Old Turkic And Modern Bashkir Names Of Trees And Their Parts

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the comparative study of lexis of the Old and Middle Turkic written monuments and the modern Bashkir language and the identification of semantic peculiarities of the analysed vocabulary units. The lexical material is analysed both diachronically and synchronously using contrastive, comparative, comparative-historical and descriptive methods. This set of methods lets authors conduct a detailed study of names of the trees and their parts used in the Old and Middle Turkic monuments in comparison with the modern Bashkir and other Turkic languages. The phytonyms' basis of the modern Bashkir language denoting the names of parts of plants, wild trees, fruit trees and bushes is the Old Turkic stratum. The Old Turkic stratum is a Common Turkic relic. For thousands of years the Turkic-speaking people preserved the basic Common Turkic word-names denoting the plant kingdom unchanged. It is explained by the fact that their formation took place at the time of the greatest similarity of the Turkic languages and dialects. A certain part of the Old Turkic names of trees and their parts has undergone semantic changes in the modern Bashkir language. Plant names of the modern Bashkir language being the oldest historic stratum of the Bashkir language represent material and spiritual culture and household of the people starting from the earliest times. The main part of the names was formed at the time of the Old Turkic linguistic community, as evidenced by the plant names which nowadays are widely spread in many Turkic languages.

Keywords: Language of the Middle Turkic monumentslanguage of the Old Turkic monumentslexis of the Bashkir languageOld Turkic names of plantsphytonyms of the Bashkir languageTurkic lexis

Introduction

The main part of the lexis of the Old Turkic monuments has been preserved in the modern Bashkir language. Throughout the history, these words were included into the main vocabulary of the Bashkir language. And they compiled a commonly used lexical stratum. Materials of the Old Turkic written monuments are of great help for determination of the earliest lexemes in the modern Bashkir literary language as well as in its dialects and subdialects. The language study of the written monuments as compared with the modern languages affords full material coverage, more thorough analysis of the semantic processes of the studied lexis. The last-mentioned would in turn help to clear up the particular questions of the language history: development of phonetic and lexical processes, grammar changes, identification and reveal of historical links between the Turkic languages.

Problem Statement

There is a huge amount of works devoted to the history of the Bashkir language in the Bashkir linguistics. This problem was the study object of Akhmerov (1972), Akhmetov (1978), Aznabaev and Psyanchin (1976), Galyautdinov (1990), Garipov (1979), Ishberdin (1986), Khabibullina (2004, 2008), Khalikova (1990), Khisamitdinova (1989), Kiekbaev (1958) and others. Their works consider such problems as formation and development of the Bashkir literary language, history of the Bashkir script, historical development of phonetics, grammar and lexis of the Bashkir language as well as the language of the specific Old Turkic written sources. Along with this a lot of written monuments of the Bashkir linguistics are still not sufficiently studied: their vocabulary has not been analysed using the comparative-historical method, lexemes' phonetic and morphological peculiarities fixed in the written monuments have not been studied etc. The above-mentioned stipulates the theme actuality of the present research.

Research Questions

The research focuses on the Old Turkic names of the plant kingdom in the modern Bashkir literary language, its dialects and subdialects.

Research questions. When one studies the history of some people it is necessary to make language research of this people. Particularly we should pay attention to its lexis because words could tell us about previous life of these people, territorial and natural and climatic conditions where these people lived and about their centuries-long relationships with other region populations (Khabibullina, 2004).

The analysis of the Old Turkic stratum of the modern Bashkir language lexis enables to represent the rich material and spiritual culture of the ancient Bashkirs.

Purpose of the Study

The research purpose of this work is to study (taking into account peculiarities of the lexical-semantic development of the research material) the Old Turkic lexis stratum denoting names of trees and their parts in the modern Bashkir language in comparison with the language of the Old and Middle Turkic monuments as well as with the data of the modern Turkic languages.

