Typology of the Category of Case in Beowulf, The Book of Dede Korkut, The Song of the Nibelungs and The Tale of Igor's Campaign

. The paper aims to explore the typology of the category of case in the epics Beowulf, The Book of Dede Korkut, The Song of The Nibelungs and The Tale of Igor's Campaign. It draws certain universal features and their nature based on the contrastive study of all the mentioned epic texts. The contrastive analysis reveals similarities in how various morphological units express the case category in these texts, suggesting that they have a deep root rather than an occasional nature. On the other hand, the results of such typological studies provide essential arguments to researchers in psychology, cultural studies, history, sociology, and other disciplines within this context. Our research topic is related to studying the typological features of case categories in ancient epics of diverse, unrelated, and geographically dispersed language speakers. In this context, it connects us to the unity of human nature and directs us towards the unity of biological and cognitive organisation. In ancient epics, identifying typological characteristics by case category means increasing the volume of language universals in this context. In ancient epics, the type of cases, and their development directions, are almost similar.


INTRODUCTION
In the 21st century, typological research in linguistics has accelerated and acquired new content.It is a new era due to typological investigations, which were carried out with significant interest in the mid-20th century, and have yielded high scientific results.Summarising them, deriving universally applicable scientific conclusions stood as a necessity in the science of linguistics.The point was that the linguistics researches in this field were consistent with several conclusions reached by other humanities disciplines.Especially anthropology, cultural studies, history, sociology and other related fields were on the verge of coming to such a scientific conclusion that the languages proposed since the 19th century originated from the exact origin and were even carriers of a proto-language.Typological research conducted in linguistics has identified specific shared characteristics in language carriers' minds.In this regard, the study findings in relevant scientific fields closely align with the results of typological investigations.Many exciting conclusions reached by various scientific fields regarding the mentioned issues coincided with the outcomes of typological research.
Consequently, a new phase began in which these scientific findings were further deepened, and their philosophy was studied.This process was accelerated by the end of the 20th century, but in the 21st century, it was compatible with the requirements of the time.For example, the results of the archetype identification problem in folklore typology revealed some universal aspects.The obtained results complemented each other with language universals.Also, the archaeological and historical research in this direction provided valuable materials for addressing the same problem.In this context, the 21st century can be considered a new era in the context of typological studies of languages and the generalisation of its results.
In the modern era, in various scientific fields, including linguistics, investigating the idea of language universals across all language levels becomes necessary in global problems.While typological research has not been conducted for all languages, it primarily focuses on widely used languages such as Indo-European and several others.Therefore, there are challenges in accelerating these investigations and consolidating the general findings obtained.In this regard, 21st-century linguistics is part of the need to deepen typological research and concretise the diverse ideas about language universals.The language universals do not simply confirm the similarities between different structured languages; they ask numerous questions about the existence of that similarity, penetrating its archetype, genesis, and the problems encountered while searching for answers leading to the advancement of a new hypothesis.This is related to the idea of genetic unity of the human beginnings.In this regard, linguistics refers to ancient epics belonging to various cultures.It requires their study in the typological context of language levels because ancient epics are precious sources from the linguistic point of view that provide material for identifying older language features and sometimes archetypes.During the comparative analysis of those monuments, language university students shed light on some obscure aspects, and thoughts and ideas are evaluated according to the logical consequences of those facts.Subsequently, the findings of relevant scientific research in the respective fields are compared, and the resulting conclusions gain scientific value.XXI century linguistics also acquires new content as the philosophy of linguistics and similar results of other sciences become delineated based on similar outcomes.The science of history is in close contact with linguistics in this respect; studying the formation of ethnos outside of their language can lead to wrong results.The historical periodisation of the development of humanity also conditions the historical development period of its language.Therefore, linguistics and history intersect at the same point in this context.If archaeological facts -archetypes -from the very early periods of history are found, it will significantly help to confirm the concept of a single language and a genetic concept of a unified humanthe concept of a proto-language or protoethnicity.Therefore, typological studies are the starting point for deeper investigations.
