“COMPARATIVE-TYPOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF COLOR SYMBOLS IN DĪWĀN LUGHĀT AL-TURK AND QUTADGHU BILIG”

Abstract

This article presents a comparative-typological analysis of colour symbols in two major Turkic written monuments of the 11th century — Mahmud al-Kashghariʻs Diwan Lughat al-Turk (1072–1074) and Yusuf Khass Hajibʻs Kutadgu Bilig (1069–1070). Six primary colour terms (white, black, blue, red, yellow, green) are examined through Yu.M. Lotmanʻs semiotic theory, V.I. Karasikʻs linguocultural concept model, and B. Berlin–P. Kayʻs universals framework. The analysis reveals a shared semantic core in both sources, while showing that the Diwan foregrounds cosmological functions and the Kutadgu Bilig emphasises epistemic-ethical and politico-philosophical dimensions of colour symbolism.