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| Bulgar | |
|---|---|
| Region | FromCentral Asia to thePontic–Caspian steppe, theVolga and theDanube andSouthern Italy (Molise,Campania) |
| Ethnicity | Bulgars |
| Extinct | By the 9th or 10th centuries on the Danube and by the 14th century in the Volga region[citation needed] |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xbo |
xbo | |
| Glottolog | bolg1250 |
Bulgar (also known asBulghar,Bolgar, orBolghar) is the extinctOghurTurkic language spoken by theBulgars.
The name is derived from the Bulgars, a tribal association that established the Bulgar state known asOld Great Bulgaria in the mid-7th century, giving rise to theDanubian Bulgaria by the 680s.[1][2][3] While the language initially went extinct in Danubian Bulgaria (in favour ofOld Bulgarian), it persisted inVolga Bulgaria, but even there it was eventually replaced by the modernChuvash language.[4][5][6] Other than Chuvash, Bulgar is the only language to be definitively classified as an Oghur Turkic language.
The inclusion of other languages such asHunnish,Khazar andSabir within Oghur Turkic remains speculative owing to the paucity of historical records. Some scholars suggestHunnish had strong ties with Bulgar and to modern Chuvash[7] and refer to this extended grouping as separate Hunno-Bulgar languages.[8][9] However, such speculations are not based on proper linguistic evidence, since the language of the Huns is almost unknown except for a few attested words, which are Indo-European in origin, and personal names. Thus, scholars generally consider Hunnish as unclassifiable.[10][11][12][13]
Mainstream scholarship places Bulgar among the "Lir" branch ofTurkic languages referred to asOghur Turkic, Lir-Turkic or, indeed, "Bulgar Turkic", as opposed to the "Shaz"-type of Common Turkic. The "Lir" branch is characterized by sound correspondences such as Oghuric/r/ versus Common Turkic (or Shaz-Turkic)/z/ and Oghuric/l/ versus Common Turkic (Shaz-Turkic)/š/.[1][3][14][15][16] As was stated byAl-Istakhri (c. 10 century CE), "The language of theKhazars is different than the language of the Turks and the Persians, nor does a tongue of (any) group of humanity have anything in common with it and the language of the Bulgars is like the language of the Khazars, but the Burtas have another language."[17]
The only surviving language from this linguistic group isChuvash.[18][failed verification] He concludes that the language of the Bulgars was from the family of theHunnic languages, as he calls theOghur languages.[19] According to the BulgarianAntoaneta Granberg, the Hunno-Bulgar linguistic situation is further complicated by the extensive migration of nomadic communities ofHunnic andOghuric peoples from East to West. This migration brought them into contact with a variety of different lands, neighbors, cultures, and languages, includingChina andRome. Linguistic individuation of the Hunno-Bulgaric language family has yet to be conclusively established. A Hunno-Bulgar language is believed to have formed on the North-Western borders of China in the 3rd–5th centuries BC.[20]
On the other hand, someBulgarian scholars, who are not linguists, especially in recent decades, tried to link the Bulgar language to theIranic language group instead (more specifically, thePamir languages are frequently mentioned), noting the presence of Iranian words in the modern Bulgarian language.[21][22][23][publisher missing][24][page needed] According toRaymond Detrez, who is a specialist in Bulgarian history and language,[25][title missing] such views are based onanti-Turkish sentiments that were prevalentduring the 1980s, and the presence of Iranian words in the modern Bulgarian is a result ofOttoman Turkish linguistic influence.[26] Indeed, other Bulgarian historians, especially older ones, only point out certain signs of Iranian influence in the Turkic base[27] or indeed support the Turkic theory.[28][29][30][title missing][31][32][33][34][35]
The language of the Danube Bulgars (orDanubian Bulgar) is recorded in a small number of inscriptions, which are found inPliska, the first capital ofFirst Bulgarian Empire, and in the rock churches near the town ofMurfatlar, in present-dayRomania. Some of these inscriptions are written in theGreek characters, others in theKuban alphabet which is a variant ofOrkhon script. Most of these appear to have been of a private character (oaths, dedications, inscriptions on grave stones) and some were court inventories. Although attempts at decipherment have been made, none of them has gained wide acceptance. These inscriptions in Danubian Bulgar are found along with other, official ones written inGreek; which was used as the official state language of the First Bulgarian Empire until the end of the ninth century, when it was replaced by theOld Church Slavonic (also called Old Bulgarian).[36]
The language of the Danubian Bulgars is also known from a small number of loanwords in theOld Bulgarian language, as well as terms occurring in Bulgar Greek-language inscriptions, contemporaryByzantine texts,[37] and later Slavonic Old Bulgarian texts. Most of these words designate titles and other concepts concerning the affairs of state, including the official12-year cyclic calendar (as used in theNominalia of the Bulgarian khans). The language became extinct in Danubian Bulgaria in the ninth century as the Bulgar nobility became graduallySlavicized after the Old Bulgarian tongue was declared as official in 893.