Research Methods

The lexical material is analysed both diachronically and synchronously using contrastive, comparative and descriptive methods. The comparative-historical method was used to define the language process chronology. Elements of monitoring, component and system analysis and similar were also applied. This set of methods allowed to conduct a detailed study of the language of the Old and Middle Turkic monuments in comparison with the modern Bashkir and other Turkic languages.

Findings

One can estimate the role of flora in the life of the people according to the developed system of the plant lexis. Natural and geographical conditions of the territory inhabited by the Bashkirs influenced the development of various farming forms. Starting from the earliest times animal husbandry was one of the main breadwinners for the Bashkir people. Moreover, the Bashkirs caught fish, hunted and kept bees. The region's rich flora also played an important role in their lives. It stimulated the formation and development of a wide range of plant kingdom names. We consider the Old Turkic stratum of the modern Bashkir lexis in the light of the lexical-thematic word groups denoting names of trees and their parts.

Generic names denoting the plant parts

Forest. From the earliest times the Turkic-speaking people had a good knowledge of a forest, its flora and fauna. However, it should be noted that the name of the term ‘forest’ itself appeared in the Turkic languages much later than the specific names of the forest animals. This led to appearance of a variety of different areal names and absence of a single name of the forest in the Turkic languages. Apparently from the chronological point of view the forest name appeared later than tree names.

The word ‘урман’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘forest’, e.g.: йәш урман ‘young forest’, ҡуйы урман ‘thick forest’, урман ҡырҡыу ‘fell trees’, урман хужалығы ‘forest husbandry’, урман ҡараусы. Урман үҫтергән аслыҡ күрмәҫ (Proverb) ‘one who cares about the forest will never die of starvation’, урманым – бер ҡат юрғаным (Proverb) ‘lit. My forest is my blanket’. In the Bashkir language the word ‘forest’ and its derivatives represent great significance of the forest to the Bashkirs.

This is a Common Turkic word: Turkish orman, Turkmen оrma:n; Karaim, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tofa, Kazakh orman; Tatar, Bashkir urman; Uzbek ürman, Chuvash χarmän.

Meanings: a) forest– Turkish, Turkmen, Karaim, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Bashkir, Nogai, Kazakh, Uzbek, Chuvash; b) grove – Kumyk, Chuvash; c) tree – Chuvash

The word ‘bük’ denoting ‘forest, grove’ is recorded in the Old Turkic Dictionary in the meaning of the ‘forest’: Оl bük örtätti ‘he ordered to set the forest on fire’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 131).

Tree. The word ‘ағас’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘tree’. Trees play a great role in lives of the Bashkirs. They were used for various purposes that is why there is a huge amount of words connected with the word ‘tree’: япраҡлы ағас ‘deciduous tree’, йомшаҡ ағас ‘soft tree’, утын ағас ‘firewood’, etc., including numerous proverbs, sayings and phraseological units: Ағас емеше менән, әҙәм эше менән ‘a tree is known by its fruit and a person by his/her works’; Ағас атҡа атландырыу ‘to lie smartly’.

The word under study is found in the languages of the Old and Middle Turkic monuments: Orkhon-Yenisei čyntan yγač; Old Uyghur yγač/otyγač, Karakhanid-Uyghur jyγač; Middle Kipchak аγаčаγаš; Khorezmian аγаč, Chagatai jyγač, Old Ottoman Turkish agač e.g.: taqï jemä ïnčaqaltiotkimjïγačdan önüpjana ïyačay örtäjür ‘and alike fire which appears out of a tree and sets the tree on fire again’; jïγač jemišländi ‘a tree yielded fruit’ (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 104). The analysed word is widely used in the modern Turkic languages: Turkish аğаč, Gagauz а:č; Karachay-Balkar, Tatar, Kumyk аγаč etc.

