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THE PHENOMENON OF CONCEPTUAL

LEXICOGRAPHY IN OTTOMAN BOSNIA

Article January 2010

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Dr. Adnan Kadri
Assosiate Fellow for Turkish & Ottoman Studies
Oriental institute in Sarajevo
Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina

THE PHENOMENON OF CONCEPTUAL

LEXICOGRAPHY IN OTTOMAN BOSNIA

Published in: Ottoman Studies in Transformation. Papers

from CIEPO 18, Zagreb (Berlin: LIT Verlag), LIT Verlag
Berlin-Mnster-Wien-Zrich-London, 2010, str. 317-329.
(http://books.google.com/books?id=rXozTgKsAdMC
&pg=PA317&dq=adnan+kadri%C4%87&hl=en&ei=
VxD_TZiHJ8nTsgbQyrjyDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result
&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=on
epage&q&f=false)

1.0. Introductory notes

In our work, we will deal with a wider notion of conceptual lexicography in Ottoman
Bosnia, which incorporates both conceptually structured thesauruses of general lexis and
terminogical conceptual thesauruses. There are tendencies in science to distinguish between
the terms lexicography and terminography.1 General lexicography, by that division, prefers
semasiological (semantic) criteria for description of words, where a spectrum of meaning of
certain word is described, while terminography prefers onomasiological (nominalising)
approach in which a certain concept dephrases the actual meaning of a linguistic sign.
Lexicography also includes emotional approach, while terminography recognize emotions
only within the framework of a specified concept of terminologization of words. However,
terminography is, generally speaking, just a subtype of lexicography, and, from the
philosophic-onomasiological point of view, it also has many similarities with general
conceptual lexicography. That is, terminography is actually at the same time a branch of

1
By the old division, lexicography focuses on words, while terminography tries to focus on terms within
particular expert or scientific areas and disciplines. Lexicography accepts the arbitrariness of linguistic sign,
while terminography attempts to establish the principles of designation and concepts that are the base for
functioning of the rules for designation of terms and phenomenon in the world around us. Lexicography
strives to preserve and define the widest use of words, while terminography deals with a specific specialized
use of a particular word. According to Dr Maritta Alberts, lexicography is descriptive by its nature, while
terminography is prescriptive and tries to reduce the meaning of a particular lexeme based on the meaning of
the word within a specific, familiar concept, which is a base for derivation of each new meaning.
conceptual lexicography, considering that terms too are sequenced by a particular generic,
hierarchical or associative principle of linking of the lexemes. It focuses on the system of
symbols and linguistic signs within a certain area of life. Terminography always implies
particular mental concept of naming and associating of lexeme, same as a general
conceptual lexicography does. "Mental concept" is a principle of associating the sign, the
signified and the defined term. We also recognize the basic onomasiological principles of
terminography in general conceptual lexicography, as can be seen in the example of
"conceptual" thesauruses, terminological thesauruses, poeticized dictionaries and oriental
"meta-lexicographic" comments (Sharh) on poeticized and "conceptually organized"
dictionaries / thesauruses in Bosnia during the Ottoman period (1463-1878).

2.0. Short history of lexicography in Bosnia

during the Ottoman period (1463 - 1878)

