The Use of Verbal Language in Social Media in Turkey

International Journal of Turcologia

VOLUME VI - N. 12 - AUTOMNE/AUTUMN 2011

International Journal of Turcologia Aims and Scope: The International Journal of Turcologia is a refreed journal. The journal

aims at meeting the need for a major international publication devoted to all aspects of

Turcology. The IJT is a journal that examines social, political, cultural, historical, linguistical

and literature issues in Turcology, especially 19th and 20th centuries.

Editorial Information

Academic Editors:

İlhan Alemdar, Historien d’art, Paris

Bahriye Çeri, Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul

Kayoko Hayeshi, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

Timour Muhidine, INALCO, Paris

Cüneyd Okay, İstanbul Technical University

Editorial Board

Gabor Agoston, Georgetown University

Yorgo Dedes, University of London

Benjamin Fortna, University of London

Priska Furrer, University of Bern

Gottfried Hagen, University of Michigan

Tooru Hayashi, University of Tokyo

Frédéric Hitzel, CNRS, Paris

Slobodan Ilic, Eastern Mediterranean University

Matthias Kappler, University of Cyprus

Tijana Krstic, Pennsylvania State University

Gabriel Piterberg, University of California, Los Angeles

Börte Sagester, University of Giessen

Grazyna Zajac, Jagiellonian University in Krakow

Layout Editor

Cemil Ozan Ceyhan, İstanbul Technical University

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◊ Current Abstracts ◊ Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts

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The International Journal of Turcologia is published by Stephanie Malek

International Journal of Turcologia

Table of Contents

Bahriye Çeri……......…………………………………………………...……………………...5

“Let Them Write’’: The Love Letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and the Poet Fıtnat

Hanım

Namık Sinan Turan...…………………………………………………………………………19

Sociopolitical Transformation of the Ottoman Empire and the Concept of Secularization

Eminalp Malkoç....……..……………………………………………………………………..31

A Cross Section in the Turkish-Hungarian Academic Relations from

The Early Republican Period: The Turkey Trip of Hungarian Professors in 1924

Nazire Erbay……………………………...…………………………………………………..41

The Poet Opening the Gate for Fuzûlî: Edirneli Şâhidî

Hüseyin Çelik…….…………………………………………………………………………..53

The Use of Verbal Language in Social Media in Turkey

“Let Them Write’’: The Love Letters of

Ahmet Midhat Efendi and the Poet Fıtnat Hanım

Bahriye Çeri *

Abstract

In 1876, the journalist and novelist Ahmet Midhat Efendi

entered into a relationship with the poet Fıtnat Hanım (Şair Fıtnat

Hanım), a love story which has reached us today through the love letters

exchanged at the time. These letters, I will argue here, constitute

important sources in exploring the history of late Ottoman women. For

our purposes, understanding and interpreting the representation of the

two sexes in the letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and Şair Fıtnat Hanım

is of primary importance, although not providing us with every detail of

her life, they do constitute a biography. These letters are also important

for the study of literature as they constitute examples of the period’s

letter writing styles, vernacular Turkish and so on.

In 1876, at the age of 32, the journalist and novelist Ahmet Midhat Efendi entered into

a relationship with the poet Fıtnat Hanım (Şair Fıtnat Hanım), a love story which has reached

us today through the letters exchanged at the time. In 1908, Ahmet Midhat presented these

letters to his son Galip with the following words, “If only society in our country were like that

of Europe, I would see no harm in having these letters published now. Nevertheless, I would

like for them to be a contribution to the history of our literature. You have an interest in such

things. Take and preserve them. The time will certainly come when their publication will be

possible.”1 Exactly why these letters carry such an importance is a point well worth exploring.

* Yıldız Technical University, İstanbul [email protected] [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

The Love Letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and the Poet Fıtnat Hanım 5

This paper brings to light the love letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and poet Fıtnat

Hanım. These letters, I will argue here, constitute important sources in exploring the history of

late Ottoman women.Şair Fıtnat Hanım has nearly been forgotten today, with her name rarely

appearing in anthologies and with many of her life’s details being unknown to us. Now,

however, thanks to Ahmet Midhat Efendi and the correspondence he preserved, we are able to

arrive at some valuable conclusions about her. As Carolyn G. Heilbrun has stated, there are

four ways in which a women’s life may be written: “the woman herself may tell it, in what she

chooses to call an autobiography; she may tell it in what she chooses to call fiction; a

biographer, woman or man, may write the woman's life in what is called a biography; or the

woman may write her own life in advance of living it, unconsciously, and without recognizing

or naming the process.”2 For our purposes, understanding and interpreting the representation

of the two sexes in the letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and Şair Fıtnat Hanım is of primary

importance, although not providing us with every detail of her life, they do constitute a

biography. These letters are also important for the study of literature as they constitute

examples of the period’s letter writing styles, vernacular Turkish and so on. Having been

exiled to Rhodes by Sultan Aziz in 1876, Ahmet Midhat Efendi was only permitted to return

to Istanbul with the general amnesty promulgated by Sultan Murad upon his ascension to the

throne. Both Ahmet Midhat and his 34-year-old neighbour Şair Fıtnat Hanım were married

when they fell in love with one another. Their relationship was by any measure contrary to the

morals and religious outlook of their times. In their letters, many details concerning daily life

during the late Ottoman period are to be found.

There exists information about Şair Fıtnat Hanım from other sources, and we may

briefly touch upon these here. Hakkı Tarık Us, who prepared the present correspondence for

publication, has undertaken research into understanding this 34-year-old housewife with

whom Ahmet Midhat Efendi became infatuated.

Fıtnat Hanım came from the influential Hazinedarzade family who held the Trabzon

governorship over the course of many years. Different – and sometimes contrasting –

information concerning Fıtnat Hanım’s own life is to be found in a number of works.3 For us,

the fact that there is so much uncertainty is the most important point to consider; for example,

even though the identity of her father was touched on in all the aforementioned works, in the

words of Hakkı Tarık Us, “Her mother ... Who was she? We have no idea.”4 Fıtnat Hanım

was apparently brought up well, trained by a number of Quran, Arabic, Farsi and calligraphy

6 International Journal of Turcologia / V: VI - N: 12

instructors. On her marriage at a young age, Us writes, “Fıtnat Hanım was still what would be

termed a child, yet she was betrothed and then married. To whom? We do not know.”5 Having

said that the identity of her first husband is unknown, Us continues by indicating that she

would become engaged to a clerk in the Naval Ministry, Mehmed Ali Bey.6 Also unclear is

whether Fıtnat Hanım had children or not .According to thee Sicilli Osmani, Mehmed Ali

Efendi had a son named Feyzi Bey, but there is no record of whether or not he was the child of

Fıtnat Hanım.7 Süleyman Nazif also gives extensive details about Fıtnat Hanım, but this was

more a discussion of her instructor Edhem Pertev Paşa.8 Actually, Fıtnat Hanım’s successes

were used as an example of Edhem Pertev Paşa’s own accomplishments as a teacher.

Süleyman Nazif, who himself had the opportunity to meet Fıtnat Hanım, wrote of her, “She

was a poet possessing an intelligence as great as her beauty and grace. Her husband, naturally,

was consumed by great jealousy. She would speak with great sadness of the prohibition on her

writing poems, and even reading, suffocating her natural abilities. Until she became

enamoured with literature, she attempted to satisfy her natural creative desires through

calligraphy. To me she sent a copy of the Quran that she had written in her own hand. It was

truly a work of great beauty ... This is yet another example of natural talent becoming a victim

to the ignorance of its milieu!”9 In one of his works, İbnül Emin Mahmut Kemal relayed the

words that Fıtnat Hanım had written to Süleyman Nazif, “My first husband was so jealous of

me that he prevented me from wearing fine clothes and even from reading and writing poetry.

He felt that the length of my eyelashes made me too elegant, so he would trim them. With his

constant opposition, little of my old strength in poetry remained.”10

Süleyman Nazif also

reported to İbnül Emin Mahmut Kemal that Fıtnat Hanım had told him that she and Ahmet

Midhat Efendi were cousins through their mothers

Turning then to the other figure of this love story, Ahmet Midhat Efendi, we are much

better informed. Born to a poor family in 1844, he spent his early years as an apprentice to a

perfumer, learning to read and write from the market tradesmen. Not being satisfied with

merely a middle school education, Ahmet Midhat managed to learn French as well as Arabic

and Farsi by the age of twenty. Throughout his life, he published numerous newspapers and

journals in addition to writing nearly two hundred books. His works were innovative, both

technically and intellectually, in his roles as a novelist, philosopher, scientist, historian,

teacher, researcher and printer. Many of Ahmet Midhat’s ideas were considered quite

dangerous for his time, including his attempts to unify Lamarckian principles with the


fundamentals of Islam, his understanding of class, his use of the term “the honourable poor”,

his concepts of living through work and his concern for social justice. Beşir Fuad, the famous

thinker of materialism, immediately considered Midhat Efendi a great expert upon hearing

him speak of Lamarck for the first time.11

Concerning the techniques he used in his novel

Müşahedat, Ahmet Midhat Efendi went as far as to claim that “Such a thing can not even be

found in Europe.”12

Müşahedat was, from a technical standpoint, a novel with a number of

interesting aspects.13

Similarly, Nüket Esen has described his 1882 novel, Dürdane Hanım as

being a nearly modernist work, only well before the actual modernist movement of 1920 to

1945.14

Felsefe-i Zenân was also the first Turkish literary work to be written in the form of

correspondence between two people.15

Elsewhere, in Hayal ve Hakikat, which he co-authored

with Fatma Aliye Hanım, we encounter a narrative simultaneously having the double language

of a woman and a man.16

Fatma Aliye Hanım aroused interest both inside the Ottoman Empire and abroad with

her translations, novels and articles concerning the question of women. Besides her writings,

she also participated in charitable work characterised by the understanding of social service by

upper-class Ottoman women. In 1897, she began a campaign to support the Cemiyet-i

İmdadiyye, which helped families of soldiers killed or injured during the Ottoman-Greek War,

continuing these activities until 1915.

We may say that Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s work with Fatma Aliye Hanım allowed him

to understand female authors.17

In fact, it was his biography “Fatma Aliye Hanım, or the

Origins of a Female Ottoman Author” that has provided us today with the details of Fatma

Aliye’s life. Moreover, he promoted in several newspapers Aşk-ı Vatan, the work of the first

female Turkish novelist, Zafer Hanım. Touching on the topic in his letters, Ahmet Midhat

Efendi confessed that he found Aşk-ı Vatan rather weak, but he continued by saying that even

in the works of great literary figures, there existed many mistakes. Nevertheless, he felt

compelled to introduce the work to the public as part of his aim to provide help to female

authors.

“Considering the fact that it has emanated from the pen of a woman, its faults are few;

for even in our authors many more errors are to be found ... The work is in French ...”18

In the newspaper Tercüman-ı Hakikat, Ahmet Midhat Efendi encouraged women to

write no matter what it may be:


“Some of our women truly demonstrate to us their power of being literary

personalities. One of these women, while on her return by railway from an excursion to Egypt

at the hour of sunset, was able to put a sunset into words and had her writings published in

Hanımlara Mahsûs Gazete. A sunset is thus written – by gazing upon the true setting sun.

Also from Hanımlara Mahsûs Gazete, was a poem by Langalı Fatma Hanım, a resident of

Konya, concerning the nature of women. From amongst the works of male poets, we have

seen no poem of comparable truth! Fatma Aliye, Nigâr and Leman Hanım Efendis have

adorned the pages of the press with their articles not by way of imitation but by way of their

own originality.

Are we to exclaim “Poetry can not be thus. They should not write.”? Let this never be

said! Can a man who has, for twenty-five or thirty years, time and time again cried out, “Let

them write! Whether they write poorly or write well, or whether they imitate others, however

they may write, let them do so!” suddenly change his tune? We have no advice other than

“You should write!”. But such suggestions are only given to men.”19

Much of what we do not know about Ahmet Midhat Efendi’s life concerns women.

For example, we possess no information about his wife, and all we know about his mother is

that she was a Circassian serving girl.

The love between Şair Fıtnat Hanım and Ahmet Midhat Efendi came to an end with

the poems by a writer in Vakit Gazetesi, Said Bey (grandfather of Güzin Dino), authored to

imitate two of Mehmed Nazım Bey’s songs. Ahmet Midhat Efendi was very resentful of the

poems for they openly named Fıtnat Hanım while questioning her honour. On the fifth of

August, 1878 in Istanbul, Ahmet Midhat Efendi encountered and beat Said Bey – nicknamed

“Rubber Said” - on what is today’s Ankara Caddesi. Said Bey at first pressed charges although

he later withdrew his complaint; nevertheless, due to the gossip surrounding these events,

Ahmet Midhat Efendi and Şair Fıtnat Hanım were forced to abandon their relationship. The

songs penned by Said Bey directly targeted Fıtnat Hanım:

Remember this life of pleasure that you lead carousing with your friends

There is no harm should I remain with my press in misery and sorrow

May they keep in mind you, all those who know, with Midhat

And those who recollect me, do so in chastity and with Fıtnat!20


What then was written in these letters that Ahmet Midhat left to his son? The first of

these was from him to Fıtnat Hanım. After a lengthy introduction requesting forgiveness for

his imprudence, Ahmet Midhat expressed his admiration for a poem of hers which he received

from her husband C... Bey, continuing by explaining that he would probably be seen as a

hypocrite or a flatterer were he to laud too much praise on her writings. In her reply, Fıtnat

Hanım graciously accepted Ahmet Midhat’s opinion of her work and wrote of how much his

words had moved her. Ahmet Midhat’s second letter related the modesty she had shown with

her good upbringing; while emulating her humility, he suggested that she ought to leave hers

aside and recognise her own talents. According to Ahmet Midhat Efendi, what she could say

in only four lines of poetry would take him several pages to express. In the same letter, he also

spoke of Zafer Hanım’s Aşk-ı Vatan, saying that the work was a worthless imitation, having

been translated from French, and encouraged Fıtnat Hanım to continue writing as he was sure

she could do much better.

