CEUS U503 0702 Clark
Old Turkic
About the
Instructor
Old Uygur refers to the literary language, written primarily in the Sogdian or Uygur script, used
by Turks in East Turkestan from the 8th to the 15th centuries. This course satisfies the Ph.D.
degree requirement for a course at the advanced level of Uygur taken as a language of
specialization. Students will learn basic concepts in the definition of the early Uygur Turkic
literary language and its connection to modern Uygur and other Turkic languages. They will be
guided through the use of reference works, the interpretation of writing systems, and the
application of basic philological methods to texts. Students will gain the ability to establish the
sound and meaning of words and forms; to transliterate and transcribe texts in three scripts
(Runic, Manichean, and Sogdian-Uygur); and to make critical notes to a text. At the same time,
students will read selections from early Uygur texts, including the Book of Divination, Conversion
to Manicheism of Bugu Khagan, Exercises of an Uygur Scribe, Biography of Hsuan-tsang, and
others.
Prerequisites: Two semesters of a Turkic language or the instructor's permission.
Exams: Mid-tern and final examinations test the student's ability to use reference works, interpret
writing systems, and apply philological methods to the reading of texts, and to related early Uygur
to the modern Uygur language of Xinjiang..
Assignments: Weekly exercises in method; daily readings from texts.
Readings: Readings will be assigned from Reader in Early Uygur, or from the instructor's The
Altaic Languages: An Introductory Bibliography, available from the Department.
Days and Times: Arranged.