During the Ottoman rule in Bosnia (1463-1878), we had a significant number of

dictionaries: a) monolingual;2 b) bilingual);3 c) trilingual;4 d) quadrilingual.5 At the end of
15th and the beginning of 16th century, first mektebs and medresas were founded in Bosnian
kasabas (small towns) and cities. In 16th century, the number of citizens started increasing,
and the islamization of population grew stronger and percentage of literate population
increased. Due to the needs of new education, this century is generally characterized as the
beginning of the tradition of childrens and pedagogic-didactical dictionaries / thesauruses.6
Poeticized lexicography started in 16th century and lasted until the 19th century.
Terminological conceptual lexicography and a kind of comments (Sharh) of both
terminological and poeticized dictionaries were developed alongside.7
2
Conceptual monolingual dictionaries in Arabic language were mostly related to theology, i.e. religious
science (dictionaries of terminology of tefsir, hadith, lesser-known word from Quran, etc.).
3
There are many anonymous bilingual Arabic-Turkish dictionaries (Lugat- 'Arabi-Trki (R. 1619), Kamus-
'Arabi-Trki (R. 2621; R. 2327; R. 5837; R. 4917; R. 5145; R. 5893; R. 6125; R. 5851; R. 6198; R. 7737; R.
7788; R. 7800; R. 6305; R. 919), Mufid'l-Mstefidin (R. 2051), etc. It is similar with Turkish-Bosnian and
Bosnian-Turkish bilingual dictionaries. Turkish-Bosnian dictionaries are mostly of pedagogic-didactic nature
(Lugat- Trki-Bosnevi; GHB. R. 7704; R. 7791; R. 7789; R. 7744; R. 7695; R. 6191; R. 6213). Since the end
of 19th century, more often Lugat- Trki / Trke Bosnevi / Bonaka.
4
Like Bosnian-Arabic-Turkish dictionary Lugat- Bosnevi-Arebi-Trki (R. 7797) and other similar
dictionaries. Arabic-Persian-Turkish dictionaries prove that some people in Bosnia were dealing with texts in
all three oriental languages at the same time. Among Arabic-Persian-Turkish dictionaries, the most renowned
in Bosnia was, by the number of preserved copies in libraries, the dictionary Subha-i Sibyan, written by
Muhamed b. Ahmed er-Rumi el-Bosnevi (GHB. R. 6690; R. 5887; R. 4183; R. 5886; R. 1350; R. 7640; R.
4195; R. 4705; R. 5378; R. 7198).
5
Like the dictionary Lugat- Arebi-Trki-Farsi-Bosnevi (GHB. R. 2204) and other similar dictionaries.
6
The most renowned pedagogic-didactic conceptual Arabic-Turkish dictionaries in Bosnia, whose authors
were known are: Cenahu's-Sibyan (R. 2992) by Osman Dumhur from Viegrad, dictionary Lugat- Elfaz-
Kuraniyye (R. 7806), written by Ebu Bekr b. ejh Muslihudin el-Bosnevi, then Ad-durra al-mudiyya fi'l-luga
at-Turkiyya (R. 5798), written by Salih b. Muhamed, dictionary Lugat- Lami'i elebi (R. 2051), written by
Lamii Mahmud elebi and dictionary Seh Zeban (R. 2051), written by sheikh Ahmed.
7
In Gazi Husrev Beys Library it is possible to find several short conversational Italian-Turkish dictionaries /
Trke-talyanca Lugat (GHB. R. 5538). These dictionaries are mostly in pocket format and not alphabetically
organized, instead they are organized by themes and a market registry concept, which is mostly based on a
particular type of conversation rather than a particular theoretic area. Lists of particular types of words in some

2
 One of the oldest encyclopedic dictionaries in oriental languages in Bosnia is a large
lexicon of Arabic language, As-sihah fi al-luga written by Abu Nasr Isma'il b. Hammad al-
Gawhari al-Farabi (died at the beginning of 11th century). The transcript of this dictionary,
preserved in the Gazi Husrev Beys Library in Sarajevo (R. 346-355) is from the 13th century
(on Monday, 17th Jumd al-akhir 687 / 1288). The lexicon has ten volumes and it is
alphabetically organized, with plenty of examples and carefully selected lexems. There are
other transcripts of the same Lexicon and abridged versions (mukhtasar) from 16th century
(R. 661; R. 4059; R. 3814). It is important to mention that, in lexicography in the
Mediterranean, the first contact was made between Arabic lexicographic tradition and
lexicography of other Mediterranean European countries. Conceptual quadrilingual Arabic-
Greek-Latin-Illyrian dictionary - herbarium Liber de Simplicibus, dictionary of botanical
terminological lexis, written around mid 15th century proves that. The author was Niccola
Roccabonelle.8 Persian and Turkish lexicographic tradition came forward considerably later,
with implementation of the Ottoman educational system in the above-mentioned countries
and regions. It is important to mention too that notes on donations (vakf kaytlar) and
purchase of dictionaries provide useful informationes for researching of everyday life in
Bosnia during the Ottoman period. Based on the preserved copies of manuscripts of
dictionaries in Bosnia, one can suppose which dictionaries were the most used in educational
institutions.
The dictionaries which were used in the other parts of the Ottoman Empire, were
used in Bosnia too. The most renowned Persian-Turkish dictionary n Ottoman Bosna was
the dictionary written by Ibrahim ahidi. The most commonly used Arabic-Turkish dic-
tionaries in the Ottoman educational institutions in Bosnia, according to preserved copies of
dictionaries in archives and libraries of manuscripts in Bosnia are the following: (i) Lugat-
Feriteolu;9 (ii) Al-ahtari fl-luga;10 (iii) Lgat- sm-i Allah / Lugat- Allah Tanr;11 (iv)
Al-irad fil-luga;12 (v) Tercmans-Sihah;13 (vi) Lugat- Mnteha;14 (vii) Mirkatl-
luga;15 and (viii)Unvan.16 Among Bosnian-Turkish dictionaries in Bosnia, the most
popular was the dictionary in verses Makbul-i Arif, written by Muhamed Hevai Uskufi
Bosnevi. Turkish-Bosnian dictionaries were mostly anonymous. Vocalized Turkish-