“Now as for me, it was always my dream that your honoured self should be the one

from amongst all these women to first set about on this path, and as such I find myself truly

admiring this woman’s having garnered so much praise. But according to my beliefs – indeed

my claims – if you should take up the challenge yourself, the results will certainly be a

thousand times greater; for even if the number of her mistakes is small, her grace with words

is equally so. You could write much more beautifully. The work is an imitation, a translation

from French. On the topic of the poem, she could not even properly copy those of others. As

her own work, she has given us a national song which is nowadays a rather ordinary thing;

nevertheless, I will work to be a supporter of female authors, and so I will praise her work in

the newspapers. And thus your efforts will bear fruits.”21

In his next letter, Ahmet Midhat Efendi spoke not about Fıtnat Hanım’s poem but

rather about himself. From the text, we understand that Fıtnat Hanım injured her foot while

returning home from visiting Ahmet Midhat. Thus, he wrote how saddened he was by this

occurrence and that when he heard it happen, he wanted to go out and comfort her but he was

not able to do so because such intimacy between them would be forbidden. He explained how

this situation caused him great pain.

“Ah, my heart pounded with the thought that a part of you was injured by that blow;

immediately it wished only to rush outdoors and come to your aid, and even if you had only


fallen, it wanted to take you into its embrace. But to what end? Here, in places such as these,

we must be strangers to one another. Is it not painful for us to be condemned to this ritual

distance, to be forcibly strangers, not acquaintances even, while at the same time I have no

such feelings for friends or family.”22

The remainder of the letter is equally interesting:

Oh, my angel, the advancement of our relationship has reached such a point that I am

distracted and bewildered by love. You would be astonished at what has passed through my

mind in this madness. I have, for example, began considering that this disaster – like a great

earthquake or a blaze which quickly races through one’s home – might be a blessing for me.

Do you know why? Because in that case, I could throw myself into the harem and save you,

just as I had taken you into my arms; because in that case, embracing you in the presence of

strangers would be seen as a crime but as a virtue, for in that case, I would be saving you, you

who, for me, are worth saving more than any other thing in this entire world. All else in the

world can die, except for you. Even I could be a victim. But you be saved. Here then, to prove

this situation in your eyes, I have reached the level of wishing for disasters to destroy the

world. Does this anger you?”23

In her reply, Fıtnat Hanım expressed her feeling the need to meet and speak with

Ahmet Midhat Efendi face-to-face. In his quickly written reply, Ahmet Midhat openly stated

that he would not be content with mere fraternity and friendship.

“In this situation, you may note, I am reasonably suggesting that, rather than this

fraternity, we choose the union of our two hearts. Yes, my lady, instead of being my sister, I

want you to join me in the unification of our souls. In my heart, the attraction that I feel

towards you can not be satisfied by the mere feelings of a brother to his sister; of my opinion,

I am perfectly convinced.24”

Fıtnat Hanım’s response showed great composure although her worries and fears

showed through. Her preference was for their union to remain in the world of their dreams.

“Accustomed as I am to reading your gracious letters a thousand times, I am once

again looking at it. The verses you wrote in response to those which I had written in imitation

of your poem were charming; I found them to be quite unique. So you are not going to be

pleased with my sisterly love? Is it a union of our hearts that you prefer? Are you to enter into


such a state that you will have no other choice or object of your desires? My goodness, what

of my character? What is my nature? Without knowing either of these, is it even possible to

display such submission to me? Does my consent mean that you too will give such consent?

And what if I send you into great trouble? What am I?”25

Ahmet Midhat Efendi was instant that this answer did not constitute a rejection.26

As

for Fıtnat Hanım, she expressed the fact that were she like other women, she ought to have

been greatly offended by this exchange but, being unlike the rest, she felt no such outrage.

“The degree of freedom with which you declared your feelings did not offend me; that

being said, had my character resembled that of other women, I surely would have been obliged

to have taken offence. Our womenkind seek to conceal the flames of desire which burn in

their hearts for they fear great embarrassment. God created me, however, with a much

different disposition.”27

She continued by stating her preference for a brother-sister relationship, but, as can be

understood, Ahmet Midhat Efendi did not accept this.28

A few letters later, we find him

beginning to write this even more openly.

“Let us speak, for as this situation progresses, I feel an even greater need to speak

freely with you. Well, I can say to you without reservation that I have no need for your

affection. Don’t love me! Only, give permission for me to love you. I am solely in need of

this. If I put the thought of you loving me out of my mind and simply love you to the full

extent of my ability, then I will always love Fıtnat.”29

After this declaration of love, the roles would become reversed. This time, it would be

Fıtnat Hanım who would be more eager to experience their love to the fullest, and it would be

Ahmet Midhat who would caution against acting contrary to social norms.

“Dearest Fıtnat, are you ascribing my absence at Ihlamur to a desire to avoid seeing

someone? Concerning my love for you, I have not a single need to take precautions against

anyone, as my love for you is a blessing beyond my abilities or limits of moderation. Were I

deserving of being your slave, I would take great pride in this. The only person I am avoiding

is you, for I know that in light of your marvellous sophistication, your angelic manners and

humility, my faults are such that they may not be concealed. Nevertheless, you have forgiven

each of these and you love me along with my defects.30


After his initial two letters, we can see that Ahmet Midhat Efendi began to express his

feelings, and then his desires, more and more openly. Fıtnat Hanım, however, consistently

responded politely that she wanted nothing more than to converse on topics such as the arts

and poetry; despite this, we may also observe that, due to Ahmet Midhat’s insistence, she too

was beginning to fall in love. From this point on, it would be Ahmet Midhat, who was

responsible for having initiated this relationship, who would be the one to caution against

breaking the societal rules in order to protect Fıtnat Hanım from acting heedlessly for the sake

of love.

Şair Fıtnat Hanım was of the Ottoman elite. She had received an excellent education

by private instructors at home. She produced works of poetry in the Classical Ottoman style,

an genre entirely dominated by males. From the tenth to nineteenth century, the most

important form of Ottoman literature was Divan poetry. One of the most striking features of

the style was the fact that it was a traditional form of poetry with several unalterable

characteristics. Language use was highly valued; a comprehension of Arabic and Farsi and the

methodology of both tongues was required to write Divan poetry. In addition, one had to have

a knowledge of religious sources such as the Qur’an and Hadith, sufism and famous figures

and events in Islamic history as well as of astrology, logic and alchemy. It was furthermore an

assimilation of the Arab and Persian tradition, in which patriarchy and the supremacy of the

male poet was firmly established. For a woman to write in the Divan tradition necessitated

above all membership in the upper class which gave birth to the style. Alongside this, she

would need close contacts with literary circles and, even more importantly, an advanced

education; for woman at the time, these were especially difficult requirements to meet. Thus

from among the ranks of those who wrote Divan poetry, we may find many who were

exceptional. They were highly educated, even if this education had been received at home.31

A common point among Ottoman women poets including Fıtnat Hanım was their use

of poetic styles reminiscent of their male counterparts. In a sense, the existence of these

female writers in a tradition established and dominated by males means that they were merely

“guest” poets.32

Kemal Sılay has argued that female poets did not question the dominance of

men in the Ottoman literary tradition; as a result, none of these figures, from Leyla Hanım,

who died in the first half of the nineteenth century, to Fıtnat Hanım, challenged the hegemony

that male poets held over Classical Ottoman poetry, nor did they attempt to change the poetic


imagery based on the sex of the beloved.33

In the Classic Ottoman poetry or Divan poetry, the

man undertook the active role of loving while the woman was relegated to being both the

object of desire as well as its passive recipient. Therefore, when a woman poet assumes the

role of the lover, even if she does not explicitly eschew the existing categories, we can see

something of a personal questioning of the established norms. This was due to the fact that a

woman writing poetry always became first and foremost the object. Thus, in this context, a

woman who, however indirectly, took an active role was effectively rejecting the traditionally

ordained passive role of females.34

In the letters of Ahmet Midhat Efendi and Şair Fıtnat Hanım, the standard conventions

of Divan literature, in which the man assumes the active role of the lover, can be seen.

However, whether through her poetry or through the few details concerning her private life,

there is a sign that Fıtnat Hanım had changed and taken on an active role herself. Even if she

had tried to evade a romantic relationship at the beginning of their correspondence, later a

woman passionately in love would emerge. Observing this change, Ahmet Midhat commented

on the difference.

“Dearest Fıtnat, you are not a despicable woman such that I would use vapid or untrue

words to make you love me. Even if my honesty is contrary to the rules of literature that

people know so well, you still approve of them, do you not? Here let me confess something

freely to you: I am no child, I am approaching thirty-four years of age. I did not grow up solely

in Istanbul. I have travelled thousands of hours from the east to the west, from the north to the

south. And I was not raised to be like the Şeyhülislam Efendi. I have lived my life loving and

being loved. As much as any human in this world can, I have done this in a way that has left

everyone in a state of wonder; and yet, throughout my entire life, the things that I have seen in

you, I have encountered in no place, in no person and not even in myself. You are no Turk,

you are no Muslim, you are neither an Easterner nor a Westerner; you are a woman who

stands well above them all. As a woman, and just a woman, you are far superior than all of the

other various daughters of this world. And because of your ideas, erudition, elegance and

poetic ability, you are furthermore above the greatest of men. Yes, I may say that you are an

aberration of nature.35

We have said that during the early stages of his relationship with Fıtnat Hanım, Ahmet

Midhat Efendi was the active partner and that this could be openly seen in their letters. With


time, however, Fıtnat Hanım lost her reservations in expressing her desire to be loved and to

love. She was a woman who fought for her love and who made way for this lover in her

private life. Moreover, she was very open about her feelings. She wanted a future for their

love and would question how and when it could be possible.

“Midhat, dearest Midhat, I love you, I love you, I love you so much! Write no more,

do not show me such courtesy. Ah, what can I say to you, the centre of my life? And your

gentle letters – which to me are life-giving – could I ever wish to be deprived of such

blessing? … “Last night, how happy was I , Midhat? And today I am unable to find any

consolation whatsoever. I saw the curtain open. Thinking my Midhat was at home, I was

overcome by a desire to be there as well. But you were not. And until you returned, I sat with

your sister. My Midhat, henceforth before you depart, close the curtains. Let me know when

you are out. And when you are at home, leave them open. Ah when you are at home, I feel as

though you are by my side. My God! How delightful is this world of love, and how strange a

world! You being there and I here is a form of consolation. Ah Midhat, what is the future of

this?”36

Due to her training, talent and hard work, Şair Fıtnat Hanım was able to penetrate a

world belonging to men, and there she was accepted as a poet in her own right. While much of

her poetry perpetuated the style of her male counterparts, with her life, she demonstrated a

different posture. When we examine Fıtnat Hanım’s poems, we see that although she was

responsible for several novelties, her works still reflect many features of the male world of

Divan poetry. However, looking at her private life through her poet’s letters, we see that she

expressed without reservation her readiness to sacrifice everything for her love. Şair Fıtnat

Hanım’s life was not one lived without opposing established traditions, anger was hardly

transformed into meek submission. Even if she accepted the male world through her writing,

in her personal affairs she was one who did not comply with this same world but instead was a

woman who was able to establish authority over her own life. Researchers may believe that

the deviant lives of famous women were not a disruptive force in the fate of other women.

However, it can be argued to the contrary that the life of Şair Fıtnat Hanım was in fact a

disruptive model and that it was a harbinger of the shift from women being the passive

recipient of love to their taking an active role in its expression.


We should add that the love letters of Fıtnat Hanım, a woman whose work ranks

amongst the canonical texts (tezkere) of Ottoman poetry, present a story which differs from

that encountered in a gender history approach as well as what traditional historical studies tell

us. In works of late Ottoman intellectual thought, it was writers who were the males defending

women’s rights. From the Tanzimat onwards, they wrote in their books and articles of the

need for women to be educated, to have the freedom to marry whomever they wished and to

possess financial independence. In their theses, they defended women’s rights to a degree, but

there was still a point at which they drew the line. Freedoms for women were desirable so that

they could better raise their children and contribute more to society. Women would only later

begin to fight for their own rights, although they followed in the path laid for them by male

writers. Nevertheless, even prior to its start, there were women who were on the vanguard of

this struggle – if through their actions and not their works; the letters of Fıtnat Hanım are one

of these examples which have opened doors for us.

