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The '''Turkish language reform''' ({{lang-tr|Dil Devrimi}}), initiated on 12 July 1932, aimed to purge the [[Turkish language]] of [[Arabic language|Arabic]] and [[Persian language|Persian]]-derived words and grammatical rules, transforming the language into a more vernacular form suitable for the [[Turkey|Republic of Turkey]].
Under the leadership of president [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]], the reform commenced and persisted with varying degrees of intensity and momentum until the 1970s, following the most profound period of transformation between 1932 and 1938. The closure of the former [[Turkish Language Association]] in 1982 was officially recognized as the end of the language reform. Aligned with the [[Turkish alphabet reform|alphabet reform]] in 1928, the language reform stands as one of the fundamental pillars of the significant structural alterations undergone by the Turkish language in the 20th century.
==History==
===Ottoman era===
During interactions with Arabic and Persian-speaking nations, Turks adopted words not present in their own language. Alongside these absent words, however, Turkish words gradually lost their functionality over time, yielding to Arabic and Persian vocabulary. For instance, the Turkic-origin word "od" meaning "fire" gave way to the Persian-origin word "ateş". Not only words but also grammatical rules and constructions were borrowed from both languages. Nevertheless, at the core, Turkish inflections and grammar rules were still used. The [[Ottoman Empire]] was governed from the [[Sublime Porte]] ("Bâb-ı Âlî" in Ottoman Turkish, borrowed from Arabic الباب العالي "Bab Al-A'li"), where "bâb" meaning "door" in Arabic combined with the Persian-origin possessive suffix "-ı" and the Persian word "âlî" meaning "high" to form a new word in Ottoman Turkish. {{Dubious span|text=Neither Turkish nor Arabic and Persian speakers nor others could understand this form of Ottoman Turkish. Only the educated elite, writers, poets, and officials of the country used this language.|date=May 2024}} There was a gap between written and spoken language to the extent that newspapers, not understood by large segments of society, struggled to sell, leading journalists to seek ways to simplify their language. For example, they found it more comprehensible to use "Tabii İlimler" (natural sciences) instead of the Arabic term "Ulûm-i Tabiiyye" and resorted to such simplifications in their writings.<ref name="Lewis G.">Geoffrey Lewis, ''the Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success'', 2002, [[Oxford University Press]]</ref>
The issue of simplifying the written language by purging it of complex Arabic and Persian expressions and bringing it closer to spoken Turkish had concerned Turkish writers since the [[Tanzimat]] period. The trend toward simplification, which began with [[İbrahim Şinasi]] and [[Namık Kemal]], made significant progress with [[Ahmet Mithat]] and reached its peak during the [[Second Constitutional Era]] with writers like [[Ömer Seyfettin]] and [[Mehmet Emin Yurdakul]].
The 1910s witnessed the rise of [[Pan-Turkism|Turkist]] and [[Turanism|Turanist]] views within organizations such as the [[Turkish Hearths]] and the [[Committee of Union and Progress]]. During this period, new ideas began to be incorporated into the simplificationist perspective. Among these, the most influential was the idea of borrowing words from other [[Turkic languages]], particularly the ancient written languages of [[Central Asia]], besides the Istanbul Turkish. The publication of French [[orientalism|orientalist]] [[Abel Pavet de Courteille]]'s Chagatai Dictionary in 1870, the deciphering and publication of the [[Orkhon inscriptions]] in 1896, and the printing of ''[[Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk]]'' in 1917 provided abundant resources for this approach.
There was also a tendency circa 1914 to derive new words from existing Turkish roots to express new concepts.
===Republican era===
[[File:Atatürk'ün el yazısı ile Türkçe.png|thumb|300px|Handwritten version of the last sentence of Atatürk's speech in 1930.]]