Latin language grammars written in the Ottoman Turkish language Latinceden Terceme. Gramer are also
interesting (GHB. R. 5667; fol. 163).
8
Anja Hoyt - Nikoli (2004:60) (Conceptual lexicography: By the thesaurus of Croatian language.)
Konceptualna leksikografija: prema tezaurusu hrvatskoga jezika, Zagreb.
9
GHB. R. 5345; R. 2162; R. 5568; R. 2593; R. 2974; R. 5630; R. 7803; R. 5561; R. 7745; R. 1653; R. 7805;
R. 4287; R. 2051; R. 7393).
10
GHB. R. 7562; R. 4780; R. 3868; R. 727; R. 6568; R. 7394; R. 171; R. 7560; R. 4192; R. 3787; R. 6093; R.
7566; R. 125; R. 6701; R. 5627; R. 7565; R. 202; R. 150; R. 591; R. 4419; R. 7563; R. 4838.
11
GHB. R. 7393; R. 5737; R. 2839; R. 5536; R. 7747; R. 7743; R. 4348; R. 5511; R. 6220; R. 7156; R. 5224;
R. 7801; R. 6305; R. 7792.
12
GHB. R. 5551; R. 2760; R. 624; R. 1105; R. 1364; R. 1625; R. 2711; R. 4030; R. 4830; R. 4200; R. 4457;
R. 7642; R. 7808.
13
GHB. R. 1085; R. 1531; R. 1619; R. 2342; R. 7561; R. 4835; R. 5799.
14
GHB. R. 5770; R. 1382; R. 2105; R. 4737; R. 5737; R. 2531.
15
GHB. R. 5568; R. 7742; R. 6532; R. 2658; R. 4155; R. 1269; R. 650; R. 919.
16
GHB. R. 5345; R. 7393.

3
Bosnian (harekeli) dictionaries are quite interesting for research on pronunciation of
Turkish language in Bosnian medresas and other educational institutions.

3.0. Classical Ottoman educational system

and conceptual lexicography in Bosnia

Literature in oriental languages arrived to Bosnia through the trade and through the
classical Ottoman educational system. Educational system in Bosnian medreses implies
division in three types of sciences: a) theological disciplines: tefsir, hadith, kelam, fiqh, etc.;
b) mathematics, practical sciences: arithmetic, algebra, geometry, astronomy and music; c)
natural sciences: medicine, physics, chemistry, botanic, zoology, mineralogy, geology,
agriculture and geography. THE CONCEPT of classical Ottoman educational system
provides a basic framework for development of lexicography in Bosnia during the Ottoman
period, from the second half of 15th century until the beginning of 19th century. Concisely,
oriental-Islamic cultural-civilization universe is reflected in lexicography through the
following universal thematic hierarchy of descriptions and/or sequence of lexemes in
dictionaries:
1. God, the Holly Book;
2. Prophet (religious tradition);
3. Faith and religious laws, the rules of religion;
4. Ordinary, every-day lexis.