1 Ahmed Midhat Efendi ile Şair Fıtnat Hanım, ed. Hakkı Tarık Us (Istanbul: Vakit Matbaası, 1948), 4.

2 Carolyn G. Heilbrun, Writing a Woman’s Life (W.W. Norton & Company), 12.

3 This includes Hacı Zihni Efendi’s “Meşâhir-ün-Nisâ”, Bursalı Tahir’s Osmanlı Müellifleri, İbnülemin Mahmud

Kemal İnal’s Son Asır Türk Şairleri and İbrahim Alaaddin Gövsa’s Türk Meşhurları Ansiklopedisi. Hacı Zihni

Efendi and Bursalı Tahir both give her father’s name as being Abdullah Paşa, whereas the remainder name him

Ahmet Paşa. Hakkı Tarık Us focused on this particular discord and, having examined the sources himself,

concluded that Fıtnat Hanım was born in Trabzon to Abdullah Paşa on the 27th

of November, 1842. 4 Ahmed Midhat Efendi ile Şair Fıtnat Hanım, ed. Hakkı Tarık Us (Istanbul: Vakit Matbaası, 1948), 161.

5 Ibid.

6 Brother of the under-secretary of the Naval Ministry, İzzet Efendi and uncle of Damad Ferid Paşa: ibid., 164.

7 Ibid., 168.

8 Ibid., 162-168.

9 Ibid., 166.

10 Ibid., 167.

11 Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar, 19.uncu Asır Türk Edebiyatı Tarihi (Istanbul: Çağlayan Yayınları, 1982), 445-474.

12 Ahmet Midhat Efendi, Müşahedat (Ankara: Akçağ Yay., 1997), 113.

13 On this topic, see Berna Moran, “İddialı Bir Roman: Müşahedat,” Türk Romanına Eleştirel Bir Bakış

(Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 1983), 48-58; Necat Birinci, “Türk Romanında Erken Atılmış Bir Adım:

Müşahedat,” Türk Dili, n.433 (Ocak 1988), s.31; “Müşahedat,” Türk Dili ve Edebiyatı Ansiklopedisi, v.6,

s.484; Selim İleri, “Müşahedat,” Gösteri, n.3 (February, 1981); Şerif Aktaş’s introdcution to the 1997 Akçağ

Yayınları edition of Müşahedat, entitled “About the Novel”. 14

Nüket Esen, “Modernist Romanın Bir Habercisi: Dürdane Hanım,” Gösteri (April, 1991), 78-79. 15

Ahmet Midhat Efendi, Felsefe-i Zenan, Handan İnci ed. (Istanbul: Arma Yayınları, 1998). 16

See Bir Kadın and Ahmet Midhat Efendi, Hayal ve Hakikat, Bahriye Çeri ed. (Istanbul: Yıldız Teknik

Üniversitesi, 2005). 17

On this topic, see Mediha Göbenli, “Ahmet Midhat Efendi ve Osmanlı Türk Kadın Yazarları, Fatma Aliye

Hanım ve Şair Fıtnat Hanım,” Tarih ve Toplum, v. 34, no. 203 (November, 2000), 283-288. 18

Hakkı Tarık Us, Ahmed Midhat Efendi ile Şair Fıtnat Hanım, 31. Ahmet Midhat Efendi here uses the term

“authors” to refer exclusively to male writers. 19

Ahmet Midhat Efendi, “Teceddütât-ı Edebiye”, Tercüman-ı Hakikat, n. 5261/57, (11 Kânun-ı Evvel, 1311

[23 December, 1895]). 20

Hakkı Tarık Us, Ahmed Midhat Efendi ile Şair Fıtnat Hanım, 174. 21

Ibid., 31.


22

Ibid., 37. 23

Ibid, 38-39. 24

Ibid., 53. 25

Ibid., 58. 26

Ibid., 63. 27

Ibid., 71. 28

Ibid., 74. 29

Ibid., 98. 30

Ibid., 122-123. 31

Huriye Reis, Adem’in Bilmediği Havva’nın Gör Dediği (Ankara: Dörtbay Yayınları, 2005), 59-60. 32

Huriye Reis, Adem’in Bilmediği Havva’nın Gör Dediği (Ankara: Dörtbay Yayınları, 2005), 60. 33

Kemal Sılay, “Singing His Words: Ottoman Women Poets and the Power of Patriarchy,” in Madeline C. Zılfı,

ed. Women in the Ottoman Empire: Middle Eastern Women in the Early Modern Era (Leiden and New

York: Brill, 1997), 197-213. 34

Huriye Reis, Adem’in Bilmediği Havva’nın Gör Dediği, 61. 35

Hakkı Tarık Us, Ahmed Midhat Efendi ile Şair Fıtnat Hanım, 147-148. 36

Ibid., 149-151.

Sociopolitical Transformation of the Ottoman

Empire and the Concept of Secularization

Namık Sinan Turan *

Abstract

Secularization is a process enables the clear appearance of

autonomous political action. It affects democratic process in two ways.

First of all, secularization in the culture strengthens the faith on

controlling natural, social and economic environment by people. People

can control the implication of the political power and change their

environment. This belief can lead to political participation. Secondly,

secularization can force the mechanism of monitoring and substitution

of the political power by banishing its ecclesiastical resources. Ottoman

modernization is the consequence of saving the country differs from the

western experience, which is the consequence of industrial society and

recreation of its values. Late 18th Century and 19th Century Tanzimat

reforms have showed their impacts on social bases while evaluating

political understanding and organizations. Tanzimat without concerning

religious and sect based discrimination it was the idealization of

creating social order. After Tanzimat reforms, while traditional social

structure was dissolving, it also manipulated the secularization of law,

education and public administration. Secularization not only determined

the Romanization of the law but also affect the transformation in

political and social steps. Although conservative color of Abdulhamid

II regime, modernization of law and education process lead to

constitutional monarchy period and its development. In this article, one

of the 19th Century political outcome secularization and its reflection

would be analyzed.

* İstanbul University, [email protected]


When Şehdi Osman Efendi, the Ottoman Ambassador to Russia in 1757, was

reminded of the rules of protocol that he had to comply with, he refused some of them with

the reason that they required more respect than the religion and state authority would allow

him. This attitude was inevitable for an individual coming from a tradition where all cultural

codes were determined by the religion.1 Ambassador to Austria in February 1572, Ebubekir

Ratib Efendi, focuses on the legal system in his sefaretname. He indicates that Austrians did

not have rules of Sharia, the only remaining ones from the religious rules of the Prophet Jesus

were the rules of matrimony. According to this, the rules are not effective, even in the

religious heritage. Based on what he saw there, the envoy determines the effective factors for

a country to progress as laws and rules of the state, a disciplined army, honest and competent

civil servants, respected relationships with foreign countries, an educated people and a

treasure-filled.2 Despite there is not a considerable time interval, the difference in the

approach is apparent. In an era in which the influence of religion was shrinking, though not at

all in cultural and societal areas, but in the legal and political areas, Ottoman perception is

important in many respects. In his report describing the new order in Europe, the Ottoman

envoy informed Istanbul about the new order (nizam-i cedid) of Europe and transferred the

project that enlightened absolutism produced to reconstruct the state. As Ratib Efendi

indicated in his depiction about the design of the enlightened absolutism of a homogenous

society, the law was for everyone in Austria, unlike in the Ottoman Empire. Just like the

people of the state, starting from the King all the state officials were yet responsible to the

rational system of state law which was felt at every point of the community life with its

spiritual character, but not to the God.3

So, these were the aims of the centralizing reforms of Mahmud II. and Tanzimat

reforms which were put into practice by Abdülmecid II. It is clear that the bureaucrats, who

represented the Tanzimat centrality, did not have an intention to plant local autonomy or

topical democracy in the country. They did not want to make a democracy attempt with the

reform; rather they wanted to ensure the improvement of state administration, increasing of

incomes and the establishment of a consistent administration, just like it was in Metternich,

Schwazenberg Austria or Alexander II. Russia. Moreover, such an organization would allow

the authoritarian control of the central bureaucrats. What was required for Tanzimat statesmen

was not liberty, but were profit and security of property and life. The main thing in the state

Sociopolitical Transformation of the Ottoman Empire 21

life was not the political participation of large groups but the subjects who were loyal to the

government and who earn much and pay taxes. Despotism was, to a certain extent, necessarily

given up in the sake of a legal-authoritarian administration.4

***

Tanzimat is a breaking point for the course of development of the state and religion

relations. It is possible to view secularization process in the social sense from an earlier period

on. Spatially, coffeehouses are the herald of the emergence of a new social life style. Its traces

can be seen in minstrel Karacaoglan or master of poetry Nadim. This follows a parallel line to

the general tendency in the world since the 16th

century. However, political secularization is

the product of 19th

century and post-Tanzimat period. Its traces are felt in law and many areas

of social life.

What made Tanzimat an assertive incident within itself was that it aimed a

transformation from millet system, which was based on religious communities, to subjects

based on equality. The ideal of creating a society without any separation of religion and nation

brought into the agenda the need of a new upper identity and official ideology. The project of

İttihad-ı Osmani project would hit its mark to the new era in terms of both identity and the

official ideology of the state.5 Especially the disintegration of millet system in which the

communities were represented, even if not destroying at all, undermined the place of the

religion within the self-identifying codes of individual. 6

Even though the reforms have

approved the recognitions of the power of religious leaders on the communities, it was still a

step forward to the secularization of the Ottoman institutions. While recognizing a division

based on millet system, Tanzimat project increased the power of non-clerical class within the

millet; therefore aimed at limiting the powers of secular authority of the clergy.7

There was a similar process also for the Islam ulama (scholars), as the clergy have lost

the social control possibilities. Mekkîzade Mustafa Asım Efendi, who was the Şeyhülislâm

position during the declaration of Tanzimat, or his successors such as Arif Hikmet Bey and

Meşrebzâde Mehmed Arif Efendi seemed to adapt and support the reforms. Although ulama

did not stand against the reforms, even took active part in reform arrangements as it is known,


the reforms caused decrease of the power and control possibilities of the ulama. Changes in

terms of bureaucratism and centralism under the leadership of new bureaucrat class of

Tanzimat, caused the erosion of the state-religion integration in the Ottoman Empire and

caused the power of ulama to weaken in central and local administration. Thus, the control

function of religion over the state began to decline. Within the bureaucratic structure which

was tried to be established with a centralization approach, institutional and cultural

specialization was brought with the structural-functional differentiation. While causing the

control of religious institutions with limiting religious organizations openly under the new

bureaucratic structure, it also enabled the secularization of the state. With the structural-

functional differentiation which occurred together with modernization efforts, administrators

who were in the position of status officialdom were transformed into elite with functional

expertise. From that time on, functional expertise elite had to deal with the issues under their

expertise either in the hierarchical plane or division of labor plane.

Cultural specialization which was founded by Tanzimat Reforms, in time caused the

separation and liberalization of cultural branches and political institutions according to their

functions. Cultural units which gained independence were organized due to their special

principles and separated from each other. That caused them to get independent from religion

which they started to perceive as a separate social institution. Developments enabled the state

to get out of the influence space of religion in time8.

The most striking reflections of the secularization were witnessed in the fields of law

and education. Ottoman political system introduced with new concepts and institutions with

what was received from the Western legal system. After the establishment of the Meclis-i

Tahkika in 1840, with the formation of the mixed courts in 1847 for dealing with both the

Ottomans and the foreigners, criminal cases became out of the jurisdiction of Sharia courts.

When a criminal law known as Kanun-u Cedit was coded in 1851, it was decided as a

principle that the state would not be binded when the complaining party forgives the criminal

in case of a talion. This situation enabled a code of Islamic criminal law that was close to

private law to be abolished and the transition to the understanding of public case. The first law

in the field of private law, Kanunname-i Ticaret, dated 1850, introduced implications in

conflict with the Islamic law. Particularly recognition of the partnerships other than interest

and ordinary partnerships caused major conflicts.9 Increased dependence on international trade


relations allowed the establishment of Nizamiye courts for trade cases. Thus, this area became

also out of the power of Sharia courts. With the translation and enactment of French Criminal

Trial Law in 1879, modern criminal courts began practice, as well as the prosecution practice

began, which did not exist under the Islamic law.10

Transition in law was also seen in the law branches which were mostly associated with

tradition. For example in the initiative towards making a family law, Mecelle, which was

sensitively tried to be based on Islamic law, traces of the logic of law would be seen.11

Property Law of 1858 included secular provisions especially regarding the conception of

property.12

Secularization has also showed its impact in the education area which was shaped

under the influence of religion in the traditional Ottoman world. Ottomanisation ideology of

Tanzimat aimed to create an Ottoman nation above any religious and sectarian identities.

Education was evaluated as the most influential tool for it. Opening of Rüşdiye schools was a

result of the initiative of the state to open a religious-secular character school against the

traditional religious-ethereal character Sıbyan schools which the state had trouble to control.

Building of the new established schools in different places from mosques, unlike the old

school building tradition, showed the difference also in terms of spatial segregation. With

modernization, the education understanding of tradition societies in which each religious

community had the monopoly of controlling the education, was being replaced by a

centralized education in which the state imposed its own ideology. Secular, modern schools

started to take place in the educational institutions of Tanzimat. Especially when it came to

Muslims, the control area of clerics was abandoned over the new established schools.

