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Ottoman Turkish into Modern Turkish

  Tags: Turkish
 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages Post Reply
decamillisjacob
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Canada
Joined 4733 days ago

38 posts - 63 votes 

 
 Message 1 of 4
12 July 2012 at 2:26am | IP Logged 
In light of my studying Modern Turkish, I have to inquire about its predecessor, Ottoman Turkish. Now I know that two major differences between the two include the change in orthography as well as the purging of Arabic and Persian vocabulary from Ottoman Turkish in order to form Modern Turkish---however, how exactly did the transition work at the spoken level? Did Turks just wake up one morning expected to speak a more Turkic Turkish? Was Ottoman Turkish more of a literary language? I've been told by Turks themselves that Ottoman Turkish is unintelligible without training...

I'd like to be enlightened... should anybody know anything.

Edited by decamillisjacob on 12 July 2012 at 7:43am

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onurdolar
Diglot
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TurkeyRegistered users can see my Skype Name
Joined 4653 days ago

98 posts - 147 votes 
Speaks: Turkish*, English
Studies: Italian, German

 
 Message 2 of 4
12 July 2012 at 10:47am | IP Logged 
First yes ottoman turkish is totally unintelligible without training for speakers of modern
Turkish and I might go even further as to say learning English is easier. About your
questions on transition, ottoman was only spoken by educated elite of the empire and
was totally alien to illiterate common people. Modern Turkish is actually closer to their
language. Yet transition didn't take one day or year but dedicated efforts of government
for a long period. Prior to language reform turkey didn't have a working educational
system but rather multiple unorganized schools. So existing educational system is built
on language reform. So for majority of population it was not actually a reform but
rather a revolution. As for educated elite they were not expected only to learn but also
to participate in reform and people who resisted actually risked their survival in Turkey.
I would say ottoman as a living language survived as late as 1930's but no more.
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Merv
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United States
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414 posts - 749 votes 
Speaks: English*, Serbo-Croatian*
Studies: Spanish, French

 
 Message 3 of 4
12 July 2012 at 1:50pm | IP Logged 
How much influence did Greek, Armenian, Georgian, Albanian, and Slavic vocabulary have on Ottoman Turkish? I
ask because these were the cultures occupied by the empire. Then again, if vocabulary was imported more so
because of religion than geographic proximity, then Persian and Arabic being the main influences makes much more
sense.
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onurdolar
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TurkeyRegistered users can see my Skype Name
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Speaks: Turkish*, English
Studies: Italian, German

 
 Message 4 of 4
12 July 2012 at 3:16pm | IP Logged 
Well all the languages you mentioned had some influence on turkish most important öne being gerek
however this influence is very small compared to Arabic and Persian. This has several reasons first being
Turks sharing a common past with especially Persian since pre Muslim Turks.of eight century were
already in contact with Persians. The ruler class of pre Islamic Turkish empire were fluent speakers of
sogdian. Also they were trading with Persians since begining of the millennium. With Arabs.they came in
touch in eight century resulting in Turks islamizing five centuries prior to foundation of ottoman empire
and Turkish conquest of orthodox Europe. Second reason is ottoman millet system. Ottomans
categorised.their subjects according to their religion and gave them some authority especially to
patriarchs and sheiks. This system did put Arabic and Turkish subjects of the empire under same
category so according to ottomans there were no difference between a Turk and a Sunni Arab or bisniak.


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