4.0. Types of conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses

We can conditionally divide conceptual thesauruses in oriental languages in Bosnia during

the Ottoman period into the following types: (a) general conceptual dictionaries /
thesauruses; (b) thematic conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses; (c) terminological
conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses; (d) poeticized conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses.

4.1. General conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses

General conceptual dictionaries or thesauruses are numerous, and they are collections of
lexemes used in various areas of life. Most of Turkish-Bosnian dictionaries are general
conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses. It is not thematic or alphabetic organization
consolidating lexemes in such dictionaries, but a recognizable hierarchy of values in the
Ottoman educational system and everyday life of Muslims in Bosnia during the Ottoman
period, the hierarchy transferred to dictionaries.

4.2. Thematic conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses

Concerning exemplars in thematically organized dictionaries/ thesauruses in Bosnia during

the Ottoman period, there are two dictionaries we would like to mention: (i) Cenahu's-

4
Sibyan by Osman Dumhur; (ii) anonymous dictionary Lugat- Arebi-Trki-Bosnevi (R.
2204).

(i) CENAHU'S-SBYAN (1713) by Osman Dumhur Bosnevi from Viegrad;17

The book was written in 11th Jumd al-akhir 1125 / 1713 in the Medrese of Hagg Ismail
Misri at Atmeydan in Sarajevo. In the introductory part of his Arabic-Turkish dictionary,
Osman Dumhur explained why he wrote the dictionary.18 In the first part of the dictionary
of Osman Dumur there is a typical conceptual Vocabularium a list of words according to
the particular idea or theme. At the beginning, there are "the most noble, carefully selected
words ": God, Merciful, prophet, revelation, etc. Following are the chapters explaining
some basic terms in mederesas, then "thematically" organized chapters: Chapter about
herbs and wheat, about animals, about wild birds, about people, about parts of human
body, about food, about fruits, about trees, about working tools, about weapons, about
illnesses, about numbers etc. Second part of the dictionary has an alphabetic sequence of
words, in which noun and verb lexemes are written in separate columns. At the end, there is
an interesting exercise for students.19

(ii) LUGAT-I AREB-TRK-BOSNEV (GHB. R. 2204), anonymous dictionary;

According to tradition, the glossary opens with Bismillah. Then there is a Gods name in
three languages, name of the Prophet, meleks/ angels, and following is the religious
terminology from everyday life of Muslims, basic terms from the Islamic ritual practice and
dogma, characteristics of people, names of the body parts. The titles of the chapters are
following: Bayn wasf insan / Explanation and the description of Men (6a); Bayn al-ard ve
m fh / About the earth and what is on it (7b); Bayn Awsf al-bayt wa Assih/ About
descriptions of house and household furniture (8a); Bayn al-Maklt / About dishes (10b);
Asm shuhr / Names of the months (18a); Asm al-Ishrt / Demonstrative nouns /
pronouns (18b); Asm al-mawslt / Relative nouns (18b), etc. At the end of the dictionary,
there is a short list of grammatical terms with several examples. The tradition of writing the-
matic Bosnian-Turkish and Turkish-Bosnian dictionaries continues even after the Ottomans
left Bosnia.20

4.3. Terminological conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses21

17
GHB. R. 2992.
18
"...I noticed that many students in our time are weak and know no languages; they study fiqh, and they do
not know the meaning, and they are the reason I decided to write this dictionary". See: Handi, Mehmed
(1940-41) "Dumhur Osman i njegov arapsko-turski rjenik Denahus-sibjan", El-Hidaje, year IV.
19
Ibid.
20
One of the most renowned authors of such thematically organized thesauruses is Ibrahim Edhem Berbi. He
added his lexicographic notes in addendum to his contrastive bilingual Bosnian-Turkish grammar Bonaka-
Trke Muallimi: Bosanski Turski Uitelj (1893).
21
Dictionaries dealing with professional register of certain area are always a subject of conceptual
lexicography, and they always have to follow the concept / idea of certain profession in naming the terms.

