Comparative Analysis of The Qarnoq Dialect and The Historical Lexicon of The Uzbek Language

The Qarnoq dialect, spoken in the historical village of Qarnoq near Turkistan, Kazakhstan, represents a linguistically rich variant of the Uzbek language, preserving numerous Old Turkic lexical and grammatical features. This study provides a comparative analysis between the Qarnoq dialect and Mahmud al-Kashgari’s Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk, focusing on selected nouns and verbs that illustrate both semantic and morphological correspondences. The analysis demonstrates that a significant portion of the Qarnoq lexicon retains archaic forms and original meanings, reflecting the historical continuity of the language. Furthermore, preliminary comparisons suggest that some lexemes in the Dīwān may have been recorded directly from the speech of Qarnoq inhabitants, supporting hypotheses regarding Kashgari’s potential visit to the village. This study highlights the importance of dialectal research in historical linguistics, Uzbek dialectology, and intangible cultural heritage, emphasizing the role of Qarnoq speech in tracing the evolution of the Uzbek language and preserving its historical lexicon.