Proposal for a new reading of a line in the Tuńuquq inscription
Proposal for a new reading of a line in the Tuńuquq inscription

Summary/Abstract: This paper is written in order to reread the sequence of signs 〈ẄzčI〉 and 〈TSN〉 occurring in the sentence 〈ẄzčI : TSN : TWTmstgbIz〉, in the 13th line of the Tuńuquq Inscription. It is proposed that the sequence 〈ẄzčI〉, which has been hitherto transcribed as *üzäči, *üzüči, *özäči, *öz [i]či, *özčä and *üzči, may be transcribed as öz äči ‘(someone’s) own (paternal) uncle’. As is known, the sign 〈S〉 represents both š and s which have been used beside back vowels in the Tuńuquq Inscription. However, the sign 〈S〉 in the 〈TSN〉 sign group has been uniformly transcribed as š by all previous researchers (*tašïn), and they attempted to interpret that lexeme either through the meanings ‘stone’ or ‘outside’. The present paper proposes that the 〈TSN〉 sign group may also be read as atïsïn ‘his nephew (+acc.)’. Furthermore, the meaning ‘to capture’ of the Old Turkic verb tut- is particularly emphasised in the interpretation of the mentioned sentence. Finally, the whole sentence is transcribed and interpreted as öz äči atïsïn tutmïš täg biz ‘We look as if (someone’s) own uncle has captured his own nephew’.

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