Focal present continuous tense marker-a er-in tezkire-i sheikh safî

Abstract

There is a generally accepted argument which states that the Turkish present continuous time suffix-(ı)yor has occured by the haplology of descriptive verb yorı-“to walk” from present tense form yorır and that this suffix which is actually a separate word has become a suffix later. Lars Johanson does not agree with this general argument and said that the present continuous time marker in Azerbaijan Turkish {-(y)Ir}, probably should be going through a descriptive verb in the form of an verbal adverb + er-ür (er-‘to be’).In this study, samples of the present continuous time marker-A er-, which Lars Johanson presumed to be “of great possibility”, will be given. The related samples are taken from “Tezkire-i Sheikh Safî” that is translated by Nashatî into Azerbaijan Turkish in the 16th century from the Persian “Safvetu’s-Safâ” of Ibn Bezzâz. Thus, the-A er-marker was firstly witnessed as a focal present continuous tense marker in Azerbaijan Turkish. © 2020, Ahmet Yesevi University. All rights reserved.