Reconstruction:Proto-Turkic/bẹ

This Proto-Turkic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Turkic

Etymology

Usually compared to Proto-Mongolic *bi (“I”) and Proto-Tungusic *bi (“I”).

The Common Turkic form *ben is a result of back formation from the oblique stem *bẹn- with the pronominal-n.

Pronoun

*bẹ

1. I

Declension

Declension of *bẹ (pronominal-n declension)

	Singular
Nominative	*bẹ
Accusative	*bẹni
Genitive	*bẹniŋ
Dative	*baŋa
Locative	*bẹnte
Ablative	*bẹnten
Allative 1)	*baŋaru
Instrumental 1)	*bẹnin
Equative 1)	*bẹnče
Similative 1)	*bẹnleyü
Comitative 1)	*bẹnligü

1) The original allative, instrumental, equative, similative & comitative cases have fallen into disuse in many modern Turkic languages.

Postposition

*bẹ

1. Denotes "to be" for first person singular when at the end of an object; am
2. Denotes first person singular after various tenses

Related terms

• *biŕ (“we”)

Derived terms

• *bẹ-niŋ
• *bẹ-ni

Descendants

• Oghur:
  • Chuvash: эпӗ (ep̬ĕ)
• Common Turkic: *ben

• Arghu:
  • Khalaj: mən
• Oghuz: بَنْ (bän)
  • Old Anatolian Turkish: بن (bän), ـون (-vän)
    • Ajem-Turkic: من (män), ـم (-äm)
      • Azerbaijani: mən, -əm
      • Qashqai: من (män), ـم (-äm)
      • Sonqori: مه (mä), ـم (-äm)
    • Ottoman Turkish: بن (ben), ـم (-im)
      • Gagauz: bän, -im
      • Turkish: ben, -im
  • Salar: men
  • Turkmen: men, -in
• Karluk:
  • Karakhanid: مَنْ (män)
    • Khorezmian Turkic: بن (bän), من (män)
      • Chagatai: من (män)
        • Uyghur: مەن (men)
        • Uzbek: men
• Kipchak:
  • Kipchak: من (män)
    • North Kipchak:
      • Bashkir: мин (min)
      • Tatar: мин (min)
    • West Kipchak:
      • Crimean Tatar: men
      • Karachay-Balkar: мен (men)
      • Karaim: мэн
      • Kumyk: мен (men)
    • South Kipchak:
      • Caspian:
        • Karakalpak: мен
        • Kazakh: мен (men)
        • Nogai: мен (men)
      • Kyrgyz-Kipchak:
        • Kyrgyz: мен (men)
        • Southern Altai: мен (men)
• Siberian:
  • Old Turkic:
    • Old Turkic: 𐰢𐰤 (mn² /⁠men⁠/), 𐰋𐰤 (b²n² /⁠ben⁠/), 𐰌𐰥 (b²n²)
      • Old Uyghur: pʾn (ben), mʾn (men)
        • Western Yugur: men
  • North Siberian:
    • Dolgan: мин (min)
    • Yakut: мин (min)
  • South Siberian:
    • Sayan Turkic:
      • Tofa: мен (men)
      • Tuvan: мен (men)
    • Yenisei Turkic:
      • Khakas: мин (min)
      • Shor: мен (men)

References

• al-Kashgarî, Mahmud (1072–1074) Besim Atalay, transl., Divanü Lûgat-it-Türk Tercümesi [Translation of the “Compendium of the languages of the Turks”] (Türk Dil Kurumu Yayınları; 521) (in Turkish), 1985 edition, Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurmu Basımevi, published 1939–1943, pages 31, 339
• Starostin, Sergei, Dybo, Anna, Mudrak, Oleg (2003) “*bĭ̀”, in Etymological dictionary of the Altaic languages (Handbuch der Orientalistik; VIII.8), Leiden, New York, Köln: E.J. Brill
• Clauson, Gerard (1972) “ben”, in An Etymological Dictionary of pre-thirteenth-century Turkish, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 346