Weakening of the influence over education caused the decrease in the Ottoman clerics’ power

to intervene in the administrative, societal and cultural areas as the economic resources of

Ottoman clerics were not developed as it was the case in the Shia clerics of Iran. General

Regulation of Education (Maarif-i Umumiye Nizamnamesi) dated 1869 reflected an

Ottomanist view. According to this, primary education, which was made mandatory, was to be

held in Turkish for all of the children of any religion or sect.13

Secularization would cause the transformation of the traditional world of thought.

Rationalist, positivist and materialist movements that were started to be seen in the 19th


century Ottoman intellectual life, which had an eclectic structure, were so much influential on

the Ottoman youth to create religious transformations on some of them. The first departure

from the tradition in religious thought and sentiments was seen in Şinasi. In his work piece

named Müntehabât-ı Eş’âr, no Islamic elements can be found. Moreover, it was remarkable

that in some of his odes, he did not use adjectives like “medeniyet resulü” (prophet of

civilization) and “fahr-i cihan” (conqueror of the world) that were used for praising the

Prophet within the Islamic tradition, but instead he used these kind of adjectives for praising

Mustafa Reşid Pasha. Denial of the paradise in the Adem Kasidesi’ (Ode of Adam) of Akif

Pasha was alien things for Islamic tradition. Another attitude is striking in the poem of Ziya

Pasha. He is the first poet in Turkish literature that had the courage to ask a question to God.

In his poem Terci-i Bend he calls for the curator of the paradoxes in the universe and

questions as much as he can. According to him, as God is the creator of everything, is also the

creator of the evils and forbidden. It is a contradiction that the human is punished for the sins

even though they have no will or self-control. 14

Abdülhamid II. Period

Secularization did not take part among the agenda of Abdülhamid II regime as a

political project. Abdülhamid tried to read centralization over reform, religion and status

concepts. While perceiving religion as the unifying glue for the society, he also recognized the

importance of technological progress. On the one hand economic development and

investments changed the appearance of Anatolia and Syria during his term, on the other he

highlighted the Islamic Union in his political discourse. In this, notables in provinces had an

undeniable role, as much as the central bureaucrats15

and various religious order leaders. It

was a defense reflex against initiatives like Arab caliphate that the Caliphate gained so much

importance during his term, as in none of his predecessors’ terms did.16

Emphasizing Islam in

domestic politics, is coupled with the claim of being a “civilized”, ”European” monarchy

when it comes to representation in the external world.17

Although many religious elements served for the legitimacy of Abdülhamid regime,

still the Şeyhülislâms who were elected in violation with the ilmiye hierarchy were devoid of

influence. Putting aside the daily politics, no one had more power in religion. Abdülhamid

watched the collapse of medrese without taking any part, and in turn he supported the


formation of secular schools. Among these, Mekteb-i Fünun-i Maliye and Hukuk Mektebi

should be particularly recalled.18

Düyûn-ı Umumiye administration which was established in

the same period, necessitated the existence of specialized accountants. Similarly, the

establishment of a new law faculty is very important in term of transforming the traditional

class structure in Ottomans. Because till then the lawyers or jurists were brought up under the

medrese system close to ulema. Thus, jurisdictial functions of ulema were constricted,

jurisdiction was bureaucratized and reproduced. This process is a result of the Romanization

movement that has been continuing till Tanzimat. For the codification of Western law, a new

judicial staff was required. Although Abdülhamid period had an effort to use Islam as a

political doctrine, it was a period in which the clerics were deliberately pushed out of the

system. As the law monopoly was taken away from the clerics, after a short while, the

monopoly of religion would also be taken. This is a phenomenon that must be seriously

considered and correctly read. Establishment of a religious studies department in Darülfünun

is actually a result of the project of the reproduction of religion.19

Despite of its conservative look, Abdülhamid bureaucracy has the effects of Tanzimat

reforms. After Tanzimat, the number of non-Muslims increased in provincial government

councils, commissions such as agriculture or public works, mixed commercial courts. This

process has continued during the Abdülhamid period. These are not only provincial officers

but also are officers that were appointed from the center. In the 19th

century, non-Muslim

young people that were educated in the secular education institutions were taken into service

just like the Muslims and were appointed to provinces. A study about the Abdülhamid period

non-Muslim officers in Rumeli shows that the high ranked officials were appointed by the

central government and are not from the local people.20

Even though the applications of the Hamidiye regime brought in a considerable

material change, these were not legitimized with Islamic terms; rather they were affiliated

with the wisdom, foresight and the affinity of the ruler towards his people. There was no effort

to evaluate these changes as a part of an over-all development under modernization,

identification with positive sciences and technology and reconciliation with Islam in a

theoretical plane. Abdülhamid’s empire witnessed the development of a modern press,

professionalization of the bureaucracy, widening of the upper level vocational schools,

developments in banking and agriculture, despite of the increase of population, urbanization,


commercial growth and censorship. As a result, on the one hand there was the material

growth that was not in harmony with the belief system of the community in terms of

mentality, on the other, the gap between the Muslim majority and the bureaucrat, who was the

representative of modernization, grew.21

This situation created the societal infrastructure of

the social tension of the next era.

Reviving of the Constitutional Order

The mention of Sharia in 1908 Constitution and the subsequent 1909 Constitution

amendments are controversial in terms of political development.22

However, during the

Second Constitutional Period, besides the transformations that the public authority determined

like the law and education, secularization was also discussed among the intellectuals of

different ideological tendencies. In the publications of the period, the nature of the

relationship between religion and state institutions was discussed among the Western-

oriented, Turkic and Islamic thinkers under the light of the developments of everyday. Worth

noting, however, is the perception way of the religion. This perception is effective in drafting

lines adressing the importance of religion for the societal unity by names who could make

radical moves on this issue like Said Halim Pasha, Ahmet Naim or other Islamic writers like

for example Ahmet Rıza Bey, Abdullah Cevdet. However, the radical break between the

Islamists and Westerners could be observed in the interpretation of Islam. While Islam was a

sphere of life covering material and spiritual all spheres of life, for Westerners it was a

cultural identity deprived of all political functions.23

Constitutional period is a transition period in terms of secularization. Change of

mentality in societal norms has rapidly reflected to other areas. Especially some laws and

regulations that were issued strengthened the dualist structure that has been clarifying since

Tanzimat. Churches Act of 1913, recruitment of medrese students to the army during World

War I by removing the privileges and recruitment of non-Muslims to the army are all

applications that could be seen as radical steps toward secularization.24

Societal impacts of

secularization could be understood from the content of the everyday discussions. The

psychology that the changes in everyday life created on the society could be seen particularly

in the criticisms of the conservatives. Replacement of religious tevekkül understanding to a

Western institution like insurance was elicited by some parts of the society. The proposal


written by Kılıçzade Hakkı Bey, published in the İçtihad in 55th

and 57th

numbers, about

putting an insurance plate on the buildings under the “Ya Hafız” plate that was usually put on

the buildings, was supported by the Western-orietnted thinkers while not appealed to the

conservatives.25

Most ambitious steps about secularization came up in the 1916 congress of the İttihat

ve Terakki (Union and Progress Party). In this congress, Shariah courts and religious courts

were separated from each other; secular contented principles were taken into considerations

about law and justice. Particularly developments in law were effective in the secularization of

İttihat ve Terakki. Establishment of Darül-hikmet-i İslamiye which would only deal with

religious issues, and separation of jurisdiction from religion and putting jurisdiction directly

under the authority of Ministry of Justice showed the tension between the civil and religious

bureaucracy. Since 1916, Meşihat-ı İslamiye organization was reorganized, its right of

jurisdiction was taken, all courts were connected to the Ministry of Justice.26

While all schools

were put under the responsibility of the Ministry of Education, it was decided to reform

medrese which was the source of societal production of ulema.27

Family Law Ordinance of 1917 was a project for making members of different

religions and sects dependent on a monist law. With the text dated 25 October 1917, it was

targeted to unite all of the society without any religion and sect difference, under the civil

law.28

The decree gave woman the right to divorce and paved the way for monogamy with

binding the marriage of the man with a second wife to the consent of the first wife.

Construction of the secular regime of the Republican era which was determined by the

important break points like unification of education and preparation of civil law was started to

be shaped in the depressed climate of Meşrutiyet. The most striking development in this

period was the questioning of state and religion relation over the clerics and re-interpretation

of the traditional institutions with the “hakimiyet-i milliye” (national sovereignty)

understanding. Reconsideration of caliphate was the most important evidence on this issue. In

the new period, the Caliph was reduced almost to a national position and gained a “secular”

qualification. He would be described as not a source of religious power but as a secular

political figure.29


1 Şehdî Osman Efendi, Sefaretname, Topkapı Sarayı Kütüphanesi, nr. 1577, 11a-12b; Türkan Polatçı, Şehdî

Osman Efendi’nin Rusya Sefâreti ve Sefâretnâmesi (1757-1758), Gaziosmanpaşa Üniversitesi, Sosyal

Bilimler Enstitüsü Tarih Anabilim Dalı, Osmanlı Müesseseleri ve Medeniyeti Bilim Dalı Yüksek Lisans Tezi,

Tokat 2006.

2 Cahit Bilim, “Ebubekir Ratip Efendi, Nemçe Sefaretnamesi”, Belleten, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara

1990, c. 56, s. 275-281.

3 Fatih Yeşil, Aydınlanma Çağında Bir Osmanlı Katibi Ebubekir Râtib Efendi (1750-1799), Tarih Vakfı

Yurt Yayınları, İstanbul 2011, s. 315 vd.

4 İlber Ortaylı, İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı, Alkım Yayınları, İstanbul 2005.

55 Roderic H. Davison, Reform in the Ottoman Empire 1856-1876, Princeton University Press, New Jersey

1963, s. 39-40. 6 Benjamin Braude, “Foundation Myths of the Millet System”, Christians and Jews in the Ottoman Empire;

The Functioning of a Plural Society, Ed. Benjamin Braude/ Bernard Lewis, Holmes&Meier Publishers, New

York 1982, s. 72-73.

7 Athanasia Anagnostopulu, “Tanzimat ve Rum Milletinin Kurumsal Çerçevesi: Patrikhane, Cemaat Kurumları,

Eğitim”, 19. Yüzyıl İstanbul’unda Gayrı Müslimler, Ed. Pinelopi Stathis, Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları, İstanbul

1999, s. 3-4.

8 Ejder Okumuş, Türkiye’nin Laikleşme Serüveninde Tanzimat, İnsan Yayınları, İstanbul 1999, s. 292-293;

ayrıca bkz. Metin Heper, Modernleşme ve Bürokrasi, Sosyal Bilimler Derneği Yayını, Ankara 1973, s. 57-61. 9 Gülnihal Bozkurt, Batı Hukukunun Türkiye’de Benimsenmesi: Osmanlı Devleti’nden Türkiye

Cumhuriyeti’ne Resepsiyon Süreci, Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara 1996, s. 48-79, Coşkun Üçok-Ahmet

Mumcu, Türk Hukuk Tarihi, Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Yayınları, Ankara 1981, s. 221-129. 10

Recai G. Okandan, Umumi Amme Hukukumuzun Ana Hatları, İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi

Yayınları, İstanbul 1948. 11

Ebulula Mardin, Ahmed Cevdet Paşa ve Mecelle, İstanbul Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Yayınları, İstanbul 12

Ömer Lütfi Barkan, “Türk Toprak Hukuku Tarihinde Tanzimat ve 1274 Tarihli Arazi Kanunnamesi”,

Tanzimat I, Maarif Vekaleti Yayını, İstanbul 1940, 1-101. 13

Selçuk Akşin Somel, Osmanlı’da Eğitim’in Modernleşmesi 1839-1908, İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul 2010, s.

118-125. 14

Orhan Okay, “Modernleşme ve Türk Modernleşmesinin İlk Döneminde İnanç Krizlerinin Edebiyata

Yansıması”, Edebiyat ve Edebi Eser Üzerine, Dergah Yayınları, İstanbul 2011, s. 78-88.

15 Butros Abu-Manneh, “Sultan Abdülhamid II and Shaikh Abulhuda Al Sayyadi”, Middle Eastern Review, XV/

2, 1979, s. 131-153, Azmi Özcan, “Sultan II. Abdülhamid’in Panislam Siyasetinde Cevdet Paşa’nın Tesiri”,

Ahmed Cevdet Paşa, TDV. Yayınları, Ankara 1997, s. 123-143. 16

Namık Sinan Turan, “19th Century Political and Diplomatic Struggle through Images: An Evaluation on the

Particular Illusion of Panislamizm”, International Journal of Turcologia, vol. IV, n. 8, Autumn 2009, s. 5-21. 17

François Georgeon, Sultan Abdülhamid, Homer Yayınları, çev. Ali Berktay, İstanbul 2006, s. 317-324. 18

İlhan Tekeli- Selim İlkin, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Eğitim ve Bilgi Üretim Sisteminin Oluşumu ve

Dönüşümü, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara 1993. 19

Kemal H. Karpat, İslam’ın Siyasallaşması, İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları, İstanbul 2004. 20

İlber Ortaylı, “II. Abdülhamid Devrinde Taşra Bürokrasisinde Gayrımüslimler”, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda

İktisadi ve Sosyal Değişim, Turhan Yayınları, Ankara 2004, s. 193-199. 21

Kemal H. Karpat, Osmanlı Modernleşmesi Toplum, Kurumsal Değişim ve Nüfus, çev. Akile Durukan-

Kaan Durukan, İmge Yayınları, Ankara 2008, s. 102-104. 22

Düstur, II. Tertip, c. I, 638-644; 7 Zilhicce 1293 tarihli Kanun-ı Esasi’nin bazı mevadd-ı muaddelesine dair

kanun, 8 Ağustos 1325/ 5 Şaban 1327. 23

M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, Bir Siyasal Örgüt Olarak Osmanlı İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti ve Jön Türklük,

İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul 1989, s. 619-626.


