied the first books in the Semirechensk dialect. An analysis of the accusative affix, the archaic version of which (-ny) sporadically preserved in “Kara-Mergen” and in Western [Wisdom 1891] and Northern [Primer 1892] dialect books, shows that its change, apparently, was not yet completed at the end of the 19th century.