As mentioned earlier, typological studies can be conducted at all language levels.Revealing the typological similarity of factors such as the harmony of vowel and consonant sounds in ancient epics, their functional features in the epic language, and linguistic-poetic features in the literary language are facts that provide consistent evidence for the evolution of poetic techniques.
Most importantly, it highlights that the ancient people did not use speech sounds only as a nominative sign but also suggests the typology of their reinterpretation in the communication process, as mentioned above.This point seems to indicate that human development goes through similar stages.Therefore, typological phonetics is a more reliable source in this context.
The typological investigation of epics distinguishes itself with its specific features concerning the grammatical level of language (morphology and syntax).Similarities in the development history of morphological categories in different system languages and typological features in category definition principles reveal several universal aspects.The typology of syntactic parallelism and the parallel functions in communication provide valuable evidence for language universals.Through typological research, it has been established that in the folklore and religious artefacts of different nations, the identification of syntactic parallel units performing similar functions confirms the roots of language universals in the ancient periods.Linguistic typology exists across languages.Its roots delve into deeper layers of language from a historical perspective.
In the 21st century, linguistic typology progresses from confirming universals in several languages to recognising the overall universality of all languages, as we have previously noted.Its result is essential in evaluating many theories and hypotheses about the early stages of human development in modern times.The identification of typological characteristics of the languages of the epics is to enter the history of the language from the time the epics were written.At that stage, identifying traces of archetypes guides the discovery of the essence of language universals.This is their linguistic and universal significance.
Since the 70s of the last centuries, linguists in America and Europe have researched language typology, uncovering new facts.Linguists such as C. Greenberg, C. Osgood, and D. Dennett, drawing from the results of their investigations into language universals, have written that behind the infinite and remarkable diversity of world languages, there are common characteristics that apply to all of them.Despite all the immense differences, languages seem to be created according to a pattern.While only some shared features are explicitly described, linguists are aware that languages possess broader universality in many cases and use them to tell new languages.How-ever, this does not complete the range of application of language universals [4, p. 31].
Regarding the similar features between languages, R. Jacobson wrote that analysing similarities and differences in the history of related or neighbouring languages provides essential information for comparative historical linguistics.Consequently, the myth of the variability and stability of language loses its firm position [6, p. 104].
In this regard, R. Jacobson states that human language is fundamentally one and that individual languages are simply variations of this unified psychological mechanism.In his article, he mentions the methods used to study language universals, stating that the genetic process addresses relatedness, the areal approach focuses on linguistic proximity, and the typological method deals with isomorphism.Unlike consanguinity and affinity, isomorphism is not necessarily associated with a temporal or spatial factor.Isomorphism can combine different situations of the same language or two different languages (both simultaneous and distant in time) that may be both neighbouring and foreign languages, as well as linguistically related and of different origins [6, p. 98].
Apparently, according to this opinion of R. Jacobson's perspective, studying the similarities between linguistically unrelated languages using the isomorphic method yields its effectiveness.This method allows for combining and correlating languages with different origins, whether related or unrelated.C. Hockett also presents exciting ideas in this field.He wrote that, despite their great diversity, the phonological systems of the world have more in common than is strictly "necessary".In other words, the degree of similarity among them is higher than required by the distinctive features of language and the human race's known cultural and biological characteristics.Although diversity can be imagined to be somewhat more significant than what we currently conceive, a high level of similarity remains a mystery [5, p. 75].Thus, searching for the causes of the universal similarity story in the world's languages led those studies in a new direction.Consequently, various scientific perspectives have investigated the reasons behind language universals.N. Mechkovskaya explains the reasoning behind language universals as follows: "If the same or similar phenomena in different languages cannot be explained by relatedness or territorial reasons, its most general and profound explanation remains: The observed similarities of languages are related to the basic nature of human unity.This similarity is called typological similarity.The typological universality of languages is connected to the biological and cognitive makeup of Homo sapiens as a species.The general biological roots (Homo genus) and overall development of humanity, which 100-75 thousand years ago, prompted the divergence of modern Homo sapiens from the Homo genus and determined deep similarities in the subsequent socio-economic lives of various groups.This general biological and psychophysiological foundation of language universality was manifested in a range of dependencies between human communicative and intellectual needs and capacities, and the structure of their language" [7, p. 28].