24

İlber Ortaylı, “Osmanlı Devletinde Laiklik Hareketleri Üzerine”, Türk Siyasal Hayatının Gelişimi, Ed. Ersin

Kalaycıoğlu-Ali Yaşar Sarıbay, Beta Yayınları, İstanbul 1986, s. 167. 25

Kılıçzade Hakkı, “Pek Uyanık Bir Uyku”, İçtihad, 21 Şubat 1328, No. 55, s. 1226; “Pek Uyanık Bir Uyku”,

İçtihad, 7 Mart 1329, No. 57, s. 1261, Mustafa Gündüz, II. Meşrutiyet’in Klasik Paradigmaları, Lotus

Yayınları, Ankara 2007, s. 71. 26

Mehmed Hamdi, “Dinimiz, Devletimiz”, Sebîlürreşâd, XV, s. 323-329, 12.12.1918. 27

Mustafa Ergün, II. Meşrutiyet Devrinde Eğitim Hareketleri 1908-1914, Ocak Yayınları, Ankara 1996. 28

Gülnihal Bozkurt, Batı Hukukunun Türkiye’de Benimsenmesi, Türk Tarih Kurumu Yayınları, Ankara 1996,

s. 163-172. 29

Elmalılı Hamdi, “İslamiyet ve Hilafet ve Meşihat-ı İslamiyye”, Mizan, no. 76, İstanbul 1327; aynı yönde bir

tavır için ayrıca Mehmed Seyyid Bey, Usul-i Fıkıh (Medhal), Matbaa-i Amire, İstanbul 1333.

A Cross Section in the Turkish-Hungarian

Academic Relations from

The Early Republican Period:

The Turkey Trip of Hungarian Professors in 1924

Eminalp Malkoç*

Abstract

In the Early Republican period, Turkey developed relations with Hungary in

several areas and in different levels in order to empower her international

position, provide collaboration and accelerate her development. In the same

period, the Turkish-Hungarian academic relations were also given mutual

importance. An example that can be examined within this context emerged

in July 1924, when a Hungarian committee of 29 people most of whom were

university representatives visited Turkey. This study analyzes the

familiarization trip of Hungarian professors to Turkey in 1924, which was

one of the first relations of the Republican period and which contributed to

the Turkish-Hungarian academic relations in this period.

Istanbul University (İstanbul Darülfünunu) had an almost quarter-century-long past,

half of which was full of wars in the beginning of the Republican period, apart from the first

attempts of establishing a university. Being a continuation of these conditions, the new regime

in Turkey had taken over a university whose infrastructure had not been fully developed and

traditions had not fully established. Furthermore, Darülfünun1, which had scientific and

administrative independence, was one of the institutions that established foreign relations in

the first phases of the early Republican period2. Among the international activities of this

institution at the academic level, the universities of Hungary and their representatives had a

* İstanbul Technical University. [email protected]

32 International Journal of Turcologia / V: IV - N: 12

significant place. It can even be said that within the range of Darülfünun’s foreign activities

and relations, the role of these universities have an outstanding role. .

Turkish-Hungarian relations had shaped over the mutual feelings of both nations.

Especially the feelings of sympathy and admiration of Hungarians for Turkey originated a

determinative support in terms of bilateral relations. Nourished as well by the Turkish-

Hungarian academic relations, these feelings were the result of signing the Lausanne Treaty

after they had won the war of independence parallel to their effort and struggle after the First

World War3. With the impact of these dynamics, in 1924, various relations emerged between

Darülfünun and Hungarian universities. At the same time, these relations were the signs of the

possibility of a strong infrastructure in terms of academic relations between Turks and

Hungarians in these phases that can be regarded as the earliest phases of the early Republican

period.

In terms of the Turkish-Hungarian academic relations, one of the first steps was taken

by the Hungarians and in June 1924 a suggestion was made by the Budapest University. In

those days, based on the declaration of İsmail Hakkı (Baltacıoğlu) Bey, the rectorate of

Istanbul University (Darülfünun Emini), and Budapest University applied to the Ministry of

Education (Maarif Vekaleti) to offer “professor exchange (müderris mübadelesi)”; whereupon

a commission was formed in Darülfünun to work on this issue and a study was carried out for

the response to be given4. After a time some decisions were taken as to correspond to the

Hungarian University on professor exchange and to indicate the number of professors needed

for each chair professorship. A study was approved to be carried out for both outgoing and

incoming professors depending on the response from Hungary5.

Among the contacts that developed Turkish-Hungarian academic relations, the trip of

Hungarian professors to Turkey in the summer of 1924 had a significant place. In fact, that a

committee of Hungarian professors would come to Istanbul was the news in the press in the

beginning of July. According to Vatan newspaper, the committee that would come to Turkey

for scientific studies consisted of “The professors of Faculties of Science, Law and Letters

and reputable lawyers”6. In a period when brief news about the trip like this was in the press,

on July 7, the “Hungarian Representative (Macar Mümessilliği)” posted an official

notification about the trip to the Istanbul Agency of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hariciye

Murahhaslığı)7. The expected investigation group came on 8 July 1924 around nine o’clock in

the evening by Konvansiyonel (Conventional) train. The visitors were welcomed on behalf of

Turkish-Hungarian Academic Relations 1924 33

Darülfünun by two professors Ali Ekrem and Macit and the Principal of Galatasaray High

School, Behçet8, and his assistant

9.

Based on the description of the newspapers of Istanbul, there were 29 people in total in

the Hungarian committee, six of whom were women, under the chairmanship of the Principal

of the Budapest Business School (Budapeşte Ticaret Mekteb-i Alisi), Professor Kokler (or

Kukler?) (قوقلهر). In the first news of the press, Ignacz Kunos (ايغناتيف قونوس) and Gyula

Németh (نعمت) were indicated as professors and others as high school teachers in the

committee. Besides, there were the Assistant Manager of Budapest Chamber of Commerce,

Doctor Gastey(?) (غاستهى), Doctor Bay and Miss Çecumbodi(?) (چهجومبودى), Pianist Jan

Ban(?) ( انبانژ ), and Rotnahey (or Rotnahei?) (روتناهى), who was among the writers of the East

newspaper in Hungarian, in the group. The visitors would stay in Istanbul for about two

weeks within the scope of the investigative tour10

. Beside the publicity news in the press,

Cumhuriyet also published some of the names in the group who were reputable academicians

like Kunos, Németh and Kokler11

.

Professor Kokler, who was one of the academicians arriving in İstanbul, expressed

their prosperity for being with Turks and introduced the members of the committee as soon as

they got off the train. Professor Kuhnuşen(?) (قوهنوشن), one of the members of the Eastern

Academy in the committee, expressed his prosperity as well as his sincerity with the words “I

will stay in beautiful Istanbul for about twenty days. During this time, I will speak Turkish

and fill my ears with Turkish. I will read Turkish newspapers,”; besides, the well-known

pianist Jan Ban expressed his prosperity. Németh, professor of philology in Pest University,

reminded of her stay in Istanbul 16 years ago and expressed her feelings with the words “We

stayed for a day in Belgrade, two days in Sophia, and one day in Plovdiv on our way to

Istanbul. While we were in those cities, we felt being in a foreign land. However, we are not in

a foreign land here. At this moment we feel blessed to be among our Turkish friends,”12

. After

the welcoming in Sirkeci, the guests were taken to Galatasaray High School by automobiles

and were settled in this school to be hosted during their trip by the Ministry of Education

(Maarif Vekaleti)13

.

Hungarian academicians visited Darülfünun, Vilayet (the Provincial Administration),

and Şehremaneti (Municipality) on the 9th

of July. In the morning, while they were touring the

Galata Tower and then the university, the committee was welcomed by the Counselor of the

Ministry of Education (Maarif Vekaleti Müsteşarı) Köprülüzade Fuat and the university rector

(Darülfünun Emini) İsmail Hakkı Bey14

. Hungarian visitors mentioned “The necessity of


reinforcing the bonds between two brother nations” during this visit. In addition, the Principal

of Pest Business School, Professor Kokler, indicated that their reason for being in Turkey was

to develop the relations. Kokler also announced that their primary aim was to raise Hungarian

and Turkish students for economic studies; therefore, they would plan a student exchange

project for 20 students every year, and work hard for the realization of this project15

.

Being served ice cream at the Faculty of Law, the Hungarian visitors were hosted by

the governor (Raşit Bey) and the mayor (şehremini-Emin Bey) on the same day and were

given a tea banquet at their visit to the Provincial Hall16

. The guest group visited the

Hungarian Ambassador Tahy (Ladislas Tahy de Tahvar et Tarkeo) on July 917

.

The group of Hungarian academicians visited the dervish lodges around Üsküdar, the

Karacaahmet Cemetery and the Medical Faculty in Haydarpaşa on July 10.18

The next day,

they went to the Galata Mevlevihanesi (Lodge in Galata used by mevlevi dervishes) and

watched a “Mevlevi ritual” as written by the Cumhuriyet newspaper. Afterwards, a trip was

organized to Yedikule for a historical investigation and the same day they went to Eyüp Sultan

as well19

. On July 13, they went on a Bosphorus cruise by a private steamship20

. While the

investigations of the Hungarian guests continued, Darülfünun was enrolled in the preparations

for the banquet21

. On the same day, “the official opening of the re-established Hungarian

Embassy and flag hoisting ceremony” was organized in Istanbul and Hungarian professors

attended as well. One of the guest professors even mentioned in his speech “the value of the

Turkish-Hungarian brotherhood and that it was high time for Hungarians to collaborate with

their only brothers, Turks”. Moreover, in this speech, it was underlined that the victory of

Turks should serve as a model for the Hungarians22

.

The Hungarian committee was hosted at Pera Palace in a tea banquet by the Embassy

Baron Tahy on the night of July 13. In this banquet, there were representatives of the province

and the municipality as well. The next day, a similar organization was made for the guests by

the mayor in Tarabya Summer Palace. Therefore, another organization which brought together

the notables of the city with the guests again took place on the second day of the Greater Eid

between the dates 13-16 July 1924. In this atmosphere, one of the representatives of Pest

Business School, Kalenşil(?) (قالهنشيل), made a statement to the press about their prosperity for

their visit to Turkey and the hospitality they received in addition to the importance he gave to

Turkish-Hungarian friendship. In these days of the feast when sincere dialogues took place

between the parties, the majority of the Hungarian visitors –as had been proposed earlier- left


Istanbul by train on July 15. In the meantime, some of them continued with their investigation

trip23

.

In those days a small group among the visitors went to Bursa (probably on July 16-18)

and stayed for two days. Hosted at Türk Ocağı in Bursa, how the Hungarian visitors were

impressed by the hospitality was on the newspaper columns. Having given a concert at Türk

Ocağı, Jan Ban said, “Bursa is a very beautiful Turkish city. I especially enjoyed the streets

and the life style of the public. I was fascinated by the natural landscape. We had the honor of

being hosted by Turkish families in Bursa. The complements and sympathetic airs of Turkish

ladies caused addiction. What we saw is beyond all our imagination. I will return to Hungary

with profound memories” 24

.

A show was performed at Türk Ocağı on July 19 in honor of Hungarian professors

who stayed in Turkey and continued their investigation. Fethi Bey, Şükrü Naili Pasha, Mayor

Emin Bey and some members of the parliament who were in Istanbul watched this show

which consisted of “alla turca and European music”. In addition, “the pieces performed by a

distinguished orchestra25

” were listened to with admiration by the Hungarian guests. In the

program, Mefharet Hakkı Halit Hanım, who received admiration by singing an aria from the

opera Tosca, appeared in the show together with Cemal Reşit Bey26

, a young pianist. During

the organization, after the acknowledgements of the chairman of the Ocak, Selahattin Bey,

one of the Hungarian professors, Kunos, gave a speech27

.

As much as followed from the press, studies were carried out for the student exchange

project especially between İstanbul University and Pest University during this trip. Hungarian

professors conferred the subject with İsmail Hakkı Bey and reached a compromise on several

principles. This even resulted in an expectation of implementing this project in the year 1924.

