Question Word “Kaçan” in Turkish and Balkan Dialects

Question word kaçan is one of the words that takes place in different phonetic forms in Turkish dialects. Question word kaçan is used in different functions in Old Anatolian Turkish. Question word kaçan does not exist in standard Turkish. It is possible to see that some kind of structures which exist in Old Anatolian Turkish subsist in Turkish dialects -not in standard Turkish-. Beginning from Old Turkic, it is obvious that question words derived from *ka, ne and kim are used for different functions and question in particular in Turkic languages. hani, hangi come from kanı, kangı and kaç, derivatives of kaç (kaçıncı, kaça, kaçar, kaçlı, kaçlık) exist in standard Turkish today. Except of these, there is no question word derived from *ka in standard Turkish. Question word kaçan which is used as a preposition in Old Anatolian Turkish is a kind of bond between Turkish dialects and Old Anatolian Turkish. In this study, question word kaçan has evaluated in Turkish and Balkan dialects with regard to form and function in the light of this information.

Keywords

Kaçan, Old Anatolian Turkish, Turkish dialects, Balkan dialects, question word