TURKISH LINGUISTIC SOCIETY

Organization devoted to the study of Turkish and the Turkic languages.

The Society for the Study of the Turkish Language (Türk Dili Tetkik Cemiyeti) was founded on 12 July 1932, on the model of a similar society that already existed for the study of Turkish history. In 1934, its name was updated to the Türk Dili Araştirma Kurumu reflecting the society's interest in purging the Turkish Language of its numerous borrowed Arabic and Persian words. In 1936, the name was changed again to the Turkish Linguistic Society (Türk Dil Kurumu). On 7 November 1982, the society was made subordinate to the Atatürk Kültür, Dil ve Tarih Yüksek Kurumu that now oversees the cultural, linguistic, and historical societies. The society has convened linguistic congresses (the first congress opened in 1932), publishes the journal Türk Dili, and publishes dictionaries and other works related to Turkish and all the other Turkic languages. In contrast to other such societies in Turkey, the activities of the Turkish Linguistic Society have not been led by scholars of the Turkish language, and one result has been that the society's activities have assumed a populist character. The society has also been at the center of recurring and intense national debates over language reform, most recently over the degree to which vast numbers of neologisms (new words or word forms adopted from foreign words) should be introduced into the Turkish language (often over the objections of many politicians and scholars).

see also turkish language.

Bibliography

Heyd, Uriel. Language Reform in Modern Turkey. Jerusalem: Israel Oriental Society, 1954.

uli schamiloglu