What is the origin and background of the phrase Yol Bolsun(sp). I knew of a website that explained that it came form the Turkish area (the Russian steppes?), from an ancient(?) dialect known as qip… something or other.
It seems that the thread on the message board that I had originally seen this on has been deleted and I would like this information for a toast that I am to give in three days :eek:
I can’t find anything to corroborate what I previously read so that is why I have turned to the Dope.
Any help is appreciated.
A number of web sites claim that it means “May there be (another) road” in some (non-specific) Turkic dialect. Purportedly, it is a greeting among a group of messengers that means “May you not be forced to quit your journeying.”
However, all the sources in the first three pages of a Google™ search are from motivational speakers who are obviously passing around the same story with no actual source supplied. (They may have borrowed it from the Louis L’Amour novel, The Walking Drum.)
There is also a musical group playing tunes from that region named Yol Bolsin that might provide some more information, but the first few pages on that search turned up nothing but reviews or play dates of the band.
With a bit more committed searching, Google™ might bring up the true answer.
The way you have it written it looks like literally “you are wide the road” (yol means ‘(the) road’, bol means ‘wide’ and the suffix -sun means “you are”) in modern Turkish, but I’ll take a guess that it’s original literal meaning as “May you divide the road” (Yol bölesin, in modern Turkish I think) as bölmek means ‘to divide’ in modern Turkish.
first place i ever saw “yol bolsun” was louis l’amore’s book walking drums- published in 1984.
he stated it was a mongolian - warriors charge - meaning “may your sword clear the road before you” … but even in the book it was already being used in a more social form of a toast meaning my your journey be clear of obstacles.