Our research topic is related to studying the typological features of case categories in ancient epics of diverse, unrelated, and geographically dispersed language speakers.In this context, it connects us to the unity of human nature and directs us towards the unity of biological and cognitive organisation.As N. Mechkovskaya mentioned, the general physical and psychophysiological basis of the mentioned similarities is associated with a person's communicative and intellectual needs and capabilities [7].
It can be concluded that languages converge at a certain point in the context of linguistic universals, and by nature, this phenomenon is attributed to common biological and psychophysiological characteristics.Approaching the problem in this context allows us to delve into the philosophy of universality found in ancient epics.Language, in general, is universal, and the observed similarities in its structure are manifestations of this universality.Sometimes in theoretical linguistics, such questions are encountered regarding the implications of changing our approach to language universals in the context we have explained.Of course, the development of linguistic science and the comprehensive advancement of knowledge about language universals will answer this question.Therefore, observed universal characteristics in ancient epics find a logical explanation based on the abovementioned perspectives.That is, we will give a typological analysis of the case category based on "Beowulf", "Book of Dede Korkut", "Nibelungenlied", and "The Tale of Igor".In this particular aspect, there are numerous spectrums of morphological universality.Among them, we specifically aim to fo-cus on the case category to explore its universality in the context of various systematised languages and different cultures.This is because the type of case has an ancient history, and many universal signs are found within it.There are instances where the development history of the case category in the mentioned epics coincides.This fact allows us to further complete the theories about language universals in a certain way to penetrate their vitality.
On the other hand, the analysis of the logic of the case category in different systematic languages becomes possible.As mentioned earlier, this problem carries not only linguistic implications but also a psychophysiological issue related to the nature of people.The structuring of thoughts through linguistic structures is a phenomenon derived from the universal function of language.In this context, the case category manifests the linguistic structuring of human activities in their respective directions.Moreover, it cannot be a coincidence that the carriers of these epics, belonging to different language communities, employ similar models when creating a picture of the world.The other aspect of the matter is that the case category follows a similar development trajectory in these works; the gained and lost features exhibit similarities within the context of morphological development in the language.This fact confirms the logical affirmation that the concept of a unified human and a unified language, which was put forward in the form of hypotheses and, to some extent, assumptions, is becoming a reality.The conducted analyses and the presented facts further confirm that the study of language universals and the theories above are more plausible in providing a scientific explanation for this problem.These research directions offer valuable insights into linguistics, psychology, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and other related disciplines, offering consistent facts.

METHODS
While studying the typology of the case category in the mentioned epics, contrastive-typological, comparative-historical and descriptive methods were used.Descriptive and comparativehistorical methods were applied while collecting facts related to the case category of epics.As a result of the application of this method, the developmental level and overall perspective of the case category in the languages of epics have been determined, followed by the creation of a con-trastive typological picture.In other words, once the comprehensive view of the investigated object was established and all its signs were identified, those facts were subjected to the filter of contrastive typology.This method has confirmed its crucial and decisive role in revealing the typological similarities of ancient epics.