Meanings: a) tree (growing) – Orkhon-Yenisei, Old Uyghur, Karakhanid-Uyghur, Chagatai, Old Ottoman Turkish, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Salar, Bashkir ; b) wood (material) – Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Salar, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Bashkir c) tree trunk – Chagatai, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk; d) log – Tatar, Karakalpak, Uzbek; e) stick, walking stick – Orkhon-Yenisei, Old Ottoman Turkish, тар., Azerbaijani, Khalaj, Crimean Tatar; f) measure of length – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Chagatai, Khalaj; g) religious term. As we can see in the modern Bashkir language the meaning of the Old Turkic word jïγač ‘tree (growing)’ has broadened – ағас 1. tree (growing); 2. wood (material).

Root. The word ‘тамыр’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to indicate the term ‘root’. This word also has other meanings: 1) blood vessel, artery, vein; 2) tooth root, hair root; 3) word root (gram.); 4) square root, cube root (math.). In the Bashkir language there are lots of words and word combinations, proverbs and sayings derived from the word ‘тамыр’. e.g.: үҙәк тамыр ‘main root’, үлән тамыры ‘plant root’, тамыр ебәреү ‘to root’. Дегәнәк тамырынан гөл үҫмәй (Proverb) ‘A great burdock root will not be a flower’; тамыр тамырға тарта (Proverb) ‘lit. The root cranes to the root’.

This word could be found in the Old and Middle Turkic written monuments: Old Uyghur tamyr, tamar, Karakhanid-Uyghur tamur, Middle Uyghur tamar, Middle Kipchak tamar/tamur, tamar, Chagatai tamur (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 107). It is also often used in the modern related languages: Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani damar; Kumyk тamur, Kyrgyz, Altaic tamyr; Uzbek тomir, Uyghur tamir, Karachay-Balkar, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak.

There are different meanings of the word ‘тамыр’: a) root (of the plant) – Middle Kipchak, Chagatai, Karaim, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Karakalpak, Nogai, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Altaic, Uzbek, Khakas, Chuvash, Bashkir; b) blood vessel, artery, vein – Old Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Chagatai, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Salar, Crimean Tatar, Karaim, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Bashkir; c) core, fiber – Middle Kipchak, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Salar, Bashkir; d) veinlet – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Turkish, Turkmen; e) pulse – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Khakas; f) temperament, character – Turkish; g) channel – Old Uyghur; h) muscle – Gagauz; i) family, tribe – Tatar; j) friend, comrade – Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uzbek.

The archetype tamyr has two basic meanings: 1) ‘root (of the plant)’ and 2) ‘blood vessel, artery, vein’. It is hard to determine which of these meanings appeared earlier. One should consider a common source to the class and form of which root and blood-vascular systems have assimilated to: the word ‘тамыр’ in the modern Bashkir language has broadened its meaning.

Branch. The word ‘ботаҡ’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘branch’. This word could be found in the Old and Middle Turkic written monuments, e.g.: Old Uyghur butyq/butaq, Karakhanid-Uyghur butyq/butaq, Middle Uyghur budaq, Middle Kipchak budaq/butaq, Chagatai budağ/budaq, Old Ottoman Turkish budaq/butaq (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 103). Nowadays it is also often used in the related Turkic languages: Turkish, Gagauz budak; Turkmen рudaq etc.

Meanings: a) branch – Old Uyghur, Karakhanid-Uyghur, Middle Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Chagatai, Old Ottoman Turkish, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Tatar, Bashkir, Karakalpak; b) knot – Turkish, Gagauz, Bashkir, Azerbaijani, Kumyk, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Yakut; c) brushwood – Kazakh; d) affluent – Kumyk; e) spur – Kumyk; f) nail – Chuvash; g) spile – Chuvash It is important to note that the meanings of the Old Turkic words butyq/butaq ‘branch’ and the Bashkir word ботаҡ coincide.

Leaf. The word ‘япраҡ’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘leaf’. Examples: ағас япрағы ‘tree leaf’, йәшел япраҡ ‘green leaf’, Яҙ килә, матур ай килә, япраҡ елдәре өрөп. A. Igebayev. ‘Spring is coming, the beautiful month is coming, wind of leaves blows’, ағастан япраҡ төшмәй тормай (Proverb) ‘lit. trees always shed their leaves’.

