On the Palatal Transcription of (sic) (ayb) in Armeno-Kipchak Texts: A Comparative Orthographic Study of Armeno-Kipchak and Modern Turkic Languages

Abstract

Not having a unanimous transcription model for Armeno-Kipchak texts has left the exactness of certain Armenian graphemes obscure, one of which is (sic) (ayb). This letter is consistently utilised for back low vowel in Armenian. Given this, in early studies ayb occurring after palatal syllables was considered non-harmonic, and thus left as is. Some scholars have doubted whether it might have indicated a palatal vowel, yet have kept rendering it as a back vowel. In this paper, I will try to shed light on the issue, by making an orthographic comparison between Armeno-Kipchak texts and those modern Turkic languages whose orthographies distinguish e vowels.