| Old Church Slavonic | Chuvash | Hungarian | Common Turkic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| token, trace | БЕЛЕГ (beleg), БИЛЕГ (bileg) | палӑк (palăk) | bélyeg | *belgü |
| bracelet | БЕЛЬЧҮГ (bel'čug) | – | – | *bileçüg |
| pillow | ДОХЬТОРЬ (dox'tor') | ҫытар (śïtar) | – | *yogtu |
| image, icon | КАПЬ (kap') | кап (kap) | kép | *kēp |
| honour | САНЬ (san'), САМЬ (sam') | сум (sum) | szám | *sān |
Unlike Volga Bulgarian and Chuvash, d'ization is seen in the/j/ sounds at the beginning of words.Talât Tekin argues that this sound corresponds to the initialgy sound inHungarian and is pronounced close to it.[38]
| Danube Bulgar / Old Church Slavonic | Volga Bulgar | Chuvash | Common Turkic | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| snake | ДИЛОМЬ (dilom') | – | ҫӗлен (śílen) | *yï̄lan |
| pillow | ДОХЬТОРЬ (dox'tor') | – | ҫытар (śytar) | *yogdu (Mongolianзогдор) |
| horse | ΔΥΑΝ (dwan) | – | – | *yunt |
| An ethnicity | ΔΟΥΑΡΗⲤ (dovaris) | يوارى (yuwāri) | – | – |
| seven | ЧИТ (čit) | جىَاتِ (čyeti) | ҫиччӗ (śiččĕ) | *yẹti |
The language spoken by the population of Volga Bulgaria is known asVolga-Bulgar. There are a number of surviving inscriptions in Volga-Bulgar, some of which are written withArabic letters, alongside the continuing use ofOrkhon script. These are all largely decipherable. That language persisted until the 13th or the 14th century. In that region, it may have ultimately given rise to theChuvash language, which is most closely related to it[39] and which is classified as the only surviving member of a separate "Oghur-Turkic" (or Lir-Turkic) branch of the Turkic languages, to which Bulgar is also considered to have belonged (see above).[1][2][40] Still, the precise position of Chuvash within theOghur family of languages is a matter of dispute among linguists. Since the comparative material attributable to the extinct members ofOghuric (Khazar and Bulgar) is scant, little is known about any precise interrelation of these languages and it is a matter of dispute whether Chuvash, the only "Lir"-type language with sufficient extant linguistic material, might be the daughter language of any of these or just a sister branch.[14]
| Volga Bulgar – البلغَاڔِى | Chuvash – Чӑвашла[45] | Proto-Turkic | Volga Bulgar – البلغَاڔِى | Chuvash – Чӑвашла | Proto-Turkic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| one | بیر (bīr) | пӗр (pĕr) | *bīr | monument | بَلُو (belüv) | палӑк (palăk) | *belig |
| two | اَكِ (eki) | иккӗ (ikkĕ) | *ẹki | water | شِو (šïv) | шыв (šyv) | *sub |
| three | وج (več) | виççӗ (viśśĕ) | *üč | son | اَول (avïl) | ывӑл (yvăl) | *ogul |
