L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, a dissertation defense for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) by Andirova Alina on the topic «The origin and development of the category of belonging in the language of the Turkic monuments of Middle Ages» to the educational program «8D02212 – Turkic studies».
The dissertation was carried out at the «Türkology education department» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University.
The language of defense is russian
Official reviewers:
Mаmynova Bagdan Kataykyzy – Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor of the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University (Almaty, Republic of Kazakhstan);
Molgazhdarov Kassiyet Kakenovich – Doctor of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of Ualikhanov Kokshetau University (Kokshetau, Republic of Kazakhstan).
Temporary members of the Dissertation Council:
Birsel Karakoç – Professor, Department of Linguistics and Philology of Turkic Languages, Uppsala University (Uppsala, Sweden);
Utebekov Senbek Beisenbekovich – Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Head of the Department of Turkic Philology, Khoja Akhmet Yassawi International Kazakh Turkish University (Turkestan, Kazakhstan);
Seitbekova Ainur Atashbekqizi – Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of Language History and Turkology, Akhmet Baitursynuly Institute of Linguistics (Almaty, Kazakhstan).
Scientific advisors:
Kairzhanov Abay Kairzhanovich – Doctor of Philology, Professor of the Department of Turkology, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University (Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan)
Nurettin Demir – Ph.D., Professor of the Department “Turkic Languages and Literature”, Hacettepe University (Ankara, Türkiye).
The defense will take place on February 28, 2026, at 09:00 AM in the Dissertation Council for the training direction «8D022 – Humanities» in the specialty «8D02212 – Turkic studies» of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University. The defense meeting is planned to be held online.
Link: https://clck.ru/3RQqjh
Address: Astana, str. K.Satpaev, 2, 302 auditorium.
Abstract (English): ABSTRACT of the dissertation work of Andirova Alina Erezhepbaykyzy “The origin and development of the category of belonging in the language of the Turkic monuments of Middle Ages”, submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in the Educational Program “8D02212 – Turkology”. The aim of the dissertation work is to study the category of possession in Old Turkic runic monuments through a synthesis of linguistic and cultural-historical approaches, in connection with the possessive mode of thinking of the ancient Turks, in order to identify the historical evolution of possessive affixes and to compare them with those of modern Turkic languages. The objectives of the dissertation work: - to analyze existing theoretical materials related to the dissertation topic and to describe the historiography of the problem within Turkic studies; - to carry out a scientific and methodological interpretation of the concepts of possession within the worldview system of Turkic peoples in the Middle Ages, taking into account cultural and linguistic factors; - to determine the specific features of the possessive thinking of the ancient Turks by examining the linguistic means of expressing possession inтrunic monuments of Middle Ages; - to formulate and substantiate a typology of synthetic possessive identification of the “I” and the “Not-I” based on Old Turkic texts; - to analyze the origin and historical evolution of possessive affixes in Turkic languages using diachronic “snapshots,” tracing the stages of their development from Middle Ages to modern forms; - to conduct a comparative analysis of Old Turkic possessive affixes and those in modern Turkic languages in order to identify general patterns and specific features of their evolution. Research Methods: To achieve the stated goals, the study employs a methodology of diachronic analysis aimed at identifying the origins of affixes of possession in Turkic languages. Elements of conceptual analysis of thought are also employed to reconstruct the characteristics of the possessive worldview of the ancient Turks, as reflected in the morphological devices found in the oldest runic inscriptions. Theses submitted for defense: 1. Possession is one of the fundamental categories of thinking and language among the ancient Turks, reflecting the relationship between the possessor and the possessed within their historical, cultural, and linguistic consciousness. The study demonstrates how borrowings and cultural interactions contributed to changes in grammar and vocabulary of Turkic languages. 2. Possessive affixes in Old Turkic have a synthetic origin, deriving from personal pronouns and spatial deictic markers, as evidenced by their formal and semantic evolution. The synthetic nature of possessive affixes is substantiated. It is established that possessive affixes originated from personal pronouns that initially performed spatial functions, which confirms the connection between locativity and possessivity at the early stages of language grammaticalization. 3. At the early stage of the development of the Turkic language, possession was expressed through the juxtaposition of nominal components, and later through the genitive case and specialized affixes, which indicates the process of grammaticalization of this category. 4. Possessive affixes emerged from personal pronouns, undergoing reduction, phonetic simplification, a shift to affixal position, and loss of stress, while preserving vowel harmony. 5. The category of possession in Old Turkic thinking reflected social order, collective identity, and mytho-ritual consciousness, in which the boundaries between the “I” and the “Not-I” were blurred. The proposed typology enables the study of the grammatical category of possession in medieval Turkic languages, taking into account their synchronic and diachronic characteristics and applying selected methods of descriptive linguistics. Description of the main research results: 1. The historical and philosophical basis of the category of belonging is established. A comprehensive study of the origins of the category of belonging in the Old Turkic language is conducted, combining linguistic, historical, and cultural data. A systematization of early forms of possessive constructions is proposed, based on the analysis of a wide corpus of Turkic monuments. It is shown that the possessive thinking of the Ancient Turks was formed in the context of an undifferentiated opposition between "I" and "not-I," where possession was viewed as a natural continuation of the ritual and social structure of Ancient Turkic society. 2. The stages of development of possessive constructions in the Old Turkic language are identified. The evolution of methods of expressing possession is traced: from the syntactic juxtaposition of nominal components to the use of the genitive case and further to morphological expression through affixes derived from personal pronouns. A comprehensive analysis of the influence of languages and cultures on the development of the category of possession in the Old Turkic language is conducted. The study demonstrates how borrowings and cultural interactions contributed to changes in grammar and vocabulary. 