I am finished with my study of the Turkish-English dictionary that I got less than two months ago (“Intermingling,” December 9, 2011). I have gone through every single page in search of words that can be found in Bosnian, Croatian, or Serbian (“BCS,” January 11, 2012). The match is far from easy on account of changes in pronunciation and meaning that have taken place over some five centuries, as well as significant differences in the alphabet and spelling. Be that as it may, I have come up with two-hundred and ninety-two matching words, and many of them are a pleasure to behold, but I am sure there are many more. At this stage I would need a friendly linguist familiar with both Turkish and BCS, though. In particular, changes in meaning are worthy of further study. It is most likely that BCS has preserved the original meaning of some Turkish words much better than has modern Turkish, which has kept changing with the times. Anyhow, is there a friendly linguist around?

Addendum I (February 19, 2012)

I am finished with my study, but the number of matching words keeps climbing. Now there are three-hundred and eighteen. Hardly a day passes without a few additions to the list. My mind keeps churning, and the words pop up as if by magic. Twenty-six of them in less than a month! Although I will surely slow down as time goes by, my study will never be finished. With or without a friendly linguist, I will keep digging. There must be many more words linking Turkish and BCS, anyway.

Addendum II (December 21, 2012)

I just added one more word to the dictionary. It is fayda or “use” in Turkish. It is used in BCS as vajda in expressions such as “what use,” “no use,” or “little use.” Now I have three-hundred and sixty-seven words exactly. As the last word strikes me as a comment on my linguistic effort, I was over the moon when I stumbled upon it. My beloved just shook her head in utter puzzlement at my cheer. Yes, I was over the moon on account of my belated discovery.