What language is this?

[Suzanne Kemmer]

I searched on "oraskani" and up came some songs with that word in  
them, leading to a site for
the late recording artist Kazim Koyuncu, bio pasted below. So far I  
think Paul's got it.
--Suzanne

Kazim Koyuncu
The restless and tall Kazim Koyuncu hailed from the Laz region of  
Turkey’s Black Sea. This beautiful province alternates stunning  
green mountains with a rugged coastline not far from the Georgian  
frontier. Unfortunately, the 250,000 people who speak Laz are the  
relentless butt of Turkish jokes, paying dearly for their independent  
and abrasive nature. Since Koyuncu set off on his music career in  
1992, he was an enthusiastic ambassador of Laz folklore and  
traditions. Describing himself as a “revolutionary” devoted to  
alternative music, he nevertheless included in his repertory  
traditional instruments, such as the tulum bagpipes and the kemenc  
violin. Koyuncu attributed his growing success to a rare ability to  
sing in five of Turkey’s languages, an attribute which appealed to  
all generations. In his short but meteoric career Koyuncu stamped  
himself as one of the leading cultural icons for the Laz people. He  
died of testicular cancer in June 2005. Many believe he contracted it  
following the Tchernobyl disaster of 1986.



On Apr 11, 2007, at 7:05 PM, Johanna Rubba wrote:

>
> Does anyone recognize this language? I got this version of the  
> lyrics off the Internet. Supposedly, it's Turkish, but a local  
> Turkish speaker does not recognize ANY of the words.   The "v"  
> varies among a /w/, /v/, and voiced bilabial fricative. The"ç"  
> sounds like the voiceless alveopalatal affricate we spell "ch".   
> The "x" is a voiceless velar fricative. Otherwise, the letters have  
> their IPA values. I have it on a collection of Turkish songs that  
> one dances Turkish dances to. You can sample the song on the  
> Internet, but I don't have the proper player software.
>
> Help?
>
> Ma bulur abu abu
> A mskva bozo memagu
> Memagusis Vixeli
> T ora kogovaxeli
>
> Emine apiçxuri
> Daçxur ore daçxuri
> Moxti çkim oputeşa
> Var gagnasen çaçxuri
>
> Emine 3ulu 3ulu
> Burgulepe ma3unu
> Emine skani-şeni
> Tolepe omam3unu
>
> Anderina naşk'vare
> Axir oxoriskani
> Mot var gokomocaman
> Gululun oraskani
>
>
> Dr. Johanna Rubba, Associate Professor, Linguistics
> Linguistics Minor Advisor
> English Department
> California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
> E-mail: jrubba at calpoly.edu
> Tel.: 805.756.2184
> Dept. Ofc. Tel.: 805.756.2596
> Dept. Fax: 805.756.6374
> URL: http://www.cla.calpoly.edu/~jrubba
>
>