One of the final conferences on this subject was held right before or after the performance in

Türk Ocağı -probably a few conferences on 16-19 July-28

. During the days of the trip, the

student exchange project was also interpreted in some newspapers. As a matter of fact,

Ahmet Emin [Yalman] mentioned this project in his column stating that this trip “constituted

an earnest image of the friendship and brotherhood between two nations” and then advocated

the student exchange project with the words “After the armistice, while Hungary is set on fire,

our Hungarian brothers find the time to think of Turkish students, which left our country in

appreciation”29

. On the other hand, Hungarian professors departed from Turkey on July 21

after the final contacts -corresponding to the explanation they made on the first day that they

would stay for 20 days-30

.


To make an overall assessment, the first years of the Republic were a period when the

Turkish-Hungarian convergence was experienced in different areas. In this period, there were

important progresses by means of the diplomatic relations between Turkey and Hungary31

and

collaboration in several areas from public works32

to education33

and art34

.

Foreign experts and scientists were invited to Turkey for several purposes such as

writing reports, improving folklore studies, organizing folklore collecting trips and founding a

public museum in this period. Therefore, it was not surprising for contacts at the academic

level within a widespread web of relations. As a matter of fact, Hungarian Turcologists such

as Ignacz Kunos, Bela Bartok and Gyula Meszaros were invited to Turkey to organize folklore

studies and founding folklore institutions and folklore museums. Kunos gave conferences in

Istanbul and Ankara with a group of Hungarian professors in 1925 and these trips continued

from 1925 to 193535

. The political intercourse of the year 1924 seems to have served as

preliminary in reaching to the eventual level of the Turkish-Hungarian relations. Without a

doubt, among the political intercourses of that year, the progress which provided the

establishment of the strongest bond was the Turkey trip of Hungarian professors in July. On

the other hand, the news of Istanbul newspapers showed the impact of this trip and how it was

interpreted by the Turkish camp. The approaches of the newspapers create the impression that

these intercourses were expected and given importance to by the Turkish camp. Furthermore,

hosting of the group of Hungarian professors generally by senior officials in Istanbul meant

both the significance of the committee and the intention and effort to develop relations with

Hungary. Consequently, this trip can readily be claimed to have seriously contributed to the

development of Turkish-Hungarian relations with its academic, social, and cultural

dimensions and to have formed a strong background for the subsequent relations.

1 Emre Dölen, Türkiye Üniversite Tarihi 1, Osmanlı Döneminde Darülfünun 1863-1922, İstanbul:

İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları 2009, pp:27-29,43-594; Ali Arslan, Türkiye’de Üniversite ve Siyaset,

İstanbul: Paraf Yayınları 2011, pp:1-91 2 In the early years of the Republic, one of the first student-based contacts of Istanbul University (İstanbul

Darülfünunu) was realized with Romania. This trip was one of the first contacts of the university in the new

period. Interestingly enough, the Ottoman University (Osmanlı Darülfünunu) organized one of their final trips

before the First World War to Romania as well. Eminalp Malkoç, “Cumhuriyet’in İlk Yıllarında Balkanlarla

Gayri Resmi Kültürel Temaslar: Darülfünun Öğrencilerinin Romanya Gezisi”, 7. Uluslararası Atatürk

Kongresi-Bildiriler, Skopje- Bitola 17-22 October 2011 (Paper in print); Eminalp Malkoç, “Büyük Savaş

Öncesi Üniversitelilerin Diyalog Örneği: Türk ve Romen Öğrencilerin 1914 Gezileri”, Türkoloji Kültürü,

Volume:4, No:8 Summer 2011 pp:109-123 3 Melek Çolak, “Atatürk Döneminde Kültürel, Siyasi ve Ekonomik Bakımdan Turkish-Hungarian İlişkileri

(1919-1938)”, Muğla Üniversitesi SBE Dergisi. Volume:1 No:2, Autumn 2000 p:66; Melek Çolak,


“Atatürk, Macarlar ve Türk Tarih Tezi”, Türkiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi. No:27, Spring 2010 pp:371-376.

The Hungarian scientists also expressed this approach during the 1924 trip, uttering their admiration to

Turkey’s success. 4 “Darülfünun’da Yeni Bir Kürsü”, Cumhuriyet, 23 June 1924, p:3

5 “Macarlarla Müderris Mübadelesi”, Cumhuriyet, 11 July 1924, p:4

6 Vatan wrote that the committee of 29 people would arrive in the morning of July 6 and be hosted at

Galatasaray High School. “Macar Heyeti”, Vatan, 6 July 1924, p:3. Vatan dated as July 9 would convey that

the purpose of the trip was “economic review”. “Macar Darülfünun Müderrisleri Şehrimizde”, Vatan, 9 July

1924, p:3 7 Cumhuriyet reported as news that around 30 Hungarian professors would come to Istanbul. “Macar

Profesörleri Bugün Geliyor”, Cumhuriyet, 6 July 1924, p:4; “Macar Profesörleri”, Vatan, 8 July 1924, p:3 8 Yusuf Behçet Gücer

9 Vatan mistakenly wrote at first that 9 of the visitors were women. “Macar Darülfünun Müderrisleri

Şehrimizde”, Vatan, 9 July 1924, p:3. Cumhuriyet wrote that the committee was welcomed by a group of 4

people in Sirkeci and by the representatives of the Police Force. Based on the newspaper, this reception was

executed in the names of the Provincial Administration, the Municipality (Şehremaneti), the Istanbul Agency

of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Hariciye Murahhaslığı), and Istanbul University. As narrated by

Cumhuriyet, six of the 29 people were women. “Macar Müderrisleri Geldi”, Cumhuriyet, 9 July 1924, p:2 10

“Macar Misafirlerimiz”, Cumhuriyet, 10 July 1924, p:1-2 11

Cumhuriyet named some of the people from the committee as Marki Ballo Barkey (or Ballobarki?)

Yuglan Şev (or Yuglanchev?) ,(لالوس فيلانيا) (?) Lalos Filanya ,(ايغناتيف قونوس) Ignacz Kunos ,(ماركىباللوباركى )

(?)Şandor Flayişli ,(مارغريت كهكهش) (?)Margeret Kekeş ,(دييووا قرودى) Diyva Krodi (Diyovakrodi?) ,(يوغلان شو)

(?)Lella Zimara ,(فيرونز بيرو) Fironez Byro (or Fironez Brev?) ,(لايوش غاردوش) (?)Layoş Gardoş ,(شاندور فلايشاى)

Macar“ .(ادره رادنايل) (?)and Adreh Radinil ,(لابوس اونله) Labos Evenleh (or Labos Onle?) ,(لهللا زيمارا)

Müderrisleri Geldi”, Cumhuriyet, 9 July 1924, p:2 12

Vatan announced Kokler as the chairman of the committtee. “Macar Darülfünun Müderrisleri Şehrimizde”,

Vatan, 9 July 1924, p:3. In its July 10 issue, Kunos was in the news as the chairman of the committee. “Macar

Profesörlerinin Dünki Ziyaretleri”, Vatan, 10 July 1924, p:1 13

“Macar Profesörleri”, Vatan, 8 July 1924, p:3; “Macar Darülfünun Müderrisleri Şehrimizde”, Vatan, 9

July 1924, p:3; “Macar Müderrisleri Geldi”, Cumhuriyet, 9 July 1924, p:2. Vatan, wrote on July 8 that a

group of 29 people from the vocational schools of Hungary having the degree of professorship arrived

together with the professors of Pest University. On the other hand, İkdam defined the 29 visitors as “Students

and professors with their families who are members of Hungary University and similar vocational schools”.

“Macar Heyeti”, İkdam, 10 July 1924, p:1 14

“Macar Misafirlerimiz”, Cumhuriyet, 10 July 1924, p:1-2 15

“Macar Profesörlerinin Dünki Ziyaretleri”, Vatan, 10 July 1924, p:1-2. Tevhid-i Efkar wrote more details

about the student exchange project. As it is narrated, Turkish students would stay with Hungarian families free

of charge and their needs would be met. Guides would be provided on the first days of the exchange for

Turkish students in Pest. Kokler was in favor of Hungarian students staying at schools like Galatasaray.

“Macar Darülfünun Müderrisleri Şehrimizde”, Tevhid-i Efkar, 10 July 1924, p:1 16

In fact the committee did consist of names familiar to Turkey. Kokler had worked in German schools in

Turkey. Pianist Jan Ban, who wanted to visit the music department of Darülelhan (conservatory), was

interested in Turkish music. One of the reputable names, Kunos, was an “Instructor of Turkish” in Hungary

who had been in Turkey before. Based on the similar information transmitted by the press, Kunos had made

friends with Ahmet Vefik Pasha, former Minister of Education (Maarif Nazırı) Münif Pasha, Recaizade

Ekrem and Necip Asım Bey. Having several works, Kunos was 63 years old at the time of his visit to Turkey

in 1924. Cumhuriyet wrote complements and dialogues which praised his academic aspect. Vatan also praised

Kunos a great deal besides giving information about his background. His year of birth was stated to be 1862.

In the newspapers, his speech that “Thirty five years ago I was sent abroad to Turkey to examine the Turkish

language. Since that time, my love for your beautiful country and my dear brothers has been gradually

growing. Turkish and Hungarian are very similar languages. Today, in Hungarian, there are approximately

four thousand old and new Turkish words…Well…As you already know, the Turkish we speak today is not

completely Turkish; it has been composed of Western Iranian and Turkish languages To give an

example,'enfiye‟ (snuff). This indeed has a Turkish equivalent. In Hungarian, we call this „burnet‟, its

Turkish is „burunotu‟… ” and his examples about language had widespread press coverage. During the

interview with the journalists, he asked Rıza Tevfik and upon the information he received, he used the

expression “He is quite a crazy man” in an ironic manner. In Tevhid-i Efkar, similar information was written.

Based on the newspaper, the 65-year-old Professor Kunos had stayed in Turkey for 5 years and had been


encouraged to study Turkish Folk Literature by Vambery. “Macar Misafirlerimiz”, Cumhuriyet, 10 July

1924, p:1-2; “Macar Profesörlerinin Dünki Ziyaretleri”, Vatan, 10 July 1924, p:1-2; “Macar Darülfünun

Müderrisleri Şehrimizde”, Tevhid-i Efkar, 10 July 1924, p:1 17

According to the İkdam newspaper, there were very reputable names in the group that visited the Hungarian

ambassador. “Macar Heyeti”, İkdam, 10 July 1924, p:1 18

“Macar Misafirlerimiz Tıb Fakültesinde”, Vatan, 11 July 1924, p:1 19

The newspaper reported as news that museums would be visited on July 12. “Macar Misafirlerimizin Dünki

Gezintileri”, Cumhuriyet, 12 July 1924, p:3 20

“Macar Misafirler Boğaziçi’nde”, Hilal-i Ahmer, 14 July 1924, p:3; “Macar Sefarethanesi’nin Resmi

Küşadı”, Hilal-i Ahmer, 15 July 1924, p:1 21

It is understood that there was a conflict especially about the location of the banquet. “Darülfünun’un

Macarlara Ziyafeti”, Cumhuriyet, 13 July 1924, p:3 22

The newspaper wrote the name of the professor to be Kardoş (قاردوش). It might conceivably be Kunos.

“Macar Sefarethanesi’nin Resmi Küşadı”, Hilal-i Ahmer, 15 July 1924, p:1. A few days after this banquet,

the Hungarian Tahy would go to Ankara on July 19. “Macar Sefiri Ankara’ya Gitdi”, Cumhuriyet, 20 July

1924, p:2. Based on Németh, the old kinship and the culturally-related feeling consciously expressed under

the slogan of Turanism with the word “brother” by Turks had a significant role in the formation of the

Turkish-Hungarian friendship. Melek Çolak, “Atatürk, Macarlar ve Türk Tarih Tezi”. pp:373-374 23

In those days, a tea banquet was decided to be given in honor of the Hungarian academicians in Türk Ocağı

“Macar Misafirler”, Vatan, 13 July 1924, p:3; “Macar Sefarethanesi’nin Resmi Küşadı”, Hilal-i Ahmer, 15

July 1924, p:1; Cumhuriyet, 17 July 1924, p:1. Starting on July 11, some very precise information was given

in Vatan newspaper about the banquet and its location in Tarabya. “Macar Misafirlerimiz Tıb Fakültesinde”,

Vatan, 11 July 1924, p:1 24

“Macar Misafirlerimiz”, Vatan, 20 July 1924, p:2 25

Five people from the Darüttalim Music Society (Darüttalim Musiki Cemiyeti). 26

Piano teacher at Darülelhan (The first conservatory of Turkey). İkdam wrote as Cemil Reşit while Tevhid-i

Efkar wrote as Cemal Reşit. 27

Kunos stated that he came to Turkey 40 years ago to learn Turkish and from that day on, he had tried to

indicate the value of Turkish with his works. “Macarlar Şerefine”, İkdam, 20 July 1924, p:1; “Macar

Misafirlerimize Türk Ocağında Dünki Tezahürat”, Tevhid-i Efkar, 20 July 1924, p:1 28

“Macar ve Almanlar ile Talebe Mübadelesi”, Cumhuriyet, 20 July 1924, p:4 29

Ahmed Emin, “Haftalık Tarihçe”, Vatan, 12 July 1924, p:1. In the beginning of July 1924, The Student

Union of Berlin University (Berlin Darülfünun Talebe Cemiyeti) applied to the Student Union of Istanbul

University (Darülfünun Talebe Cemiyeti) to offer an exchange of 20 students a year. They even invited a

research team to Germany to do research on this subject, offering to even cover the expenses. On Turkey’s

side, these offers were seriously taken into consideration. “Macar ve Almanlar ile Talebe Mübadelesi”,

Cumhuriyet, 20 July 1924, p:4. At Darülfünun, on the other hand, a regulation was made by a commission of

faculty deans in parallel with such offers. In this context, the regulation involved subjects such as student

selection and the opportunity for graduates of several faculties to go to Europe in order to improve their

knowledge. It was confirmed by the administrative committee of the university. “Avrupa’ya Talebe İzamı İçin

Talimatname”, Cumhuriyet, 20 July 1924, p:4 30

Only Németh, Fanutan(?) (فانوتان) and Misis İnci(?) (اينجى) stayed in Turkey. “Macar Misafirlerimiz”,

Vatan, 20 July 1924, p:2 31

Parallel to the issue of embassies which emerged after the signing of the Lausanne Treaty and the

capitalization of Ankara, some progress was achieved in favor of Turkish foreign affairs in the fall of 1924.

