Abstract
A PERSIAN-TURKISH POETIC DICTIONARY: TUHFE-I FETHIYYE
In Classical Turkish literature, there are many literary genres. One of these is the poetic dictionaries, which provide equivalents of words in the source language(s) in the target language(s). Written primarily to expedite and facilitate language learning, these works have garnered considerable attention in our literature. While there are versions written for various languages, those in Arabic-Turkish, Persian-Turkish, or Arabic-Persian-Turkish forms are more common. Due to their popularity, numerous poetic dictionaries have been penned, and through previous research efforts, their existence has been identified and documented.
As research and examination continue, new works in this genre are being added regularly. As a result of such endeavors, one of the works added to the chain of poetic dictionaries is the “Tuhfe-i Fethiyye” compiled in Persian-Turkish by a poet using the pen name Fethi, in 1156/1743-1744. Comprising a 80-verse introduction written in the form of a “mesnevi” and a dictionary section consisting of 32 “kıt‘as” with varying verse counts between 5 and 18, totaling 403 verses, Tuhfe-i Fethiyye contains around 900 Persian words or phrases along with their Turkish equivalents.
In this study, focusing on the form and content characteristics of Tuhfe-i Fethiyye, which was written in the 18th century and currently known through the sole surviving manuscript registered under the number “EY_1233” in the Istanbul Archaeology Museum Library, selected “kıt‘as” from the work have been provided in translated written text.
Keywords
Classical Turkish literature, 18th century, poetic dictionary, Fethi, Tuhfe-i Fethiyye.