The case category is a paradigm with its system.However, the formation of that system is related to people's need for communication.It is traditionally connected with common language principles that form universals.When we refer to a universal language, we consider the natural language used by humanity as a communication tool.The epics "Beowulf", "The Book of Dede Korkut", "Nibelungenlied", and "The Tale of Igor" exhibit excellent morphological systems.During the period when the epics appeared, a change took place in the morphological system of the ancient Germanic languages, resulting in the transformation of the morphological structure of words from a "root -base forming suffix (wordforming)-modifying suffix" composition to a twomorpheme system called "root-forming".In this process, the root-forming combines with the inflectional morphemes, becomes an independent morpheme, or merges with the root itself.This process in the morphological composition of words transforms the lexical meaning carrier into a grammatical meaning indicator.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
According to the research by A. Demirchizade, the proto-Azerbaijani language, which includes the morphology of "The Book of Dede Korkut" epics, has not undergone severe changes.He writes about this: "Especially in the early stages of formation in the international language, various tribal language elements were still actively utilised in Azerbaijani, and there was a particular struggle among them which lasted for a long time; sometimes, grammatical features specific to one tribe's language prevailed, while synonymous grammatical features belonging to another tribe's language either disappeared completely or underwent a more precise content reduction to become a constituent part of the grammatical structure of the international language, thus leading to consolidation and improvement of the grammatical structure of the international language.Thus, during the past thousand years, the grammatical structure of our language has been improved, and it has become a national lan-guage" [2, p. 42].If we take into account that A. Demirchizade shows that "The Book of Dede Korkut" epics emerged after the 8-9th centuries ("The Book of Dede Korkut" epics lived and created in this way before the 12th century and after the 8-9th centuries in the Caucasus, more precisely, in Azerbaijan, it was skillfully built and connected by the "dedas"-bards -minstrels and spread among villages [2, p. 7].In this period, "morphological stabilisation in the Proto-Azerbaijani language began in early times and went rapidly".A. Shukurlu has shown that the case category of ancient Turkish written monuments has not undergone significant changes compared to our modern era [10, p. 101].According to some parameters, the morphological development of the case category in ancient Germanic languages is in harmony with the mentioned epics.For instance, we can analyse the ancient Germanic languages, in which there were three types of cases, consisting of the nominative (именительный), possessive (родительный), dative (дательный), accusative (винительный), ablative, locative (местный), instrumental (инструментальный), and vocative (звательный) cases [1].It should be noted that in ancient Turkic written works, as well as in Proto-Azerbaijani, the instrumental case was also present.The case category in ancient epics represents a complete system with universal aspects.The development of this category in the context of epics represents the development of the categorical system within the overall morphological system.The structural characteristics of this system are also universal, starting with the nominative case and continuing in the sequence above.The case category has a linguistic phenomenon based on a specific system model.Its universal model is shown in the mentioned monuments.Some examples from ancient Germanic epics will clarify us: "Nahat" (night) 1. Und wär ihm da Siegfried zu Hilfe nicht gekommen, So hätte sie Leben Gunthern wohl benommen.Er nahte sich verstohlen und rührte seine Hand; Gunther seine Künste mit großen Sorgen befand [12, p. 466 In this example, the nominative case is similar to the accusative and possessive issues.However, when it comes to specific nouns, there is an increase in formal differences across points: In the given example, the nominative and active cases have the same formal aspect, while the possessive and dative issues are the same.Sometimes, if the nominative and the accusative case are formally the same, that is, if the sphere is a morpheme, the possessive and the dative claim have relative differences.In the case of pronouns, we see a relatively different picture.For instance, the pronoun "Der" has its form characteristics in all cases: Observations show that the formal stabilisation of the cases of the noun in the epics "Beowulf" and "Song of the Nibelungs" has not been completed; however, the position of case-bound morphemes is fixed and constitutes a definite part of the case paradigm.
In ancient Germanic languages, including monuments, the directional case takes over the function of the locative case.Such substitution is also manifested in "The Book of Dede Korkut" sagas.
In the epic "Kitabi-Dədə Qorqud", "the case category of nouns and its formal indicators do not exhibit significant differences compared to our contemporary literary language.This work's case system of nouns is relatively stable compared to ancient Germanic epics and has morphologically defined formal indicators.According to Demirchizade, the case forms of nouns in the "The Book of Dede Korkut" epics have remained relatively unchanged until our present time [2, p. 67].However, the interchangeability of cases in the "Book" is present, although not as active as in the ancient Turkish monuments.