The word japïrɣaq ‘leaf, leaflet’ could be found in the Old Turkic monuments: adruq adruq qua čečak tüš jemišlärniŋ jildïzlarïn olunlarïn butïqlarïn japïrɣaqlarïn… ‘roots, stems, branches and leaves of various flowers and fruit trees…’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 236). This word is often used in the modern Turkic languages: Turkish, Gagauz, Turkmen japrak; Azerbaijani jarpak, Crimean Tatar japraq, Karaim Г.К. japrak, Karachay-Balkar čapyraq, Kumyk japyraq, Tatar jafraq.

Meanings: a) leaf (of the plant) – Middle Kipchak, Turkish, Gagauz, Turkmen, Salar, Crimean Tatar, Kumyk, Tatar, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Bashkir; b) sheet (of paper, of a book) – Crimean Tatar, Kumyk, Kyrgyz

Thus, the meanings of the Old Turkic word japïryaq and the Bashkir япраҡ denoting ‘leaf’ are identical.

Fruit. The word ‘емеш’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘fruit’: ҡыр емеше ‘wild fruit’, емеш баҡсаһы ‘orchard’, емеш-еләк ‘berries’.

This word is also found in the languages of the Old Turkic monuments: jemiš ‘fruit’: jemiš pïšdï ‘fruit is ripened’; olmeŋä jemiš terišdi ‘he picked fruit together with me’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 255). The analysed word is widely used in the modern related languages: Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, jemiš; Turkmen i:miš, Crimean Tatar, Kumyk jemiš; Tatar žimeš, Karakalpak, Kazakh žemis; Khakas nimis.

Meanings: a) fruit – Old Uyghur, Karakhanid-Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Chagatai, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Kumyk, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Tuvan, Uyghur; b) berry, berries– Gagauz, Kyrgyz, Uyghur; c) food – Kyrgyz, Chuvash; d) results – Karakalpak, Kazakh, Tatar, Bashkir; e) betrothment is a part of a marriage rite with a compulsory eating of raisins; f) seeds, nut kernels.

In the Old Turkic language there was also another word meaning the ‘fruit’ word: tüš: Old Uyghur tüš. At the time being this word is used in different dialects of the Bashkir language. For example there is the word ‘тос’ meaning ‘seeds’ in the Dyoma and Miass dialects; the word ‘төш’ meaning ‘pit’ in the South Middle and North Western dialects (Dilmukhametov, 2002, pp. 323, 331).

Bark. Two words that possess ‘bark’ meaning are used in the modern Bashkir language: ҡабыҡ and ҡайыр. e.g.: ҡабыҡ арба ‘a cart covered with bark’, ҡабыҡ ҡыуыш ‘a bark hut’, ҡаты ҡайыр ‘hard bark’. Бер ыңғай өйөнөң башын да япһаҡ был ҡарттың, шәп булыр ине, әҙерәк ҡабыҡ булғанда ‘If we found some bark we would roof this old man's house, too’.

The word ‘qajyr’ was used in the Old Turkic language to denote the term ‘bark’: Old Uyghur qadyzj, Karakhanid-Uyghur qaδyz (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 106).

We see the following in the modern related languages: Turkish, Gagauz kabuk; Azerbaijani gabyg, Turkmen ga:byg, Crimean Tatar qabuq, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk qabuq; Kyrgyz, Altaic qabyq; Altaic qabaya, Uzbek qobiq, Tuvan havyq, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh etc.

Meanings: a) bark, peel – Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Kazakh, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kyrgyz, Uzbek, Tuvan, Chuvash, Bashkir; b) shucks, shellings – Turkish, Gagauz, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar; c) cover – Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Kumyk; d) soil covering, topsoil – Turkish

Main archetype meanings: 1) bark, peel and 2) shucks, shellings.

Birch bark. The word ‘туҙ’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘birch bark’. We can assume that the birch bark was important for the Bashkirs due to the following data: ҡайын туҙынан яһалған әйберҙәр ‘goods made of birch barks’, туҙға яҙмаған ‘malarkey, nonsense, rubbish’ (lit. ‘a word that was not written on a birch bark’).