| four | تُوات (tüvet) | тăваттă (tăvattă) | *tȫrt | daughter | هِير (hīr) | хӗр (hĕr) | *kï̄ŕ |
| five | بيال (biyel) | пиллӗк (pillĕk) | *bẹ̄ĺ(k) | day | كُوَان (küvenor kön) | кун (kun) | *kün |
| six | اَلطِ (altï) | улттӑ (ulttă) | *altï | week | ايرنى (ērne) | эрне (erne) | (from Persian آدینه (âdine)) |
| seven | جیَاتِ (čyeti) | ҫиччӗ (śiččĕ) | *yẹti | month | اَيخ (ayïx) | уйӑх (ujăh) | *āń(k) |
| eight | سَكِر (sekir) | саккӑр (sakkăr) | *sekiŕ | year | جال (čal) | ҫул (śul) | *yāĺ |
| nine | طُخِر (tuxïr) | тӑххӑр (tăhhăr) | *tokuŕ | history | تَارِيخ (tārix) | истори (istori) | (from Arabic تَارِيخ (tārīḵ)) |
| ten | وان (van) | вуннӑ (vunnă) | *ōn | to become | بَل (bal) | пул (pul) | *bōl- |
| twenty | جِيِرم (čiyirim) | ҫирӗм (śirĕm) | *yẹgirmi | to do, make | طَن (ta-n) | ту (tu) | - |
| thirty | وطر (vutur) | вӑтӑр (vătăr) | *otuŕ | to go | بَر (bar) | пыр (pyr) | *bar- |
| forty | حرح (xïrïx) | хӗрӗх (hĕrĕh) | *kïrk | to love | سَو (sev) | сав (sav) | *seb- |
| fifty | الو (ellüv), اَلُّ (ellü) | аллӑ (allă) | *ellig | to die | وَل (vel) | вил (vil) | *öl- |
| hundred | جُور (čǖr) | ҫӗр (śĕr) | *yǖŕ | to migrate | كُوَج (küvečor köč) | куҫ (kuś) | *köč- |
| Case | Volga Bulgar | Examples in words |
|---|---|---|
| Genitive | -∅or -(ı)n | اَغَان (ağā-n), يغقوُتن (yaquut-ın) |
| Accusative | -ne/na | مَسجِدسَمنَ (mesčidsem-ne) |
| Dative-locative | -a/eand -ne/na | اِشنَ (iš-ne), بَجنَ (bač-na), جَالَ (čāl-a) |
| Ablative | -ran, -ren; -tan, -ten | دنيَارَان (dönyā-ran) |
| Third person possessive | -i, -ı; -si, -sı | هِيرِ(hīr-i), اِلغِجِسِ (ılğıčı-sı) |
| Tenses and moods | Volga Bulgar | Examples in words |
|---|---|---|
| Past tense | -ti/tı, -ri/rı | وَلتِ (vel-ti) |
| Past tense 2 | -ruvı/rüvi (<*-dugı), -tuvı/tüvi (<*-tugı) | كُوَجروُي (küveč-rüvi), بلطُوى (bal-tuvı) |
| Adjective form of verb | -an/en | طَنَان (tan-an), سَوَان (sev-en) |
| Adverb form of verb | -sa/se | بَرسَ (bar-sa) |
| Third person imperative | -tur/tür | طَنْطُرْ (tan-tur) |
The language had strong ties to Bulgar language and to modern Chuvash, but also had some important connections, especially lexical and morphological, to Ottoman Turkish and Yakut
I was able to establish a Danube- Bulgarian nominative- suffix /A/ from the consonant stems. Recalling that Danube- Bulgarian was a Hunnic language.
Granberg's suggestion that we should revive the term Hunno-Bulgar may well became that replacement — once it is clear that Hunnic and Bulgar were closely related and perhaps even the same language.
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