One of these, in an interview in mid-October 1924, was the statement of Hungarian embassy Ladislas Tahy de

Tahvar et Tarkeo, who came to Turkey in May 1924 to be one of the 16 representatives of foreign missions in

Istanbul, that he would go to Ankara through the end of the month and stay there since it was the capital city.

“Macar Sefirinin Gazetemize Beyanatı”, Cumhuriyet, 18 October 1924, p:5; Bilal N. Şimşir, Ankara…

Ankara, Bir Başkentin Doğuşu. Ankara: Bilgi Yayınevi 1988 p:340. As a matter of fact, the first secretary

of the Hungarian Embassy, Avzen Roskay, arrived in Ankara on July 1, 1924 to direct the renovation of

Dördüncü Vakıfevi, which would then be used as the Hungarian Embassy. “Macar Sefareti Başkatibi

Ankara’da”, Cumhuriyet, 2 July 1924, p:3. In the year 1927, Hungarian Ambassador Tahy gave a press

release that they started the work for the embassy building in Ankara. In fact, in that period, they had bought

Falih Rıfkı’s house for the embassy. “Memleketimizi Seven Sevimli Bir Diplomat”, Cumhuriyet, 19 March

1927, p:1,3 32

Hungarian engineers came to Ankara for work in the summer of 1924. “Macar Mühendisler İş Başında”,

Tevhid-i Efkar, 7 July 1924, p:2; “Macar Mühendisler”, Vatan, 9 July 1924, p:3. After a while, the drowning


of one of the three Hungarian engineers in Adana was on the news. “Macar Mühendislerden Biri Boğuldu”,

Cumhuriyet, 23 July 1924, p:5 33

Mithat Atabay, “Atatürk’ün Ankara’ya Davet Ettiği Macar Profesör Antal Réthly’nin Türkiye’deki

Çalışmaları”, Ankara Üniversitesi Türk İnkılap Tarihi Enstitüsü Atatürk Yolu Dergisi. No:29-30, May-

November 2002 pp:1-14; Melek Çolak, “Cumhuriyetin Kuruluş Yıllarında Türk-Eğitim Yaşamında Macar

Eğitimcilerin Yeri”, Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi Dergisi. Volume:20, No:58, March 2004 pp:231-244 34

A Hungarian sculptor came to Ankara in the summer of 1925 for the construction of Zafer Abidesi (Statue

of Victory). “Gazi Paşa’nın Heykeli Yapılmağa Başlanıyor”, Cumhuriyet, 15 June 1925, p:2 35

İlhan Başgöz-(Trans.) Serdar Uğurlu, “Türkiye’de Folklor Çalışmaları ve Milliyetçilik”, Turkish Studies.

Volume:6/3, Summer 2011 p:1540; Melek Çolak, “Atatürk Döneminde Kültürel, Siyasi ve Ekonomik

Bakımdan Turkish-Hungarian İlişkileri (1919-1938)”, p:69; Mithat Atabay, “Atatürk’ün Ankara’ya Davet

Ettiği Macar Profesör Antal Réthly’nin Türkiye’deki Çalışmaları”, pp:4-14. After the 1924 trip of the

professors, Hungarian university students visited Turkey, which would cause trouble to the university before

Ankara because of its consequences. The issue of dancing that came out with the visit of Hungarian students

as one of the few events that would cause Ankara to put the university under the scope. Emre Dölen, Türkiye

Üniversite Tarihi 2, Cumhuriyet Döneminde Osmanlı Darülfünunu 1922-1933, İstanbul: İstanbul Bilgi

Üniversitesi Yayınları 2010 pp:109-123

The Poet Opening the Gate for Fuzûlî:

Edirneli Şâhidî

Nazire Erbay *

Abstract

It is an acknowledged fact that fine arts occupy a leading

position in guiding the society, even in the formation of civilizations

and also in reflecting the pure image of the culture it springs from;

literature in particular. Mesnevis, divans, tezkires (collection of

biographies) etc. also bear significance in the promotion and formation

of classical literature; publicizing and describing classical poets and the

poetic style and method, manifesting the cultural diversity in Turkish

history and above all else in following the formation and development

process of Turkish literary history. In Turkish literature Gülşehrî is the

first name who wove Leylâ vü Mecnûn mesnevi within the context of a

symbolic tale in Anatolia in 1313 The first poet who treated the tale

within the context of a regular plot is 15th

century literary man Edirneli

Şâhidî. Edirneli Şâhidî has been listed by literature historians as

amongst the “Cem Poets”. The poet’s mesnevi includes 5660 couplets.

Edirneli Şâhidî not only stands out via his achievement of forming a

well-known Anatolian tale composed in an appreciated plot context but

also in his brilliant reflection of the perspective towards poets and

poetry in that specific age.

Poetry has gone through various changes till present day in terms of both form and

context. Poetics is a scientific branch that deals with all subjects related to poems. Poetics is

closer to philosophy if we take into account its aesthetical aspect rather than scientific quality.

* [email protected]


The common international subjects related to poetry are: Form of poem (meter, rhyme, verse

forms), poetic value of the forms, poetic structure, euphony, harmony and rhythmic issues,

poetic language, context (topic, meaning, images’ system, literary arts, themes) personal and

social character of poetry, source of poetry and after all the beauty, aesthetics of poetry. To

sum up, poetics displays the ability of poem to capture beauty and the position of poem in the

presence of its source, the reader and the critic.1

It is acknowledged that in Divan poetry there exist no specific studies on the art of

poetry; however certain poets in the preambles of their divans have allotted space to

discussions related to their own poetic approaches. Some poets even went so far as to narrate

poetic pieces and couplets. These exemplifications are far from being clear-cut demonstrations

of a blatant and neat poetic approach but rather they are the kind of works like laconic

epigram and piece of poetry that require explanations.2

It is obvious that during that age it was not meaningful to construct a poetic approach

reflecting a cliché perspective on a tradition with its own specific codes in essence. Indeed

poetics was mostly penned during the ages when subjective poetry approaches emerged. They

bear meaning in such periods since the poetics and poetry style of this divan poet who started

poetry by reflecting the antecedent poets is definite to a great extent. As stated hereby it is not

that meaningful to reword the rules of this poetic style admitted with no objection, adopted

and practiced by each poet; for instance it is not really necessary to remind once again that

poem is written through aruz (prosody) in couplets.3

Divan poetry reveals itself in didactic and moral texts reflecting the impacts of Islam

in the following periods. Subsequent to this period, particularly after the 15th

and 16th

centuries some original works were finally written by virtue of an artistic atmosphere which

started to find its unique identity gradually and even gained self-trust regardless of the limits

restricting its area. Although verse styles in these works were Arabic and Persian origin the

narration style, narrative features and next to all the cliché modes the brand new discourses

and images were all earliest igniters in the liberation and self-identification of divan poetry.

The most widespread critical approach towards Divan poets are directed to cliché

form, narration, language and imaging. Next to this critical approach, it can reasonably be

argued that periodically speaking, the poets who have dominated certain positions for long

and integrated in their works the cliché form and narrative styles of divan poetry also played

the role of a benchmark in leading and channeling a literature of centuries.

The Poet Opening the Gate for Fuzûlî: Edirneli Şâhidî 43

To illustrate in a similar manner, divan literature has been restricted with

approximately twenty topics which are not traces of life or nature but rather clichés of

subjective phantasms. These are the kind of topics that thousands of poets employ in the same

way just as one specific poet who aims to express his personal feelings. The originality of

Divan literature that receives the excitement of European authors is that it has the capacity to

re-express in thousands of ways such restricted and cliché topics and each great poet creates a

piece work not resembling to his predecessors. Such great numbers of differences have gained

Divan literature the kind of refinement not can be traced in any other country’s poetry. For

instance, the richness and originality of the imagination pertaining to the common similes

reflected through the symbolization of the lovers with rose and nightingale or Leylâ and

Mecnun draw attention greatly.4

Divan poetry, in order to trespass a definite turnaround within its own body and to

sustain the tradition referred presently, has achieved steps within itself though at a slow pace.

If not labeled as fantastic, Divan literature, as mentioned above too, stands before us a great

poetic asset. Without analyzing its principles or tasting its refinement it is not feasible to

create new poetic verses.5

Supporting all these claims, regardless of the alleged similarity in all Divan literature

mazmuns (allusions) (gazella-hunter, rose-nightingale), once the preambles of divan poets are

analyzed it shall be possible to unveil the original styles of each poet by examining the

employed language, syntax, allegory, inner music and image world.6

It should also be kept in mind that a literary work is the product of a specific thought

or fashion reflecting a certain period yet it is not possible to restrict a literary work with the

capacity to live and trespass through centuries till today within the explanations of one

specific age alone. This work is no longer at the disposal of its owner. It is no longer a matter

of significance whether the artist cares about our opinions on this piece of work which can

then be considered a public work. What matters is that this work is open to new

interpretations in all ages when human intelligence has a word to say.7

From this perspective what bears significance in a literary work is for sure to enable a

proper reading and analysis of the similes it contains and to explore through comparing with

its counterpart artists in addition to conducting the kinds of analyses and critics demonstrating

the literary value of the text.8

Considering the claim that divan poetry is a trailblazer in such poetic tradition and

possesses a subjective poetic value, Şâhidî’s Leylâ vü Mecnûn (Gülşen-i Uşşâk) mesnevi with


its 5660 couplets can be regarded as the largest and earliest piece of work written in Anatolia.

This work needs a poetic analysis since such a subject matter is a vanguard in Anatolia and

the poem includes in itself the clues regarding the poet and characteristics of words.

Acknowledged to be a primary sample of mesnevi in Anatolia bears additional significance

with respect to analyzing its mesnevi language, narration and style.

Regardless of the alleged impacts of Arabic-Persian culture on the work, the narrative

language and expression, images, above mentioned thoughts on the poet hidden amidst the

lines deserve analysis with respect to interpretations. The mentioned mesnevi has three

original copies the first of which is available in Paris Bibliothèque Nationale. The duplications

are distributed amongst Erzurum Seyfettin Özege Section, Agah Sırrı Levend Library; second

duplication in İstanbul Süleymaniye Library, Esad Efendi Section and the third one in İzmir

Dokuz Eylül University, Divinity School Library. The sample couplets given in present study

have been displayed with the numbers obtained upon the comparative analysis of the text

based on the plot of these three duplications.

The literary society that was formed during the Konya governorship of Cem Sultan

(1459-1495)- a striking figure in Ottoman history- occupies a distinctive position amidst all

the other literary circles. This society composed of poets such as Sa’di-i Cem, Sirozlu Kandi,

Sehayî, Haydar Çelebi, Lâ’li, Aynî, Şâhidî, Türâbî is named as “Cem Poets”-different from

their counterparts- on accounts of their tezkires.9 Cem poets Sirozlu Kandî, Lâ’lî, Sehâyî,

Sâ’dî and Haydar Çelebi had been on the same side with Cem Sultan during his throne

struggles and exile years. Cem’s mentor Türâbî and treasurer Şâhidî remained in Anatolia to

follow their own way. 10

In Sicill-i Osmânî archives, Şâhidî’s name is referred as Çelebi Şâhidî. The same

archive also notes that Şâhidî is from city of Edirne (1495-1496) and in year 901 he lost favor,

died and it is stated in the same source that the poet was engaged in poetry and formations.11

Based on this information on Şâhidî’s work it is possible to deduce below-given

assumptions on his thoughts regarding poem and poet:

Edirneli Şâhidî, in the introduction of his Leylâ vü Mecnûn (Gülşen-i Uşşâk) mesnevi

does not narrate his poetic views via a preamble which is common in certain divans; however

the poet, in the lines reflecting the traces of traditional poetry in an Islamic perspective, puts

effort to manifest the originality of his own poetry and narration. Within that context the poet

narrates the poem in the name of appropriateness and refinement; demonstrates his

perspective towards poetry and his original approach. Such attitude may seem to be an


ordinary discourse generalizing the whole divan poetry but in fact it bears significance in

terms of expressing a poetic approach pertaining to a tradition.

39 Çü zeyn ide duᶜâ nażm-ı niżâmın

Diye taḥsînile Cibril âmîn

It is also meaningful that Edirneli Şâhidî re-narrated story telling tradition- which is

common in Anatolia- via a famous Arabian love story within certain patterns of divan poetry.