This word was widely used in the Old Turkic language and it is also used in the modern related languages, e.g.: Old Uyghur toz, Karakhanid-Uyghur to:z; Chagatai toz; Old Ottoman Turkish toz; Kazakh toz, etc (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 103).

Meanings: a) birch bark – Old Uyghur, Tatar, Bashkir, Kazakh, Altaic, Khakas, Shor, Tuvan, Tofa, Yakut; b) bark – Tatar; c) mountain almond bark – Sngl; d) saddle decoration birch bark – Uzbek; e) birch bark woodknob, Inonotus obliquus – Kyrgyz. The material of many languages indicates the necessity to define the ‘to:z’ archetype as the ‘birch bark’.

The conducted plant part analysis shows that the majority of these words did not undergo any semantic changes. They were used both in the Old Turkic languages and in the majority of the Turkic languages. This is caused by the fact that during the formation period of the independent Turkic-speaking people and their languages they had lots of common flora terms. Later on during in the course of history each people gained their language peculiarities of plant denotation.

Wild tree names

Bashkortostan is famous for its rich and abundant flora. The Southern Ural crossing the republic from the North-East to the South-West divides it into the western piedmont of the Urals (also called Preduralye) and the eastern piedmont of the Urals (also called Zauralye). Flora of each of these natural areas is specific. From the earliest times the Bashkir-speaking people were aware of herbal plants and trees and used them for various purposes. Trees were appreciated the most.

Birch. From ancient times the Turkic-speaking people lived among the birch trees. It was also important for their religious ceremonies. Thus, we believe that one should pay attention to the extract from S.P. Krasheninnikov's diary, saying:

The Tatars (we mean Teleuts, Tuvans, Khakas and Altai people) annually sacrificed to the God near these birch trees. Having made a tub of home-brewed beer and having brought it to the birch trees they started to drink and pour beer onto the trees, thus praying to the God (as cited in Stepanov, 1966, p. 72).

A birch tree played a big role in lives of the Bashkirs, the birch term was often used in their language. The word ‘ҡайын’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the generic term ‘birch’. This word was used in the daily life. There is an enormous amount of words and word combinations derived from the ‘birch’ term: аҡ ҡайын ‘white birch’, ҡайын һыуы ‘birch water’. The term ‘birch’ is usually used in comparisons, proverbs and sayings. e.g.: Ҡайындың туҙын маҡта, имәндең үҙен маҡта (Proverb) ‘Boast a birch tree for its bark and an oak tree for its wood’.

Similar usage of the term ‘birch’ could also be found in the Old Turkic written monuments, for example: сөкÿт сÿлиŋә, ҡаҙың ҡасыңа ‘A willow is famous for its freshness and a birch for its bark (bark value)’. Words qajїŋ / qaδїŋ were used in the Old Turkic language to denote the term ‘birch’: qajїŋ tegbodumerdioqtegkönitüz / jategegriegildimtöŋittim ‘my body was (as strong) as a birch tree, it was as upright and even as an arrow/ (and now) it is curved like a bow; I have (heavily) slumped and bowed down’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 407).

On the basis of the following data we can assume that the birch bark was important for the daily life of the Turkic-speaking people as well as for the Bashkirs: Tatar каен тузыннан ясалған әйберләр ‘goods made of birch barks’, туз чиләк ‘bucket made of birch barks’, etc.

The Common Turkic name of the birch is widely used on the territory where the Turkic-speaking people live.

Oak. Wild oak grows on the territories where the Turkic-speaking people live. The Republic of Bashkortostan is also included in this area. The word ‘имән’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘oak’. An oak represents power and strength and these meanings could be found in the proverbs, sayings and phraseological units, e.g.: имән кеүек таҙа (ныҡ) ‘as strong as an oak tree’: Ҡайындың туҙын маҡта, имәндең үҙен маҡта (Proverb) ‘Boast a birch tree for its bark and an oak tree for its wood’. New words which are often used as the word combinations derive from the term ‘oak’: имән урманы ‘oak forest’, имән япрағы ‘oak leaf’.