5
 Among Bosnian terminological Arabic-Turkish conceptually organized dictionaries;
there are many dealing with general religious terminology and administrative-legal
terminology found in official correspondence.22 Particularly interesting are dictionaries of
terms from the tasawwuf professional register. In 16th century, Ali Dede Mostari provided
interesting explanations in verses for the most commonly used tasawwuf terms and phrases.
Occasionally, detailed explanations of tasawwuf terms and phrases exceed the borders of
typical lexicographical encyclopaedic works and become a special kind of works
comments on the dictionaries, aiming to explain a particular semantic "conceptual matrix"
used as a base for selection of lexemes in tasawwuf, those which are supposed to express
some complex abstract philosophic-tasawwuf idea. In our work, we would like to call
attention to lexicographic contributions of Abdullah Salahudin Bosnevi Salahi from 18th
century. Explanation of terms provided by Abdullah Salahi is an example of
onomasiological conceptualization of tasawwuf phrases in the light of conceptual
lexicography. As important are terminological lexicographic contributions in the works of
Osman b. Abdulmenan Bosnevi, one of the most significant translators of European
textbooks for natural sciences to Ottoman Turkish language in 18th century. In 1751, he
translated Geographia Generalis in Qua Affectionnes Generalles Telluris Explicantur
(Terceme-i Kitb- Cogrfy), written by Bernhard Varenius and several similar textbooks
about botanic and related sciences from Latin language. He had written some terms in
several languages: Latin, Arabic, Turkish and Bosnian.

4.4. "Poeticized" conceptual dictionaries / thesauruses

One of the most interesting phenomena for researchers of lexicography in the Balkans is the
phenomenon of writing poeticized dictionaries in Bosnia. This phenomenon is interesting
from several aspects:
(a) "Dictionaries in verses" are very rare in history of lexicography of the South Slav
people in the Balkans;23
(b) Dictionaries are clearly conceptualized both as a lexicographic work and as a kind
of literary (poetical) work;
(c) At the beginning of dictionaries in verses, authors are selecting lexemes according
to preset hierarchical patterns of classical Ottoman (diachronical) "semantic cultural
vertical" in which is reflecting the Oriental-Islamic worldview in general;
(d) Selection of lexemes in poeticized dictionaries implies respecting the rules of
classical Ottoman rhetoric and stylistic, but also represents a kind of "individual

Conceptual lexicography implies writing dictionaries related to certain areas, terminological lists and the lists
of words, lexicographic works consolidating lexemes within the same concept / idea, on associative or
hierarchical base. Recognizable terminological conceptual matrix consolidating lexemes within the same
scientific field. Failure to recognize the concept used as a base to write a dictionary, creates a problem in
understanding the implicit meaning of the lexeme in the microstructure of each conceptual dictionary.
22
For example: Ilm-i inada mustamel olan lugatlar GHB. R. 7001.
23
Bosnian-Turkish dictionary Makbul-i Arif, written by Muhamed Hevai Uskufi is particularly interesting.

6
 poetic experience " in which the author / poet tries to match the lexemes using at
least ten forms of the classical Ottoman aruz-metric system;
(e) Selection of lexemes in dictionaries in verses has also been done by the rules of the
"thematic cultural horizontal", so that the lexemes in verses were mostly connected
by the semantic relations of hyponymy and meronymy (as a kind of thematic
dictionary was a base for poetic text);
(f) Selection of lexemes in poeticized dictionaries is conditioned by metrical rules, so
that in sequence of lexemes there are often some unexpected semantic gaps, which
makes the dictionary interesting from the aspect of stylistics;
(g) In quest for individual expression, the author often used some "sub-standard"
lexemes, slang phrases and vulgarisms, which make the dictionary additionally
extraordinary;
(h) Respecting the rules of rhyme, the author often makes the transposition of lexemes
in the final part of the verse.

