Translation of bits from an Azerbaijani Wikipedia page

January 6, 2017 6:03 PM

I'm looking for a translation of a few bits on a particular Azerbaijani Wikipedia page.

The page is about the last independent Shah of Shirvan, Farrukh Yassar (1465-1500). I trying to figure out who his spouse was.

The English Wikipedia page for the same person raises more questions than it answers and Google translate isn't doing a great job on the Azerbaijani page even though it's been great for other languages.

In the info box of the English page it states:

Spouse: Daughter of Usmi of Kaitag Adil bey

And in the body section about his family it says:

Farrukh Yassar was married to daughter of Usmi of Kaitag Adil bey

So, yeah, he married someone's daughter, but "Usmi of Kaitag Adil bey" feels garbled.

So I went and found the Azerbaijani page for the guy to see if it would clarify things plus often the Wikipedia pages for historical figures have more info if you go to the Wikipedia pages for countries where there's a stronger historical association.
Here's what's there and how Google translated it..

In the infobox it states:

Həyat yoldaşı :Qaytaq usmisi Adil bəyin bacısı

and Google translates it as:

Wife: Adil's sister Qaytaq usmisi

In the body there are two places the spouse appears to be mentioned. First this:

O, Fərrux Yasarın Qaytaq usmisi Adil bəyin bacısından doğulan qızı Gövhər Sultana evlənmişdi.

which Google translates as:

He Farrukh Yasar Qaytaq Govhar usmisi Adil Sultan's sister was married to the daughter born.

Second, in the family section there is this:

Fərrux Yasar Qaytaq Usmisi Adil bəyin bacısı ilə evlənmişdi.

which Google translates as:

Farrukh Adil Yasar Qaytaq Usmisi married to the groom's sister.

So while Google's translation isn't really helpful it does suggest that what's on the English page isn't complete or correct either, e.g.; the reference to someone's sister on the Azerbaijani page. Any proper translation of the Azerbaijani entries or explanation of who his spouse was based on that info would be greatly appreciated!

posted by Hairy Lobster to Writing & Language (8 answers total)

First part of family section appears to say that he is married to Adil's sister's daughter Govhar Sultana.

The 2nd appears to say that he is married to Adil's sister.

So there is a discrepancy. I don't speak Azeri, but Turkish.
posted by cacao at 7:47 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Interesting! And not surprising. This is actually common for less well known historical figures. Multiple people edit different parts and add contradictory info. Plus sometimes primary (if any) and/or secondary sources don't match to start with.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 8:20 PM on January 6, 2017

A trick with Azerbaijani is to first translate to Turkish or Russian and THEN to English. The quality of Google's dictionaries are better with those languages than with Azerbaijani to English.
posted by k8t at 9:17 PM on January 6, 2017

Best answer: Here's the correct translation:
Həyat yoldaşı :Qaytaq usmisi Adil bəyin bacısı
English - Wife: The sister of Adil from Qaytaq usmi clan
In the body there are two places the spouse appears to be mentioned. First this:
O, Fərrux Yasarın Qaytaq usmisi Adil bəyin bacısından doğulan qızı Gövhər Sultana evlənmişdi.
This refers to Yaqub Bey. He was the son of Uzun Hasan (The leader of Ag-Qoyunlu state) and he married the daughter of Farrukh Yasar. The mother of that daughter was above mentioned Adil's sister.
Second, in the family section there is this:
Fərrux Yasar Qaytaq Usmisi Adil bəyin bacısı ilə evlənmişdi.
Which translates as:
Farrukh married the sister of Adil from Qaytaq usmi clan.

None of the online sources mention the name of the spouse.
posted by k8t at 9:59 PM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Awesome! Thank you so much!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:09 PM on January 6, 2017

Response by poster: In case anybody is wondering what's behind this: I'm exploring the fringes of my family tree and, with many grains of salt, given the dubious quality of pre-1600 sources and the general uncertainties of medieval genealogy, Farukh Yassar appears to be my 10th cousin 16 times removed. But I always make sure to explore and find out everything I can about the women involved since they're usually hardly mentioned and mostly treated as afterthoughts while the focus is on the male lines. Yet their stories are often way more interesting and too often tragic, if and when anything is known at all.
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:22 PM on January 6, 2017 [2 favorites]

If you want some help, I have a number of multilingual Azerbaijani research assistants who are often eager to take on extra work.
posted by k8t at 10:41 PM on January 6, 2017 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Ooh, that's good to know! There might very well be more along the way. Thanks!
posted by Hairy Lobster at 10:46 PM on January 6, 2017