Khalaj
Characteristics
- Retention of Old Turkic *d as /d/, e.g. Khalaj hada˙q "foot".
- Change of */ń/ to /n/ (rather than /y/), e.g. Arghu kanu "which", Khalaj qọ˙n "sheep".
- Preservation of word-final and preconsonantal */G/, e.g. Khalaj tāɣ, dāɣ 'mountain', sāruɣ 'yellow'.
- Preservation of Proto-Turkic long vowels, e.g. Khalaj tȫrt "four".
Notes
- Doerfer considers Khalaj to be a descendant of Arghu. However, as noted by Erdal (2004:73), the appearance of the Khalaj in Afghanistan predates Al-Kāšğarī's notes on the Arghu.
References
Al-Kāšğarī, Maḥmoud. 1982. Compendium of the Turkic Dialects (Dīwān Luγāt at-Turk). Edited and translated by Robert Dankoff with James Kelly. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Doerfer, Gerhard. 1987. Lexik und Sprachgeographie des Chaladsch. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
Doerfer, Gerhard. 1988. Grammatik des Chaladsch. Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz.
Erdal, Marcel. 2004. A Grammar of Old Turkic. Leiden: Brill.