Türk Ulusçuluğu ve Dil: Harf Devrimi Tartışmaları (1923-1928)

Alphabet Reform is a cornerstone in the political and cultural history of Turkey. In the process of “modernization/westernization”, discussions on alphabet improvement and modification were the current subject in both Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic. In the Ottoman epoch, discussions on alphabet improvement did not resulted in a positive way, but those were first steps against the traditions. After Independence War, discussions on alphabet reform became again the popular subject. However, there were important differences between the two periods. In this article, the alphabet reform discussions of Turkish intellectuals were discussed in the period, between 1923 and 1928. In addition to this, the Ottoman origins of discussions were examined. The first purpose of this article is to bring up a historical circumstances and differences of discussions on alphabet reform, in the point of ideological formation of the aforementioned period. The second, in the context of nationalism, that is the dominant character of early years of Republic, is to examine the effect of discussions on alphabet reform. In this study, alphabet discussions of Turkish intellectuals, like Necip Asım, Avram Galanti, Celal Nuri, Kılıçzade Hakkı, İsmail Şükrü, Mehmed Fuad Köprülü, Ayaz İshaki and Ahmet Cevat Emre etc., were studied from newspapers and journals of the period, between 1923-1928.