In ancient Germanic languages, there were four cases: nominative, possessive, dative, and accusative.However, the Upper German and Old Saxon languages also had a locative case, and the Gothic language had a vocative case.The logic of this difference is explained by the connection of the mentioned cases to the Indo-European root [2].Additionally, the presence of three genders in them (masculine, feminine and neuter) acquires the differential case-quantity feature of nouns belonging to different genders.
As evident from the facts, the mentioned epics undergo complete development in the case category, with the semantic stabilisation of cases indicating the morphological advancement of the case category.In this context, an important aspect is also related to the fact that the flexion of the possessive case implies the plural form.This feature does not exist in the morphology of "The Book of Dede Korkut".
In the morphology of ancient monuments, the instrumental case has been preserved at different levels.For instance: "Kitab -Book" has a lexicalised version of the instrumental case suffix.A. Demirchizade spoke about the lexicalised version of the morpheme that once existed as a suffix of the instrumental case and noted its morphosemantic features, and in this regard, he listed the lexemes of guzin, yazin, dunin [ In the epic "Beowulf", the instrumental case is given as a form of the dative case.From this, it can be concluded that during the time of the creation of the epics, the instrumental case had started to weaken in its functional role.However, this situation was also expressed by causative constructions in ancient Germanic monuments.This is a sign that the concept of instrumentality was widespread in the morphological system of these languages until the mentioned monuments and could barely penetrate the case system of those languages.Likely, the emergence of parallel forms of expression (both grammatical and lexical) for instrumentality and the active use of alternative expression forms have suppressed the functional use of the instrumental case [11].
The evocation is vividly preserved in "The Tale of Igor" saga.This case differs in Indo-European languages according to the level of preservation.Especially in the XI-XII centuries, there were specific forms of the vocative case in Slavic languages.It is precisely from that period that the spirit of invocation has penetrated the essence of the vocative subject in this epic: The placement of words in the vocative case in the text is likely related to the style of the epic during that period.On the other hand, the fact that the battle with the Polovtsians became critical, and their defeat impressed the creator of the epic, prompting them to call everyone to fight.
There is a general harmony between the overall spirit of the epic and the use of the vocative case to Russia's defeat against the Polovtsians.The epic creator skillfully presents this situation so that the reader is instantly captivated by its impact.
In the "Book of Dede Korkut' epics, there is no distinct vocative case for nouns; its semantics coincides with the concept of direct address.That is to say, it does not have a specific morphological sign, and there is a semantic association with "Book": In general, the vocative case has not existed in the system of case categories in Turkish languages, but the address performed that function.
In Azerbaijani classical literature, there have been elements of the vocative case in the composition of words borrowed from Arabic and Persian languages.

CONCLUSIONS
Examining the case category for the epics we have involved in the research has general theoretical significance.The recent development of typological studies and the generalisation of the obtained results in theoretical linguistics has brought forth the progress of that process.It encompasses the language universals, and the language universals of the epics transcend the limits of linguistics, cover more fields of science, psychology, sociology, cultural studies, etc., and acquire a universal essence.In ancient epics, identifying typological characteristics by case category means increasing the volume of language universals in this context.In ancient epics, the type of cases, and their development directions, are almost similar.The history of the development of the case category is close to each other in the epics involved in the study.While ancient Germanic and Slavic epics exhibited different variants of case categories, in "The Book of Dede Korkut" epics and Turkish languages, there was a kind of case.However, there is no difference between the mentioned epics according to their general development principles.The analysis of noun cases in ancient epics shows that the noun case category can be considered a universal language.
They didn't know whether Beyriagin was dead or alive.One day the girl's brother Deli Garjar came to Bayindir Khan's court.Your feet are tired, it seems."Maythenoble Khan live long!If the Beyrek were alive, it would have been sixteen years since.If a brave man brought the news of his survival, I would give him gold and silver.To the one who brings the news of his death, I would give my sister' he said"[10, p. 58].