One of the most popular dictionaries in verses in Bosnia was the dictionary Tuhfe-i hid,
written by Ibrahim Shahidi, and one of the most unusual dictionaries was Tuhfe-i Vehb,
written by Sunbul-zade Vehbi. Quite popular was the dictionary Lugat- Feriteolu.24

We are going to mention the following Bosnian dictionaries in verses: (i) Tuhfe-i
Manzme, written by Osman b. Huseyin Bosnevi; (ii) Makbul-i Arif, written by Muhamed
Hevai Uskufi Bosnevi; (iii) Subha-i Sibyn, written by Muhamed b. Ahmed er-Rumi Ebu-l-
Fadl el-Bosnevi; (iv) Lugat- Elfz- Kurniyye, written by Ebu Bekr b. shayh Seyfulhak
b. Muslihuddin el-Bosnevi.

(i) TUHFE-I MANZME (1583) thesaurus / dictionary in verses, written by

Osman b. Huseyin Bosnevi;

Osman son of Huseyin Bosnevi wrote in 1583 a Persian-Turkish dictionary in a form of

mesnevi and named it Manzume / A Poem. For pedagogic-didactical reasons, he provided
in this dictionary various metrical-styling patterns and applied them in his dictionary,
following appropriate rules of rhyme and selection of lexemes. He wrote the introductory
part in a form of mesnevi with 42 bayts / couplets, i.e. 88 verses. With 19 poetic passages
(chapters) and introductory part, dictionary named as A Poem has a total of 168 bayts /
couplets, i.e. 336 verses. Within the same verses in the work there is an explanation of the
meaning of Persian lexemes in Ottoman (805 in total). The author, Osman son of Huseyin
Bosnevi explains in special appendixes some important grammatical rules related to Persian
lexemes. The work also includes some figures and tropes within the introductory verses25.

24
In Gazi Husrev Bey's Library in Sarajevo, there are dictionaries with selected lexemes from some classical
literary work. One of them is the dictionary of difficult words Mkilat- ahname (R. 7746) in Firdusis
ahnama sorted alphabetically. Such dictionaries are interpreting some classical literary work in oriental
language from other aspects.
25
entrk, Ahmet Atill & Kartal, Ahmet (2004:314) niversiteler in Esk Trk Edebiyat Tarihi. Ankara.

7
 The manuscript we are analyzing is kept in the Gazi Husrev Beys Library in
Sarajevo (R-3451). We are particularly interested in the introductory part of Manzume /
A Poem, written by Osman son of Huseyin Bosnevi, which opens with the following
verses:
Bismillhir-Rahmnir-Rahm
La ilhe illalhl-Kerm
In the Name of God, the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful
There is no one but God, the Generous
Sips u minnet Ol Hallk- pka
Ki al fehm dni virdi kka
Thank and praise that Pure Creator
Who granted the intellect, understanding and knowledge to a dust
Ol Alm itdi insna lugt
O dur hka viren nutk u hayt
That Omniscient made a WORD for Men
He is the One granting speech and life to a dust

Osman b. Huseyin Bosnevi explained the importance of the dictionary for mastering
of various sciences. The concept of the dictionary seems to be similar to the dictionary
written by Ibrahim Shahidi.

(ii) MAKBUL- ARF (1631) - written by Muhamed Hevai Uskufi Bosnevi;

Bosnian-Turkish dictionary Makbul-i Arif has been organized on the model of the Ihrahim
Shahidis dictionary. Makbul-i Arif was written in 1631. The introduction has 102 bayts
(204 verses). The decision to write a dictionary with words from Turkish and Bosnian
language (Bosnaca) and is explained in the Introduction. Hevais observation about words
in Bosnian language in the introductory verses of the Dictionary is quite interesting:
Bosnalar olur iri bekamet
ri bil hem lugatlarn begayet
A big stature as Bosniacs have
Their words are huge as well

Following are the 13 chapters in different meters, and the authors conclusion at the end of
dictionary. The stylistic characteristics of the dictionary are similar to other pedagogic-
didactical alhamiado poems by Muhamed Hevai Uskufi, written in Arabic graphemes in
Bosnian language. This dictionary is not for children. Each chapter has been organized as a
small semantically independent poem, with latifa - a witty proverb or saying at the end of
every chapter. The dictionary is, therefore, a kind of authors associative story about
groups of words. Sometimes, this association between the words is thematic, sometimes it
is associative, sometimes they are connected merely by rhyme and sometimes it seems like
a sequence of words, which, in a widest meronymic circle, create an image of a certain term
or phenomenon. Uskufi attempted to add some originality to this dictionary, starting the
bayts (couplets) with lexemes from various thematic areas. However, he was often

