Apparu!

A lovely tune byMyahri highlights softest and most adorable ways to address a loved one inTurkmen. How does this language compare to Turkish? Let’s find out in Turkic Lyrics.

This upbeat song by Turkmen singer Myahri Pirguliyeva celebrates a baby girl’s arrival with fun moments and warm wishes. It shows her famous mix of modern pop and traditional Turkmen music.

Turkmen and Azerbaijani are the closest sister languages to Turkish in the Turkic family. Turkmen vocabulary includes words rare in standard Turkish but found in some regional dialects. It also shares Persian loanwords with Ottoman Turkish from a common older source. Here are some notable examples:

• Turkic stock:
  • The word gurjajygym (“my little baby doll”) in the title has the Turkish cognate korçak, but only in local dialects. The standard Turkish word for “doll” or “puppet” is bebek.
  • bala (“child”) is common in Turkic but replaced in standard Turkish by çocuk, though it appears regionally.
  • eýje (“fine thing”) is mostly obsolete but recorded in some Turkish dialects as eyce.
  • eje (“mother”) exists in some Turkish dialects with shifting meanings—from “mother” to “sister” or “grandmother.” Among Turkmens, eje can also have different regional meanings. In standard Turkmen, it means “mother,” but across Turkic languages, it may denote various relatives (e.g., in Chuvash, aҫа means “male”).
  • kaka (“father”) also appears in Turkish dialects. In Chuvash, related forms include кукка meaning “maternal uncle,” and appear in words like кукамай (“grandmother”) and кукаҫ (“grandfather”) on the mother’s side.
  • ýörjen-ýörjen (“toddling”) is proper Turkmen, built on the root ýör, corresponding to Turkish yürü (“to walk”).
  • paýlap (“sharing”) shows grammatical and meaning shifts; in Turkish, similar forms mean “sharing” (paylaşıp) or “reproaching” (paylayıp).
• Vocabulary with Persian origin:
  • Bagtly, abadan, and şatlyk all come from Persian roots. While Turkish has similar words—baht, abadan, and şadlık (or simply şad)—these are rare or specialized in spoken Turkish and may be misunderstood.
• Vocabulary with Arabic origin:
  • Sähetli (“blessed, sound”), jennetiň (“of paradise”), and melejigim (“my little angel”) correspond to Turkish sıhhatli (“healthy”), cennetin, and melekçiğim. These religious words come from Arabic loans and overlap in both meaning and usage in Turkmen and Turkish.

Turkmen grammar is intuitively close to Turkish, and this charming song uses no unusual structures, making it easy to follow. Pronunciation can be challenging for Turkish speakers due to Standard Turkmen’s distinctive lisp and unique phonetic shifts—like replacing Turkish f with p (e.g., wepaly for vefalı), or the use of ý and w in writing, which correspond differently to Turkish sounds. This creates an asymmetry in understanding: Turkish speakers often find Turkmen harder to grasp, while Turkmen speakers generally adapt more easily to both Turkish and Azerbaijani. This is due to Turkmen’s more complex phonetic system giving its speakers an advantage in parsing related, phonetically simpler Turkic languages.

This delightful song by Myahri not only showcases the tender expressions of love in Turkmen but also highlights the striking linguistic ties within the Turkic language family. From shared vocabulary to grammatical closeness, these connections invite us to explore and appreciate the rich cultural tapestry behind the music. If you notice any interesting similarities or differences, feel free to share your observations in the comments!