Views on language modernization receded during the period of the [[Turkish War of Independence|War of Independence]] and the early years of the republic. Prior to 1931, there was no clear stance on this matter from [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk]]. However, with the establishment of the [[Turkish Language Association]] in 1932, the language reform gained momentum. In the opening speech of the parliament in 1932, Atatürk expressed caution regarding the language reform by stating, "We will ensure the rise of national culture by opening up all avenues. We expect all our national organizations to be cautious and engaged in enabling the Turkish language to regain its essence and beauty".<ref>{{cite web |access-date=17 January 2008 |archive-date=15 November 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115060845/http://www.ataturk.net/cumh/dil.html |title=Arşivlenmiş kopya |url=http://www.ataturk.net/cumh/dil.html |url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated from Turkish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
One of the primary interests of Atatürk was history, while the other was language. Like many intellectuals, he recognized the problem with the Turkish language. In 1932, he founded the "Turkish Language Research Society" ({{lang-tr|Türk Dili Tetkik Cemiyeti}}). Within this society, various subcommittees were established, each assigned with different aspects of the language under what seemed like a "military" organization (linguistics, etymology, grammar, terminology, lexicography, etc.).<ref>Bernard Lewis - The emergence of modern Turkey Royal Institute of International Affairs London 1961 sayfa 433 (Religion and Culture)
" ''The work was planned like a military operation, and a series of committees appointed to organize and direct the assault on the various sectors—linguistics, etymology, grammar, terminology, lexicography, and the like. "''
</ref> One of the tasks of this society was to research words in the language and find Turkish alternatives for foreign loanwords. Word search operations were initiated under the chairmanship of governors in every province. Within a year, a source of 35,000 new words was created. During this time, scientists also researched 150 old works and collected words never before used in the Turkish language. In 1934, the 90,000-word search dictionary was compiled and published. Suggestions for alternative words used in local dialects were proposed instead of the Arabic-origin word "kalem" (pen), such as "yağuş, yazgaç, çizgiç, kavrı, kamış, yuvuş" and for the word "akıl" (mind), 26 suggestions were received, while for "hediye" (gift), 77 suggestions were made. Eventually, the Turkish-origin word "armağan" was chosen in place of the word "hediye".<ref name="Lewis G."/>
However, this process of "purging the language of foreign loanwords" only affected words from eastern-origin languages (Arabic, Persian, etc.) while foreign loanwords of western origin were not subjected to this process to the same extent. Moreover, many loanwords from western languages were added to Turkish to fill the gaps left by the purged words.<ref>Bernard Lewis - The emergence of modern Turkey Royal Institute of International Affairs London 1961 page 434 (Religion and Culture)
''"It is significant that the hue and cry after alien words affected only Arabic and Persian—the Islamic. Oriental languages. Words of European origin, equally alien, were exempt, and a number of new ones were even imported, to fill the gaps left by the departed."''
</ref>
The work of the "Language Council", initiated in 1929, culminated in the establishment of the "Turkish Language Research Society" founded by Atatürk in 1932. This society had two main objectives. First, to liberate the Turkish language from the domination of foreign languages and return it to its essence, thereby eliminating the distinction between spoken and written language and enabling all citizens, not just the educated elite, to write and read in their own spoken language. This would be achieved by replacing structures and grammar rules borrowed from Arabic and Persian with correct Turkish equivalents. Terminology accumulation would be achieved through surveys of local dialects. The second objective was to compare and reveal dead languages.
The simplification of the Turkish lexicon over time led to [[Turkification]], and attempts to replace foreign-origin loanwords used in literary works with sometimes conditioning words that did not even conform to Turkish language rules, posed a risk of the language being disconnected from its cultural and historical sources.
==Word derivations==
Most of the new Turkish words are derived from other words with thematic suffixes. For example:
''{{lang|tr|bat-}}'' is the root of the verb ''{{lang|tr|batmak}}'', which means "to sink" or "to set". The derived word ''{{lang|tr|batı}}'' means "west" or the cardinal direction in which the sun "sinks". Another example would be ''{{lang|tr|aylık}}'', which means "salary" as well as ''{{lang|tr|monthly}}''. This is derived from the word ''{{lang|tr|ay}}'', which means "moon, month".
