Sound: [q]

Signifying: [a phenomenon/organ] sprouting out of main body

[q] sound in Türki is equal to the sound of hard [g] as in ‘girl’ and ‘go’ in English.

Place of articulation: back of tongue pressing against soft palate

manner of articulation: stop/plosive

The significance of the sound [q]

This sound could be considered as one of the first four prominent stop sounds as found in the first phonetic alphabet of Ugarit (around 1400 BCE [3400 years ago]). Theoretically it conveys some complex but prominent concept. The order with Ugarit alphabet continued with Greek alphabet and Arabic alphabet. In Ugarit alphabet the letter _standing for the sound [q]_ is called gimel meaning ‘camel’ which is called ‘jəməl’ in Arabic. So, in Arabic alphabet the letter ج (for the sound [j]) replaces the sound [γ].

Our studies show that the early sounds were of semiotic value. Therefore, we use signify (instead of sign) for the sounds. Therefore, the semiotic value of the stop sound [q] is to signify ‘a phenomenon which sprouts out of main body’.

Graphic figure as a sign (icon)

Graphic shape of the sound [q] in Greek alphabet (as an icon [primary level of signs] in semotics) shows the same presumed signification with the sound ‘a phenomenon which sprouts out of main body’:

This graphic icon comprises a vertical main body corpus:

And a sprouting out horizontal branch:

Shape of Γ in its sign-signify value:

This graphic shape as a signifier signifies the concept of ‘[an organ/phenomenon] sprouting out [of] main body’.

Even the lower case of the letter γ shows sprouting elements out of main body.

Examples:

Body organs sprouting out of main body:

1. Qulaq (ear), 2. Qol (arm), 3. Qıç (leg), 4. Quyruq (tail), 5. Qanad (wing)