8
associatively jumping from one thematic area to other and changing grammatical
categories of lexemes, based on the concept only he has been familiar to. Both, readers
familiar with Turkish and those familiar to Bosnian language can sense that concept and
association between the lexemes, but they can hardly determine it if trying to do so based
on the present lexicographic theories and the rules of modern lexicography and lexicology.
The reason for that is simple:
The written popular Tradition in the Ottoman or Bosnian language is only a wider
conceptual framework for the structure of the Dictionary, while, as the main stylistic
technique for writing a dictionary is the Ottoman aruz-poetics and a kind of implicit
narrative "folkloric poetic koine" typical for certain types of Bosnian alhamiado poetry and
a hybrid poetic forms, something between pedagogic-didactical and eroticized popular "saz
poetry" in the Ottoman Empire. Therefore, the dictionary Makbul-i Arif, written by
Muhamed Hevai Uskufi is equally interesting for literary-theoretical, folkloric and
linguostylistic studies in general.

(iii) SUBHA- SBYAN (1624) - Muhamed b. Ahmed er-Rumi Ebu-l-Fadl Bosnevi;

Dictionary Subha-i Sibyan, written by Muhamed b. Ahmed Er-Rumi Bosnevi is an

Arabic-Turkish dictionary in verses. Atabey Kl has already written about it.26
According to some sources, the dictionary was written in 1033/1624,27 and according to
others, in 1063/1652-53. The dictionary has 2100 Arabic lexemes, around 250 Persian
and around 1150 Turkish lexemes. The beginning is similar to the beginnings in
dictionaries written by Osman b. Huseyin Bosnevi and Muhamed Hevai Uskufi
Bosnevi, in accordance with tradition of conceptual poeticized thesauruses in the
Ottoman Empire:
Nam- Hoda zikr idelm ibtida
Menzil-i maksuda Odur rehnuma
Lets start the remembrance with a name of God
He is the One leading us to the destination we desired ...

Muhamed b. Ahmed Bosnevi explained why he had written a dictionary for children
(Subha-i Sibyan). The concept and the content of chapters in this dictionary are similar
to the dictionary written by Ibrahim Shahid and the dictionary written by Osman b.
Huseyin Bosniak.

26
See details in: Kl, Atabey (2006) ''Trke-Arapa Manzum Szlklerden Subha-i Sibyan. nceleme (1)'',
Turkish Studies / Trkoloji Dergisi - 2, 2006.
27
Uzun, Tacettin (2002) Arapa-Trke Szlklerin ncs Sayilan Subha-i Sibyn, Nsha, yl II, say: 6.

9
Subha-i Sibyan, by Muhamed b. Ahmed er-Rumi Ebu-l-Fadl Bosnevi (GHB. R. 6690)

(iv) LUGAT-I ELFZ-I KURNYYE (GHB. R. 7806); written by Ebu Bekr b.

shaikh Seyful-hak ibn Muslihuddin el-Bosnevi;

Prosaic introduction and chapters in verses follow a short content. In these chapters,
Ebu Bekr Bosnevi explains particular words from certain Quranic chapters (sras). He,
at some point, interpreted phrases and sometimes he interpreted just a single word.
Words have been sorted out by the sequence of Quranic chapters. Alongside, in
footnotes under and net to words, he provided a precise concept of use of a particular
lexeme, which is explained in a verse in the basic text of the dictionary. He interpreted
1432 Quranic words and terms in 397 bayts (794 verses).