Usage of this word in lots of modern Turkic languages proves that the studied lexical unit имән ‘oak’ refers to the Common Turkic lexis stratum: Turkmen imen, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Nogai emen; Karakalpak, Kazakh jemen; Altaic ermen, Uzbek eman, Chuvash juman, Tatar imän.

Willow. Willows form the genus Salix of the family Salicaceae. The word ‘тал’ is used in all Turkic languages including Bashkir to denote the term ‘willow’. Thanks to -лыҡ affix it is possible to compose the word ‘таллыҡ’ meaning willow brushwoods. The Bashkirs use the word ‘бөҙрә тал’ (lit. a curly willow) to denote the term ‘weeping willow’. Йәш ҡамышлы тәрән күл ситендә һыуға ятып бөҙрә тал үҫә ‘A weeping willow bending to the water grows near a deep lake surrounded by the bulrush’; йүрмә тал ‘creeping willow’.

The willow and different types of it were significant for the Turkic-speaking people as well as for the Bashkirs. Poetic comparisons also justify this: тал сыбыҡтай ‘slim waist’, тал сыбыҡ ‘withe (flexible and elastic enough)’. We can find a similar comparison in the works of Mahmud al-Kashgari: …kizbodianïŋ tal ‘a girl whose waist reminds a withe’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 528).

Please, compare: Karakhanid-Uyghur tal, dal, Middle Uyghur tal, Middle Kipchak tal, Khorezmian tal, Chagatai tal, Turkish dal, Turkmen tal, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Altaic tal (тал), etc (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 125).

Meanings: 1) willow – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Middle Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Khorezmian, Chagatai, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Karakalpak, Nogai, Kazakh, Kyrgyz; 2) silver willow, white willow, purple willow – in the same languages; 3) tree– Salar; 4) branch, knot – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Turkish, Dolgan; 5) bush – Dolgan; 6) poplar – Karachay-Balkar, Uzbek. Thus, the meanings of the Old Turkic and Bashkir word тал denoting the word ‘willow’ are identical.

Poplar. The word ‘terek’ that was included into the dictionary written by Mahmud al-Kashgari is used in the majority of the Turkic languages to denote the term ‘poplar’: terek ‘poplar’, bïrmïzïk terek ‘one row of poplars’, tereklïk ‘poplar stand, poplar habitat’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 553). The word combination ‘аҡ тирәк’ meaning a ‘white poplar’ is usually used in the modern Bashkir language: аҡ тирәк ‘white poplar’. The collocation ‘эре ағас’ that means a ‘huge tree’ is used in conversations. As the poplar is quite an enormous tree it is often used in comparisons of person's appearance and height.

In the modern Turkic languages this word is used in the following phonetic variants: Turkish, Gagauz direk; Azerbaijani diräk, Turkmen derek, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk terek; Tatar tiräk.

Meanings: a) poplar – Karakhanid-Uyghur, Middle Kipchak, Chagatai, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Bashkir etc.; b) black poplar – Bashkir; c) aspen – Karaim; d) tree (growing) – Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Nogai, Kyrgyz; e) column, support – Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Salar.

Pine. The word ‘ҡарағай’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘pine’, e.g.: Ҡыуыҡ ҡышҡа ҡарамай, йәшел тора ҡарағай ‘Whatever cold winter, the pine is evergreen’; Ҡарағайҙың көлө күп, имәндең күмере күп. (Proverb). The word pine is widely used: ҡарағай урманы, ҡарағайлыҡ ‘pinewood, pinery’, ҡарағай сайыры ‘pine resin’. Pine is very important for the Bashkirs, they use it in their daily life and house building: ҡарағай бүрәнә ‘pine log’, ҡарағай таҡта ‘pine boards’.

