(Uppsala University)
Linguistic features of the Middle Azeri of Isfahan in the 17th century
68th Annual Meeting of the PIAC, Bangkok 2026
The talk will present some results from an ongoing linguistic project that investigates Turkic varieties in the multilingual Isfahan of the 17th century as documented in transcription texts at Uppsala University Library and the British Library (Csató et al. eds. 2020, Johanson 2020). The aim of this project initiated by Lars Johanson is to study the linguistic characteristics of
these manuscripts from historical and contact-linguistic perspectives.
In Persia in this historical period, a levelled Turkic variety, the so-called lingua turcica agemica, was used as a lingua franca in communication at the Safavid court and also between speakers of different languages (Johanson 1997). This lingua franca shows copied Persian syntactic features. The talk will present an analysis of nonfinite clauses and conjunctions of Persian type occurring in them (cf. Karakoç 2013). The data representing lingua turcica agemica is taken mainly from a translation of the Gospels of Matthew and John written in French orthography (de Lauzière 1684). The analysis is based on a recent publication of the manuscript with vocabulary by Johanson and Csató (2025). The expected findings will contribute to the description of the development of Oghuz varieties in Persia and Eastern Anatolia and especially to the formation of modern Azeri.
Csató, Éva Á. & Gren-Eklund, Gunilla & Johanson, Lars & Karakoç, Birsel 2020. Turcologica upsaliensia. An illustrated collection of essays. Leiden & Boston: Brill.
de Lauzière, Balthasar 1684. Evangelia Matthæi et Johannis lingua communi turcica, et pronuntiatione gallicis, quæ Delauzière Ispahanæ scripsit et Domino Sparwenfeldio Moscowiæ dono dedit [The Gospels of Matthew and John in the common Turkic language, and with French pronunciation, which Delauzière of Ispahan wrote and presented as a gift to Lord Sparwenfeld of Moscow]. Cod. in quarto, chatæ europææ foll. 113. Teg. chart. [Sp. 39] (Tornberg 1849: 314).
Johanson, Lars 1997. A grammar of the “Lingua Turcica Agemica”. In: Kellner-Heikele, Barbara & Zieme, Peter (eds.) Studia Ottomanica. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz. 87–101.
Johanson, Lars 2020. Isfahan – Moscow – Uppsala. On Some Middle Azeri Manuscripts and the Stations Along Their Journey to Uppsala. In: Csató et alii 2020 (eds.) Turcologica upsaliensia. An illustrated collection of essays. 167–179.
Johanson, Lars & Csató, Éva Á. 2025. Lingua Turcica Agemica. The Gospels of Matthew and John in Middle Azeri from 17th Century Isfahan. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Karakoç, Birsel 2013. Types of copular clauses following ki in Old Ottoman Turkish. In: Turkic Languages 17: 38–64.