Thoughts on the classification of oguzeli region dialects

Oğuzeli and it's region is one of the historical Turkish settlement areas. The region became homeland for Turkish tribes since the Turks settled in Anatolia. Since the XI. century, not only the Oghuz tribes came to this region. Other Turkish tribes such as Avşar, Barak, Bayat, Bayındır, Beydili, Büğdüz, Cerit, Döğer, Çepni, Karkın, Karakeçili, Kınık, Kızık, Yazır also came to the region. These settlements are witnessed through historical sources. The Turkish tribes who settled in the region played an important role in the Turkification of Anatolia and in the formation of the Turkish written language based on Oghuz Turkish. Undoubtedly the general rule in the classification of dialect features are criteria based on linguistic material consisting of phonological criteria, morphological criteria, vocabulary criteria, syntax criteria, and rhythmical criteria. But, criteria based on language material alone can not always lead us to the right direction. Classifying the region by taking into account the settlement date, place names and also tribes will give more accurate results even language features are determining criteria. In this context, history, geography, toponymy and ethnotoponym studies are included in dialect research in to a considerable extent. In this study, the dialect characteristics of Oğuzeli and it's region were determined. Diachronic and synchronic criteria were taken into account in determining the dialect features. In addition, the history and geography of the region were also taken into consideration. As a result of this evaluation, it was concluded the Oğuzeli region dialects belongs to the seventh subgroup within the Western group dialects having the characteristic dialect of bridge.