Here are some other examples of derivations:
* ''{{lang|tr|gün}}'' means "day" → ''{{lang|tr|günce}}'' means "agenda", ''{{lang|tr|güncel}}'' means "current", ''{{lang|tr|gündem}}'' means "current events and news", ''{{lang|tr|güncellemek}}'' means "to update", ''{{lang|tr|günay}}'' means "date", ''{{lang|tr|güney}}'' means "south", ''{{lang|tr|güneş}}'' means "sun", ''{{lang|tr|günlük}}'' means "diary" or "daily", ''{{lang|tr|gündüz}}'' means "daytime" (opposite of night) or "morning",
* ''{{lang|tr|kes-}}'' is the root of the verb "to cut" → ''{{lang|tr|kesi}}'' means "incision", ''{{lang|tr|kesici}}'' means "cutter", ''{{lang|tr|kesin}}'' means "accurate", ''{{lang|tr|kesinlikle}}'' means "definitely", ''{{lang|tr|kesinleşmek}}'' means "to become definite", ''{{lang|tr|kesinsizlik}}'' means "the state of indefinity", ''{{lang|tr|keskenmek}}'' means "to pretend to hit with a hand motion", ''{{lang|tr|kesmece}}'' is a saying that means "the agreement of cutting a fruit before buying it", ''{{lang|tr|keser}}'' means "[[adze]]", ''{{lang|tr|kesiklik}}'' means "sudden feeling of tiredness, lethargy", ''{{lang|tr|kesilmek}}'' means "to act like something", ''{{lang|tr|kesit}}'' means "cross section", ''{{lang|tr|keski}}'' means "chisel", ''{{lang|tr|keskin}}'' means "sharp", ''{{lang|tr|keskinlik}}'' means "acuity" and "sharpness", ''{{lang|tr|kesim}}'' means "segment", ''{{lang|tr|kesimlik}}'' means "animal (or tree) fit or ready to be slaughtered/cut", ''{{lang|tr|kesinti}}'' means "interruption", ''{{lang|tr|kesintili}}'' means "on and off", ''{{lang|tr|kesintisiz}}'' means "uninterrupted" and "seamless", ''{{lang|tr|kesme}}'' means "an object cut in the form of a geometrical shape", ''{{lang|tr|kestirme}}'' means "short-cut", ''{{lang|tr|kesik}}'' means "interrupted", ''{{lang|tr|kestirmek}}'' means "to forecast" and "to nap", ''{{lang|tr|kestirim}}'' means "guess", ''{{lang|tr|kesen}}'' means "a line that intersects a geometrical entity", ''{{lang|tr|kesenek}}'' means "deduction", ''{{lang|tr|kesişmek}}'' means "to intersect", ''{{lang|tr|kesişim}}'' means "intersection",
* ''{{lang|tr|sap-}}'' is the root of the verb "to deviate" → ''{{lang|tr|sapık}}'' means "pervert", ''{{lang|tr|sapak}}'' means "turn" (as in roads, traffic),
* ''{{lang|tr|duy-}}'' is the root of the verb "to hear", "to feel" → ''{{lang|tr|duyu}}'' means "sensory", ''{{lang|tr|duyarlı}}'' means "sensitive", ''{{lang|tr|duyarlılık}}'' means "sensitivity", ''{{lang|tr|duygu}}'' means "feeling", ''{{lang|tr|duyarga(ç)}}'' means "sensor", ''{{lang|tr|duyargan}}'' means "allergen", ''{{lang|tr|duyarca}}'' means "allergy", ''{{lang|tr|duyum}}'' means "hearsay", ''{{lang|tr|duyumsamazlık}}'' means "apathy",
* ''{{lang|tr|yet-}}'' is the root of the verb "to suffice" → ''{{lang|tr|yeter}}'' means "sufficient", ''{{lang|tr|yetki}}'' means "authority", ''{{lang|tr|yetenek}}'' means "talent",
* ''{{lang|tr|başka}}'' means "other" → ''{{lang|tr|başkalaşım}}'' means "metamorphosis",
* ''{{lang|tr|tek}}'' means "single" → ''{{lang|tr|tekel}}'' means "monopoly", ''{{lang|tr|tekdüze}}'' means "monotonous",
* ''{{lang|tr|ev}}'' means "home" → ''{{lang|tr|evlilik}}'' means "marriage", ''{{lang|tr|evcil}}'' means "domestic",
* ''{{lang|tr|seç-}}'' is the root of the verb "to choose" → ''{{lang|tr|seçenek}}'' means "choice", ''{{lang|tr|seçkin}}'' means "elite", ''{{lang|tr|seçim}}'' means "election",
* ''{{lang|tr|düş-}}'' is the root of the verb "to fall" → ''{{lang|tr|düşük}}'' means "miscarriage",
* ''{{lang|tr|sür-}}'' is the root of the verb "to last", "to put forward" → ''{{lang|tr|süreğen}}'' means "chronic", ''{{lang|tr|sürüm}}'' means "version",
* ''{{lang|tr|yaz-}}'' is the root of the verb "to write" → ''{{lang|tr|yazar}}'' means "writer", ''{{lang|tr|yazgı}}'' means "fate", ''{{lang|tr|yazılım}}'' means "software", ''{{lang|tr|yazanak}}'' means "report", ''{{lang|tr|yazıt}}'' means "inscription", ''{{lang|tr|yazman}}'' means "secretary", ''{{lang|tr|yazıcı}}'' means "printer", ''{{lang|tr|yazın}}'' means "literature", ''{{lang|tr|yazım}}'' means "orthography", ''{{lang|tr|yazışma}}'' means "correspondence", ''{{lang|tr|yazdırım}}'' means "dictation",
* ''{{lang|tr|ver-}}'' is the root of the verb "to give" → ''{{lang|tr|veri}}'' means "data", ''{{lang|tr|vergi}}'' means "tax", ''{{lang|tr|verim}}'' means "efficiency",
* ''{{lang|tr|öz}}'' means "self", "real" → ''{{lang|tr|özel}}'' means "special", ''{{lang|tr|özen}}'' means "attention", ''{{lang|tr|özgü}}'' means "peculiar", ''{{lang|tr|özgül}}'' means "specific", ''{{lang|tr|özge}}'' means "other", ''{{lang|tr|özne}}'' means "subject", ''{{lang|tr|özgün}}'' means "original", ''{{lang|tr|özgür}}'' means "free", ''{{lang|tr|özümleme}}'' means "assimilation", ''{{lang|tr|öznel}}'' means "subjective". The verb ''{{lang|tr|özle-}}'' (meaning "to miss", "to long for") is also derived from this word, and ''{{lang|tr|özlem}}'' is a noun that means "longing".