Nowadays it is widely used in many Turkic languages: Karachay-Balkar qaraqaj, Kumyk, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh qarayaj; Kyrgyz, Altaic, Uzbek qarayaj; Uyghur qariyaj, Khakas harayaj etc.

Meanings: a) pine – Kumyk, Tatar, dialect, Bashkir, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Altaic, Uzbek, Uyghur, Khakas; b) larch – Tatar; c) spruce forest – Kyrgyz; d) coniferous forest – Karachay-Balkar.

Juniper. The word ‘артыш’ is used in the modern Bashkir language to denote the term ‘juniper’, e.g.: ябай артыш ‘common juniper’, ҡаҙаҡ артыш ‘Kazakh juniper’, себер артыш ‘Siberian juniper’, etc.

This word is found in the languages of the Old Turkic monuments: Old Uyghur artuč, artyz, Karakhanid-Uyghur artuč (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 129): artuč sögütbudïqï jüztürlügin ïryalur ‘juniper branches will swing in the wind to the right and left’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 57). At present it is often used in the modern Turkic languages: Turkish ardyč, arduč, Crimean Tatar ardyč, Tatar artyš, Karachay-Balkar artiš, Altaic artys.

Meanings: a) common juniper – Old Uyghur, Karakhanid-Uyghur, Turkish, Azerbaijani, Crimean Tatar, Altaic, Tatar, Chuvash, Bashkir; b) Turkestani juniper – Tuvan; c) spruce, Christmas tree – Azerbaijani, dialect.

The above-mentioned facts indicate that most Old Turkic wild tree names have not changed their meaning in the modern Bashkir language. Nowadays they are slightly deviated in terms of phonetics and used in lots of related Turkic languages. Such Old Turkic tree names as ‘biša’ that means ‘oak’ and ‘sögüt’ which means ‘willow’ have already disappeared.

Names of the fruit trees and bushes

Various names of the fruit tree types were extensively developed among the Turkic-speaking people who were gardening fruit trees. From the ancient times they knew what an apple tree was. The existence of the Common Turkic name ‘алма’ denoting such kind of plant proves this fact. One should take into account that an apple tree when compared with other fruit trees grows on the entire territory occupied by the Turkic-speaking people. It is the apple tree name that shows the ancient similarity of the Turkic languages' lexis. Apparently, other fruit tree names became the Common Turkic words much later. Moreover, they mostly appeared in other languages from the Central Asia area (Musaev, 1984).

Two strata are revealed in the majority of the fruit tree names of the Turkic languages. More ancient or old names exist in those languages the speakers of which took up gardening and grew fruit trees or fruit trees themselves grew on the territory of this people. New terms mainly of Russian origin or terms that were absorbed mostly through the Russian translations of the foreign literature exist in the languages the native speakers of which did not grow fruit trees or did not know about these trees because the specified trees have never grown in their area.

Apple. The word ‘алма’ is used in the modern Bashkir language, as well as in other Turkic languages, to denote the word ‘apple’. ‘Алма’ lexeme is the basis of other new words: алмалыҡ, алма баҡсаһы ‘apple orchard’, алма вареньеһы ‘apple jam’. An apple name is used in the proverbs and sayings: Алма беш, ауыҙыма төш ‘No pain, no gain’ (lit. let an apple ripe and fall into my mouth); Алма алмағасынан йыраҡ төшмәй ‘Like father, like son’.

The following lexical units are found in the languages of the Old Turkic and Middle Turkic monuments: alïmla ‘apple’ (Nadelyaev, 1969, p. 145): Alïmlajarïmï ‘apple half’; Аtasï anasï ačïyalïmlajesä oylï qïzï tišï qamar ‘children are responsible for their parents' sins’; Karakhanid-Uyghur alma, Middle Kipchak alma, Armenian-Kipchak alma, Khorezmian alma (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 129). This word is intensively used in the related Turkic languages: Turkish elma, Gagauz, Azerbaijani, Turkmen alma; Salar alima, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Kumyk, Tatar, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Uyghur, Western Yugur alma; Uzbek olma, Chuvash ulma.

