The Syntactic Valency of Some Verbs in The Book of Dede Korkut: Diachronic Differences

Abstract

This article examines the verbs in the text of The Book of Dede Korkut (Kitab-i Dede Korkut) whose syntactic valency shows differences when compared to Modern Oghuz languages. The verbs that we examine are the following: as- 'to hang', at- 'to shoot', bulis- 'to meet', doy- 'to have one's fill of something; to become satiated', ilis- 'to be hitched, incin- 'to be offended', ko- (koy-) 'to allow', kon- 'to settle; to peach', kop- 'to appear; to break out', kur-; tik- (dik-) 'to build; to set up, to pitch', küs- 'to be offended', mustula- 'to convey good news', öp- 'to kiss', sarmas- 'to embrace one another'; sor- 'to ask', sög- 'to curse, to swear', tog- 'to be born', ur- 'to strike; to beat', usan- 'to be tired of, to be bored', yapis- 'to grasp; to stick', yaralan- 'to be wounded'. These verbs are investigated from a diachronic point of view. The article also makes some explanations concerning the reasons for the diachronic changes.