3. The synthetic nature of possessive affixes is substantiated. It is established that affixes of possession originated from personal pronouns that originally performed spatial functions, confirming the connection between locativity and possession in the early stages of language grammaticalization. 4. The relationship between possession and noun typology is revealed. It is shown that in the active system of the Yeniseian and Old Turkic languages, only active class nouns are capable of expressing organic possession, demonstrating the typological significance of this lexical-grammatical opposition. 5. The mechanisms of phonetic reduction of possessive morphemes are described. The processes of pronominal form reduction are analyzed: the first-person pronoun was reduced to /m/, the second-person to /ŋ/, accompanied by phonetic adaptation (labial assimilation and loss of stress), which led to the formation of modern affixes of possession. 6. Three methods of expressing possessive relationships in the Old Turkic language are identified. The morphological, morphological-syntactic, and syntactic methods of expressing possession are described, allowing us to establish a multi-level system of possessive representation. 7. The socio-cognitive nature of the category of possession is demonstrated. It is established that the grammatical category of possession arose as a result of the reflection of tribal and clan ties, which served as the basis for the formation of collective identity in archaic society. This approach allows us to see how social changes influenced linguistic processes. 8. The research proposes a typology of the category of belonging based on the dichotomy of "I" and "Not-I." The developed typology allows us to study the grammatical category of belonging in the Turkic languages of the Middle Ages (Karluk, Kypchak, Oghuz groups) taking into account their synchronic-diachronic features and using modern linguistic methods. Justification of the novelty and significance of the results: The scientific novelty of this work lies in the attempt to study, on the basis of extensive and diverse empirical material, and to present a comprehensive and systematized picture of the functioning of the category of possession in the language of Turkic written monuments of Middle Ages. The research addresses key linguistic aspects of current relevance to modern linguistics, including the historical dynamics of possessive affixes in Turkic languages, the morphological structure of words and word combinations with possessive markers, as well as the specifics of their syntactic functioning. A comprehensive analysis of the origin of the category of possession in Old Turkic is carried out, integrating linguistic, historical, and cultural data. A systematization of early forms of possessive constructions is proposed based on the analysis of a broad corpus of Turkic runic monuments. The main stages in the development of the category of possession are identified and described, making it possible to reconstruct successive changes in the grammatical structures of the Old Turkic language. This approach is innovative, as it takes into account the historical context and interactions with other languages and cultures. The synthetic nature of possessive affixes is substantiated. It is established that possessive affixes originated from personal pronouns that initially performed spatial functions, which confirms the link between locativity and possessivity at the early stages of language grammaticalization. A correlation between the development of the category of possession and the social structures of Turkic peoples is identified. This approach makes it possible to observe how social changes influenced linguistic processes. An analysis is also conducted of the influence of contact languages and cultures on the development of the category of possession in Old Turkic. The study demonstrates how borrowings and cultural interactions contributed to changes in grammar and vocabulary. A typology of possession based on the dichotomy of the “I” and the “Not-I” is proposed. The developed typology enables the study of the grammatical category of possession in medieval Turkic languages, taking into account their synchronic and diachronic characteristics and applying selected methods of descriptive linguistics. Relevance to scientific development and state programs: This dissertation aligns with the objectives and goals of the national program "Rukhani Zhangyru" (Spiritual Revival), which aims to revive and strengthen national identity and popularize Kazakhstan's cultural and historical heritage. The study of Turkic monuments and their linguistic characteristics significantly contributes to the achievement of this program's goals, helping to deepen knowledge of Turkic heritage and its significance for modern Kazakh culture. This dissertation aligns with the priority area for scientific development approved by the Higher Scientific and Technical Commission under the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan. Approbation of the research results were presented at international scientific and practical conferences and published in scientific journals. Six papers on the dissertation topic were published, including one article in a journal indexed in the Scopus database, three articles in journals in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee for Quality Assurance in Education and Science of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and two publications at international scientific and practical conferences. 1. Проблемы происхождения в функционировании поссесивных аффиксов в тюркских языках // ХVIII международная научная конференция студентов и молодых ученых «Ǵylym Jáne Bіlіm-2023 (Астана, 2023. – С. 2201-2204). 2. Вопросы происхождения аффиксов принадлежности в тюркских языках // Международная научно-практическая конференция «Проблемы исследования тюркских рунических памятников», посвященной 130-летию со Дня дешифровки тюркских рун Вильгельмом Томсеном (Астана, 2023. – С. 280-286). 3. Категория принадлежности и посессивное мышление древних тюрков (на материале рунических памятников письменности) // Язык и литература: теория и практика. – 2024. – №2. – C. 9-27. 4. Синтетическое посессивное отождествление «Я» и «НЕ-Я» В древнетюркских аффиксах принадлежности // Вестник Евразийского национального университета имени Л.Н. Гумилева. Серия: Политические науки. Регионоведение Востоковедение. Тюркология. – 2024. – №3(148). – C. 265-282. 5. Вопросы происхождения и функционирования аффиксов принадлежности в древнетюркском языке // Вестник КУ имени Ш. Уалиханова. Серия филологическая. – 2024. – №4. – C. 48-59. 6. ESKI TÜRKÇE IYELIK EKLERININ KAZAKÇA VE TÜRKIYE TÜRKÇESINDEKI DURUMU // Türkbilig. – 2024. – №48. – S. 127-140.
Conclusion of the Research Ethics Committee
Defense of the dissertation: https://youtu.be/QuHqqmC4Y3g https://youtu.be/vEyiir0M6GQ
