Some Remarks on Turkish as a Language of Science at the Turn of the 20th Century - I

While the Industrial Revolution was unfolding in the 18th and 19th centuries, Europe also witnessed substantial changes in various fields including science, politics, law, philosophy, and literature. In all these areas, European societies satisfied their nomenclatural needs by natural means, which were triggered by new ideas and inventions. Consequently, they also drew upon Greek and Latin, that is, the languages of their cultural predecessors to help them refine their scientific nomenclature. Turkey only attempted to implement these developments later and thus, the Turkish language was largely unprepared for such transformations. However, the Turks were not did not remain entirely indifferent toward Europe’s scientific breakthrough. Therefore, from the early 19th century, various sultans, statesmen, and intellectuals, realizing their belatedness in various fields, took certain concrete steps to overcome the shortcomings. Conceived as a series of articles, this study discusses the ideas and methods of Turkish intellectuals at the turn of the 20th century about nomenclature development, with specific reference to the current state of Turkish as a language of science. The first section brief describes how European languages evolved into scientific ones. Subsequently, the initial 19th-century attempts to fulfill the needs of the Turkish language are discussed