Talk:ајам

The correct Turkish spelling is probably oyum, but it means “cavity, hole”, not “collar”. --Vahag (talk) 14:29, 10 July 2013 (UTC)

"Turkish" in Serbo-Croatian etymologies means "Dijan please look up Ottoman Turkish spelling and replace accordingly" :P

You are correct regarding the modern Turkish word.

However, Turkish words in Balkans languages are borrowed from Rumelian Ottoman Turkish not modern Turkish, which had a bit different phonological features, and words were often pronounced differently than modern Turkish equivalents. Viktor Friedman's paper provides a decent overview of most such differences. Possibly OT /o/> SC /a/ is in there as well.

This word is particularly problematic because it's not a Balkanism proper, and is retained only in Serbo-Croatian. The biggest dictionary of Turkisms in SC by Abdulah Škaljić doesn't list it at all. Ottoman Turkish forms, when added, will probably elucidate the matter. --Ivan Štambuk (talk) 14:56, 10 July 2013 (UTC)