5.0. The phenomenon of comments on dictionaries in Bosnian lexicography

The tradition of writing comments on dictionaries or conceptual thesauruses has been

assumed from the Ottoman written tradition. The comment Kulliyt Abi Baq (GHB. R.
184) is actually a big encyclopaedic dictionary, which in particular clarifications gets a
form of comments on the dictionary, with a special overview to meaning and etymology
of certain lexems. Examples are often used to illustrate the signification of certain
words. There is a description of a graphic representation of a lexeme, general notes on
grammatical form of a word, and the notes on lexemes used in a particular scientific
field. Multi-volume encyclopaedic dictionary Sihh al-luga (R. 346) was
conceptualized in the same manner. That dictionary has many verses used to illustrate
the meaning of a certain lexeme and many examples from a conversational style. Words
are explained by their meaning within particular syntagmatic or sentence constructions.
There are many proverbs and quotations of famous people from classical oriental-
Islamic philological tradition. Lexemes from ayets, hadiths, pre-Islamic poetry, works
of Arab classical writers and various scientific fields are listed. It has been
hierarchically organized in accordance with oriental-Islamic concept of life. Ali Dede
Mostari, Abdullah Bosnevi Abdi and Sari Abdullah Bosnevi have also provided some
sharhs / comments on particular lexemes. abanzade from Nevesinye was also
making comments when interpreting difficult words from Mesnevi by Jalal ad-Din

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 Rumi. The comment Hulle-i Manzume erh-i Tuhfe-i ahidi written by Shaikh Yuyo
Mostari (R. 635), as a comment on the dictionary Tuhfe-i ahidi by Ibrahim Shahidi
comprises only the basic elements of classical Ottoman comments on dictionary, but it
is not stylistically or scientifically similar to the comments on the same work that we
can find in the work erh-i Tuhfe-i ahidi (R. 1386), written by writer and poet Bosnevi
Ahmed Hatem Akovali-zade. The style of Hatem Akovali-zade is very good, and the
language is sophisticated. In the introductory part of his comments, Ahmed Hatem
expressed his wish to present the heavy thoughts in a clear expression; explained the
method he used in writing the comments on the dictionary written by Ibrahim Shahidi;
provided definitions of some literary terms we find in his work, as well as explanation
of some terms from the Ottoman aruz-metric system. In the introductory part, Ahmed
Hatem Akovali-zade analyzed the issue of pronunciation of hemze-i izafet in Persian
genitive constructions, which were transferred to the Ottoman Turkish language, i.e. he
discussed whether it should be read kesre / esre or fetha / stn between the
constituents of genitive constructions. These issues remained open to this day, in
Iranistic studies as well as in the Ottoman studies. Comments (sharhs) of poeticized
dictionaries present the products of classical oriental rhetorical-philological tradition in
the widest sense.

6.0. Conclusion

Studying conceptual lexicography in Bosnia during the Ottoman period, using the example
of handwritten dictionaries triggers many interesting issues related to turcology in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. The first among those issues would be the issue of correlation of
semantics and formal structure of various dictionaries / thesauruses, i.e. whether the studies
of conceptual lexicography should deal with formal structural relations or with semantic
and cultural and civilization relations between lexemes. In our opinion, both aspects are
important for studying the history of conceptual lexicography in Ottoman Bosnia.

Summary

THE PHENOMENON OF CONCEPTUAL

LEXICOGRAPHY IN OTTOMAN BOSNIA

A lot of lexicographical conceptual glossaries, lists of words and various dictionaries of

encyclopaedic character were written during the Ottoman rule over Bosnia. Unlike to the
lexicographical tradition in Dalmatia, the alphabetical conceptualized dictionaries in Bosnia
during the Ottoman rule have occurred very rarely. However, regardless of that fact,
numerous works in the area of conceptual lexicography in Bosnia during the Ottoman rule
introduced many questions of cultural-civilization character such as: who has wrote those
terminological dictionaries and professional-technical conceptualized lists of words and
why, are those dictionaries result of act of copying (istinsah) or are there even some

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 elements of originality inside them. There are two phenomena that attract the attention of
every researcher in the field of lexicography during the Ottoman rule over Bosnia: a)
phenomenon of "poetized" conceptual lexicography (glossaries in verse); b) phenomenon of
writing of commentary (sharh) of that time exemplar glossaries and dictionaries (the
commentators are the writers from Bosnia). We assume that these two phenomena in 16th
and 17th century (glossaries in verse and commentaries of glossaries) are the phenomena in
South-Slavic and Ottoman lexicographical tradition that deserve particular cultural
overview and critical analysis.

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