Abstract:

Written languages began to form with the evolution of phonetic alphabets. Phonetic systems were adapted to varied languages but the sounds uttered in a language were insufficiently demonstrated in scripts. The problems pertaining to written-phonology have consequently been discussed since ancient times. Similar difficulties were also observed in the Turkish alphabet and historical texts. The Turkish phonetic system is symbolized to a certain extent in the Köktürk alphabet. The Uighurs constitue an ethnic group included in the Manichaean-Buddhist civilization circle. This indigenous culture adopted the Sogdian based writing system in the 8th century. However, the Aramaic-inspired alphabet could not adequately encompass Turkish sounds. Karakhanid dialect texts began to be inscribed using the Arabic alphabet in the second half of the 9th century. This script has been adapted to the Uighur spelling system. The spelling problems that appeared became an important issue between the 13th and 15th centuries, when Oghuz Turkish started to develop in Anatolia. This written language was first nourished by Turkish writing traditions beyond the Caspian. Binary spellings are encountered in the writing of consonants /ç/, /p/, /t/ and /ñ/ in the texts of this period. The spelling differences stem primarily from the alphabet. A problem obviously concering the inscription rather than phonetics may be discerned if the phonemes established in a language are displayed in the same text using discrete letters. Such difficulties occur when letters do not match sounds. Alphabets and spellings are unrelated to the phonetics of a language. Therefore, the features of the Oghuz language and dialects should ground the pronunciation of texts written in Old Oghuz dialect.

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