Meanings: a) apple – all above-mentioned languages; b) pear – Western Yugur; c) potato – Chuvash.

According to Bernat Munkachi an apple name derived in the Turkic languages from the Sanskrit word ‘амла’ that denotes something ‘sour’. Egorov (1964) believes that the initial word was mainly used as the denotation of the wild forest apple tree (p. 273).

Cherry. A cherry is a type of a woody plant of Rosaceae family. The word ‘сейә’ is used in the Bashkir language to denote the term ‘cherry’, e.g.: Сейәһе сейә икән дә, япраҡтары киң түгел (халыҡ йырынан) ‘This cherry is a cherry but its leaves are narrow’. This word is also used to denote a bush with similar to cherries but very small red berries that grows in the mountains, foothills and sometimes in the forests. It is very likely that initially the word denoted that very bush and then it became the name of a cherry tree. In the modern Bashkir language the word cherry forms the following collocations: сейә баҡсаһы ‘cherry orchard’, сейә вареньеһы ‘cherry jam’, etc.

This is the Common Turkic word and it is used in many Turkic languages: Karaim Т., Tatar čijä, Nogai, Karakalpak, Kazakh šije; Kyrgyz čije, Uzbek čija.

Meanings: a) cherry – all above-mentioned languages; b) sweet cherry – Karakalpak.

Pear. The Russian loanword ‘груша’ is used in the Bashkir literary language, e.g.: груша вареньеһы ‘pear jam’, груша ағасы ‘pear tree'. However, the native word ‘армут’ is used to denote the word ‘груша’ in the Old Turkic as well as modern Turkic languages. Please, compare: Karakhanid-Uyghur armut, Middle Kipchak armut, Armenian-Kipchak armut, Turkish, Gagauz, Azerbaijani armud; Turkmen аrmyt, Salar, Crimean Tatar, Karaim К. armut; Kumyk harmut, Karakalpak, Kazakh almurt; Kyrgyz аlmurut (Tenishev et al., 1997, p. 139).

Conclusion

The phytonyms' basis of the modern Bashkir language denoting the names of parts of plants, wild trees, fruit trees and bushes is the Old Turkic stratum. The Old Turkic stratum is a Common Turkic relic. For thousands of years the Turkic-speaking people preserved unchanged the basic Common Turkic word-names denoting the plant kingdom. It is explained by the fact that their formation took place at the time of the greatest similarity of the Turkic languages and dialects.

One can estimate the role of flora in the lives of the people according to the developed system of the plant lexis. Natural and geographical conditions of the territory inhabited by the Bashkirs influenced the development of various farming forms. That is why the Bashkirs very skilfully used these natural resources. All this stimulated the formation and development of a wide range of the plant kingdom names.

From the earliest times the Turkic-speaking people were closely acquainted with trees such as willows, silver willows, birch trees, pines, spruces, alders, etc. These tree names are also represented in the lexis of the modern Turkic languages.

Names of trees, birch trees and willows, are considered as the Common Turkic words. However some of the words in terms of semantics cannot be regarded as the Common Turkic ones.

From the earliest times the Turkic-speaking people had a good knowledge of a forest, its flora and fauna. However, it should be noticed that the name of the term ‘forest’ itself appeared in the Turkic languages much later than the specific names of the forest animals. This lead to appearance of a variety of different areal names and absence of the single name of the forest in the Turkic languages.

Culture and society development, more profound knowledge of the social realm leads to more precise social realm representation. A certain part of the Old Turkic flora names underwent semantic, phonetic and morphological changes in the modern Bashkir language or became archaic and disappeared from the vocabulary (Khabibullina, 2008).

Plant names of the modern Bashkir language being the oldest historic stratum of the Bashkir language represent material and spiritual culture and household of the people starting from the earliest times. The main part of the names was formed at the time of the Old Turkic linguistic community, as evidenced by the plant names which nowadays are widely spread in many Turkic languages. For centuries lexis denoting names of the plant kingdom had been enriching and contributing to formation and development of the Bashkir language in general.

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