Word-Formation Practices of the Early 20th Century: Animal and Bird Names (Based on “Oqu Quraly” (1927) by A. Baitursynuly and T. Shonanuly)

Abstract

The article examines the word-formation mechanisms and usage patterns of animal and bird names presented in the textbook  Oqu quraly  (1927), authored by A. Baitursynuly and T. Shonanuly. Based on empirical linguistic data, the study demonstrates that Kazakh intellectuals of the early twentieth century not only developed terminology for various scientific domains but also created Kazakh equivalents for animal species not native to the Kazakh steppe. The study identifies and analyzes selected lexical units, determines their word-formation models, and establishes which of them function as Kazakh equivalents of borrowed concepts. It further distinguishes between author-specific nominations and those that have entered the general lexical system of the Kazakh language. A comparative analysis is conducted between the early 20th-century coinages and their later standardized forms currently in use. Particular attention is paid to calquing as a dominant strategy in naming animal species inhabiting different continents, including America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia. The findings demonstrate that the creation of animal and bird names constitutes a significant dimension of early Kazakh intellectuals’ lexical innovation and contributes to the development of national scientific terminology. It was concluded that, during this period, calquing began to be actively used in Kazakh linguistics as a method of word formation. Based on specific linguistic data drawn from the works of prominent scholars, the creation of Kazakh names for birds, wild animals, and other fauna is comprehensively analyzed as a distinctive aspect of the lexical creativity of the Kazakh intelligentsia, and the main reasons for this phenomenon are identified. It is noted that the linguists Akhmet Baitursynuly and Telzhan Shonanuly, when creating new words and terms in educational materials, as well as when translating and writing borrowed words and terms, were guided by the scientific principles approved at the 1924 Congress of Kazakh Educators.