Some of the Turkish words are also compound words, such as:
* ''{{lang|tr|Başvuru}}'' means "application". It is derived from ''{{lang|tr|baş}}'' (meaning "head") and ''{{lang|tr|vuru}}'' (meaning "hitting"), so the literal English translation of this compound word would be "head-hitting"
* ''{{lang|tr|Ayak}}'' means "foot", and ''{{lang|tr|kap}}'' means "container", and the compound word ''{{lang|tr|ayakkabı}}'' means foot-container, "shoe".
* ''{{lang|tr|Ana}}'' means "main", and ''{{lang|tr|yasa}}'' means "law", and the compound word ''{{lang|tr|anayasa}}'' means "constitution".
* ''{{lang|tr|Öz}}'' means "self", and ''{{lang|tr|veri}}'' means "giving", and the compound word ''{{lang|tr|özveri}}'' means "altruism, self-sacrifice".
* ''{{lang|tr|Büyük}}'' means "big", and ''{{lang|tr|elçi}}'' means "messenger", and the compound word ''{{lang|tr|büyükelçi}}'' means "ambassador".
* ''{{lang|tr|Kesim}}'' means "cutting", ''{{lang|tr|ev}}'' means "house", and ''{{lang|tr|kesimevi}}'' means "slaughterhouse".
For more information, see the ''related article: [[Turkish vocabulary]]''.
==Öztürkçe==
Öztürkçe refers to a [[linguistic purism|purist]] form of Turkish, which is largely free of Persian and Arab influences.<ref>Klaus Kreiser: Kleines Türkei-Lexikon. München 1992, s.v. Öztürkçe</ref> Öztürkçe was an active target of the Turkish language reform. This language policy of Turkification was enforced by the written reform and from 1932 by the [[Turkish Language Association]] (TDK). The TDK collected for this purpose Turkic wordings in historical sources and Anatolian dialects. On this basis, the TDK formed a large number of neologisms that were disseminated using media and textbooks. From the 1940s, the TDK developed normative dictionaries (Türkçe Sözlük) and spelling guides (Yazım kılavuzu).
The use of Öztürkçe was and is an indicator for the world view of [[Kemalism]]. {{Clarify|date=April 2024}}
For several decades, no active policy of language regulation has been in place.<ref>Klaus Kreiser: Kleines Türkei-Lexikon. München 1992, s.v. Türk Dil Kurumu</ref>{{Refimprove|date=April 2024}}
==Atatürk's ''Geometri'' book==
In the preface to the 1971 edition of Atatürk's ''Geometri'' book, written by [[Agop Dilâçar]], the story of the book's creation is recounted. In the autumn of 1936, Atatürk sent his private secretary Süreyya Anderiman along with Agop Dilaçar to the Haşet bookstore in [[Beyoğlu]] and had them purchase French geometry books. During the winter of 1936, Atatürk worked on the book and produced a 44-page volume in which geometry terms were modified and translated into Turkish. The authorship of the book by Atatürk is not explicitly stated; only a note on the cover indicates that it was published by the Ministry of Culture as a guide for those teaching geometry and those intending to write books on the subject.
During the Ottoman era, the terminology used in geometry textbooks taught in schools was distant from the daily language of the people and often incomprehensible. Terms such as "müselles" for triangle, "mesaha-i sathiye" for area, "zaviye-i kaime" for right angle, and "kaide irtifaı" for height were used.<ref name="Lewis G."/>
{| class="wikitable"
! [[English language|English]] !! [[Ottoman Turkish]] !! [[Turkish language|Modern Turkish]]
|-
| triangle || {{lang|ota|مثلث}} {{transl|ota|müselles}} || {{lang|tr|üçgen}}
|-
| rectangle || {{lang|ota|مستطيل}} {{transl|ota|mustatil}} || {{lang|tr|dikdörtgen}}
|-
| square || {{lang|ota|مربع}} {{transl|ota|murabba}} || {{lang|tr|kare}}
|-
| area || {{lang|ota|مساحه سطحيه}} {{transl|ota|mesâha-i sathiyye}} || {{lang|tr|alan}}
|-
| right angle || {{lang|ota|زاویۀ قائمه}} {{transl|ota|zaviye-i kaime}} || {{lang|tr|dik açı}}
|-
| height || {{lang|ota|قاعده ارتفاع}} {{transl|ota|kaide irtifaı}} || {{lang|tr|yükseklik}}
|-
| The area of a triangle is equal to half the product of its base and height. || {{lang|ota|.بر مثلثك مساحه سطحیهسی ، قاعدهسینك ارتفاعنا حاصل ضربینك نصفنه مساويدر}}<br>{{transl|ota|Bir müsellesin mesâha-i sathiyyesi, kaidesinin irtifaına hâsıl-ı zarbinin nısfına müsavidir.}} || {{lang|tr|Bir üçgenin alanı, taban uzunluğu ile yüksekliğinin çarpımının yarısına eşittir.}}
|}
The terms coined by Atatürk, such as ''boyut, uzay, yüzey, düzey, kesek, kesit, teğet, açı, açıortay, içters açı, dışters açı, eğik, kırık, yatay, düşey, dikey, yöndeş, konum, üçgen, dörtgen, beşgen, köşegen, eşkenar, ikizkenar, paralelkenar, yanal, yamuk, artı, eksi, çarpı, bölü, eşit, toplam, orantı, türev, varsayı, gerekçe'' are still used unchanged in the Turkish curriculum today.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |access-date=17 November 2009 |archive-date=23 February 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100223075656/http://www.ahmath.com/?page_id=641 |title=''Atatürk'ün geometri kitabı'' |url=http://www.ahmath.com/?page_id=641 |url-status=live}}<!-- auto-translated from Turkish by Module:CS1 translator --></ref>
==See also==
*[[Turkish alphabet reform]]
*[[Turkish Language Association]]
*[[Linguistic purism]]
*[[List of replaced loanwords in Turkish]]
==References==
{{Reflist}}
===Publications===
* Geoffrey Lewis, ''The Turkish Language Reform: A Catastrophic Success'', Oxford Linguistics, 1999, 271 pages.
* Gökhan Yavuz Demir, "Türkçenin Pirus Zaferi!", XIII-XLVIII.
* [http://www.jsser.org/index.php/JSSER/article/viewFile/12/pdf Kaya Yılmaz, A Critical Examination of Education Reforms Implemented in the Early Years of the Turkish Republic]
==External links==
* [http://www.tdk.gov.tr Turkish Language Association]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170725103113/http://www.tdk.gov.tr/ |tarih=25 Temmuz 2017 }}
* [http://www.dildernegi.org.tr Dil Derneği] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080517171839/http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/ |tarih=17 Mayıs 2008 }}
* [http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFB4D4840AE4FCEEB1 Atatürk ve Türkçe] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071030102854/http://www.dildernegi.org.tr/TR/BelgeGoster.aspx?F6E10F8892433CFFAAF6AA849816B2EFB4D4840AE4FCEEB1 |tarih=30 Ekim 2007 }}
* [http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/DIL%20SORUNLARI/dil_sorunlari_ana.php ''Türkçenin sorunları'', Çukurova Üniversitesi Türkoloji Araştırmaları Merkezi] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227043605/http://turkoloji.cu.edu.tr/DIL%20SORUNLARI/dil_sorunlari_ana.php |tarih=27 Şubat 2009 }}
* [http://www.meb.gov.tr/belirligunler/10kasim/inkilaplari/egitim/yeni_harfler.htm MEB, Yeni Türk Harflerinin Kabulü]{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150124222605/http://www.meb.gov.tr/belirligunler/10kasim/inkilaplari/egitim/yeni_harfler.htm |tarih=24 Ocak 2015 }}
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