In particular, the selection of a theme spurred by human love and trespassed to journey for

divine love including the codes for eternal love is striking since it corresponds to an age divan

poetry started to maturate. This significance is a step towards being a vanguard with a

selection of ballad poem theme. The language employed by Şâhidî, the selected type and

subject matter are meaningful since they were effective in drawing the social and literary way

of the ensuing names.

Şâhidî who is considered to be leading in terms of topic selection in the narration

tradition within Anatolia is at the same time a poet who laid the grounds of poetry principles

and poetics which were systematized to a certain extent by his successor Fuzûlî who was

inspired by him. The first reason accounting for this perspective is that it is a must poetry

consist of science. It is acknowledged that while describing poetry divan poets always related

it to science and regarded poetry as a branch of this discipline.12

Fuzûlî relates to this reality

with his explanation; “Poetry without science is like a wall without mortar and a wall without

mortar is indeed of no use. I have always believed that it is unfair that our poetry is not given a

scientific position hence I spent some of my life to the acquisition of spiritual and rational

sciences and to gain philosophical and geometrical knowledge. In an increasing speed, I

employed this knowledge to refine my poetry and by gaining information on hadith and

interpretations gradually I have realized that labeling the art of poetry as a condemned practice

simply indicates a lack of zeal.”13

Relevantly speaking it is witnessed in the lines of Edirneli Şâhidi -who had long

before Fuzûlî determined the guiding principles of poetry- that if poetry is intermingled with

science and knowledge then its readability and durability can be mentioned.

765 Ulûm u fen şiir içinde kâmil

Olupdı cemᶜ anda niçe fâżıl

Additionally the part Şâhidî emphasizes the significance of word is “Sebeb-i Telif”

section of mesnevi. Here the poet refers to the utmost significance of speech for him and to

attain refinements, good speech or in other words the way to narrate good poetry he adds that


poetry needs to be short but to the point and in depth. He also frequently mentions the

importance he attributes to meaning in poetry.

709 Nitekim ġonce keşf itmek içün râz

Meᶜâni gülşeninde ol dehen-bâz

710 Hevâ bezminde ehl-i râzı söyle

Sözi çoġ itme çoġı az söyle

4702 Meᶜâni küncini açarken beyânuñ

Bedâyiᶜ sırrını dirken zebânuñ

Indeed Şâhidî -who expresses his modeling of Şeyhî and Nizâmî- defines and

describes in his lines-though indirectly- the kind of poetic style he appreciates or considers

necessary in terms of expression, meaning and form:

696 Ṭutar şîrîn sözüñ ᶜuşşâḳ-ı ḥürrem

İder her ḳavlüñe taḥsin-i ᶜâlem

697 Virürsin ṣanᶜatıyla şiᶜre revnaḳ

Sözüñdir naẓm-ı terde siḥr-i muṭlaḳ

698 Ḳaṣîdeñdür meᶜânîyden mülemmaᶜ

Ṣınâyiᶜ cevherindendür muraṣṣaᶜ

699 Ḥayâl-i ḥûb alub her güzelden

Niçe ebyât yazarsın ġazelden

701 Ola gevher bigi ger ḥûb u manẓar

Hüner dimez beş on beyte hüner ver

703 Meᶜânîden aḳıt âb u revânı

Ki ide şekl-i bedîᶜi tâze cânı

Şâhidî believes that poetic language needs to be distinguished as well. According to

him, the poetic language must be greatly distinguished, simple and different from daily speech

or the ordinary speech in other terms.


768 Dili âyîne-i ᶜilm-i ilâhî

Sözi dürr-i hilâl-i tâc-ı şâhî

In Divan literature both the biographers and poets agree upon a common mazmun

(allusion) while stating their views on poetry. In this mazmun, thought is a sea. Just like April

rains, inspiration falls onto an oyster where pearls of meaning emerge. These pearls are taken

to sea surface by divers (gavvas). Hereby the diver is symbolized by poet. In short thought

transforms meaning into word.14

Likewise Şâhidî in his mesnevi expresses his ideas on the

great impact of poem. He argues that the power of impact must be high in a poem. Such belief

brings with itself the necessity to be eternal, unreachable and uniqueness in an ocean of

meaning which also relates to the depth of meaning in poetry. If the word- or poetry- is

ordinary it makes one embarrassed but whenever it is distinguished and impressive then it

makes one happy and blessed.

40 Göñül dürcinde olan cevher-i ḫâṣṣ

Dizülsün ey hevâ baḥrinde ġavvâṣ

4431 Söziñ ger süst ola vü ger ola saḫt

Nedâmetden irer dil evine raḫt

4432 Eger süst ola ayırur melâmet

Ve ger saḫt ola yüz dutar ḫacâlet

4704 Dilüñdür çün hevâ bezminde raḳḳâṣ

Meᶜârif baḥrına ḳıl ânı ġavvaṣ

Edirneli Şâhidî claims that while composing poetry a poet must integrate elements

such as sincerity, earnestness, refinement and intelligence and employ a convincing language.

184 Özini pertev-i ᶜaşḳıyla taᶜyîn

Sözini zîver-i ṣıdḳıla tezyîn

186 Çün isbât eyledi iᶜcâzla ol

Sözi cân bigi dilde oldı maḳbûl

In addition to the poetic opinions he expresses in his mesnevi, Şâhidî by taking

Nizâmî and Şeyhî as models and reflecting their effect in his works also underlines his skills

in mesnevi writing. This may be indicating the slight possibility that “if I have taken, stolen


my mystery from mesnevi then it means I have stolen an anonymous good” critical approach

attributed to Şeyh Galip might actually have been initiated with Şâhidî.

1967 Hevâ devrinde it ṣâḥib ḳırânlıḳ

Heves ḫaylinde göstere pehlivânlıḳ

1968 Niẓâmî gibi naẓmı ḥûb eyle

Sözi Ḫüsrev ü gibi Şîrîn söyle

1970 Ki iden şevḳile ol şîrînligi yâd

Dem urur mihr-i ẕevḳinde çü Ferhâd

The attitude displayed in Şâhidî’s mesnevi emphasizes the significance of word. The

couplets in mesnevi partially reflect his stance towards the vocal aspect of word. This attitude

is related to the opportunities contained in traditional poetry narration. This narration style

seems to be too embellished yet it addresses to hearing as much as seeing.

373 Bihâr-ı ᶜışḳuñ istiġrâḳiyçün

Buḫâr-ı ḫirḳatüñ iḫrâḳiyçün

374 Ġarîb olanlaruñ kerbi ḥaḳḳiyçün

Ḳarîb olanlaruñ ḳurbı ḥaḳḳiyçün

375 Mecâẕ-ı şevḳile ṣâdıḳlariyçün

Ḫaḳîḳî ᶜaşḳıla ᶜâşıḳlariyçün

376 Muḥabbetle ṣürilen rûz ḥaḳḳı

Meşaḳḳatle görilen söz ḥaḳḳı

Based on Şâhidî’s couplets, in addition to above mentioned claims, it can be

concluded that the meaning of poetry must be unique and in depth. Regardless of the claim

that there are similarities parallel to a considerable number of divan poets the idea supporting

that the word needs to be as unique as a pearl can be considered as a poetic approach specific

to the art of poetry once again. In his mesnevi Şâhidî- even in any kind of approach related to

his heroes- expresses the necessity of words and poem to be refined; attractive, informative

and distinguished.

574 Dil ü cân bülbül olub nevâ-sâz


Meᶜânî gülşeninde ura pervâz

684 Göñülden dürc-i fikrüñ mihrini aç

Alub cevherlerini ᶜâleme sâç

1817 Daḫi Leylî idi ᶜayn-ı melâḥat

Sözi naẓmında var idi feṣâḥat

3913 Dil almasınla söz naẓmında güher

Dilin bu resme olur hüner-ver

While narrating his ideas Şâhidi in some couplets relates to the necessity of unveiling

meaning in poetry and uncovering all the hidden secrets. With such attitude the poet also

demonstrates that not all the statements in divan poetry all are products of imagination; they

might relate to life itself and personal feelings as well. Art in poetry is not out of the blue;

artistic expression is employed to uncover the meaning and refine the narration.

1764 Ṣanâyiᶜ gösterüb taḥrîr eyle

Meᶜâni levḥine taṣvîr eyle

The poet advocates that if poetry is to be employed to express the beauty of words, the

word is required to be selective.

712 Sözinüñ dürlerini âbdâr it

Bu bâdiyle cihânı müşk-bâr it

2664 Dil elmasınla ḥakkâk-ı süḫan-ver

Bu resme deldi söz naẓmında cevher

2723 Bu naẓm-ı terde ṣarrâf-ı suḥan-senc

Cevâhirden bu resme baġladı künc

3914 Hüner ehli neden dîvâne olmaḳ

Füsûs-ı ᶜaşḳıla mestâne olmaḳ

3915 Sözüñ dürrinde kim vardur leṭâfet

Ne içün olasın ḥûr u melâmet


3916 Belâġat nüktesin naẓmıñda bildüñ

Neden dîvâneliġi pîşe ḳılduñ

3917 Söziñden ẓâhir olan sırrı ḥaḳdur

Ki her bir ḥarf bigi câne sebaḳdur

Based on the verses of Edirneli Şâhidî whom we deemed to be appropriate to restrict

with certain samples it would be feasible to arrive such conclusions: With respect to Turkish

literary history Edirneli Şâhidî is a major personality not only by virtue of penning the earliest

and largest Leylâ vü Mecnûn mesnevi in Anatolia but also on accounts of being the first poet

ever who reflected on his mesnevi the poetry approach of a period that became increasingly

classical. In conclusion, to be able to mention Fuzûlî reality that literary historians positions to

a high rank and even to bless the great poetic genius of Fuzûli, it is a prerequisite to be

familiar with the preliminary grounds.

1 Orhan Okay, Art and Literature Letters, İstanbul Dergah Yayınları , 2011, p. 38.

2 Orhan Okay, Poetics Courses , Ankara: Hece Yayınları, 2004, p. 19-21.

3 Menderes Coşkun, “On the Poetics of Classical Turkish Poetry”, Bilig, Winter 2011, p. 56.- p. 58.

4 Peyami Safa, Art-Literature-Critics, İstanbul: Ötüken Yayınları 1985,p. 292.

5 Orhan Okay, Poetics Courses, p. 55.

6 Victoria Holbrook, “Post-Classical Image- Oceanic Consciousness”, Society and Science, Fall 1996, p.72,pp.

199-211. 7 Orhan Okay, Art and Literature Letters,p. 95.

8 Okay, Art and Literature Letters, p. 93.

9 Mustafa İsen, “Cem Poets - A Voice from Far Away”, Essays on Divan Literature and Turkish Literature in

Balkans, Ankara :Akçağ Yayınları, 1997, p. 165. 10

Osman Horata, “Cem Poets”, History of Turkish Literature 2, Turkish Republic Ministry of Culture and

Tourism Press, İstanbul 2006, p. 91. 11

Mehmet Süreyya, Sicill-i Osmânî- 5, istanbul: Tarih Vakfı Yurt Yayınları (Edited by: Nuri Akbayar), 1996, p.

1559. 12

Abdülkâdir Erkal, Divân Poetry Poetics (17th century), Ankara Birleşik Yayınlar 2009, p. 70. 13

M. Nur Doğan, Fuzulî’s Poetics, , İstanbul : Kitabevi 1997, p. 92. 14

Erkal, Divân Poetry p. 69.

The Use of Verbal Language

in Social Media in Turkey

Hüseyin Çelik*

Abstract

In recent years, the improvement of the new communication

technologies has made it necessary to return the focus on verbal culture.

In the messages transmitted in the social media which developed within

the internet, the irregular and false use of Turkish is remarkable together

with meaningless structures generated because of using English and

Turkish simultaneously. This condition results in a different language

which is not suitable for literacy. This article aims to extensively

examine this structure of verbal culture which is newly generated due to

the internet and demonstrate the contemporary transformations of the

Turkish language.

1. The Concept of Language and New Communication Technologies

The head spinning development of the new communication technologies in the last

twenty years has made it necessary to review the usage navigation of language. Language has

continued to be the means for social change and transformation, the most powerful surface of

transmission, and the place for the configuration of words since its existence. Writing and the

following period of literacy has enabled people to realize new transformations. At the time

before literacy, the most common way of communication had been verbal culture. The stories

told among people belong to a culture which has been generated by filtering from several

struggles. It involves people’s collections, their forming of something new by shaping these

collections, and their effort to pass it on to the next generation. History shaped by culture,

heroic tales, religion, philosophy, ethics and emotional accumulation are all told through

* Arel University, İstanbul. [email protected]


stories. People have made strong bonds, started to come over their fears, started to combine

imagination with reality by means of stories in verbal culture. Language is the most important

ingredient, way, and strategy of verbal culture. That is why the notion of language should be

deliberated.

Language is the power that persuades people towards a communicative act. With their

existence people have formed their voices with certain rules in order to transmit their thoughts

and actions, therefore generating their natural language. In order to communicate with other

people, only attitudes and behaviors were not sufficient enough; thus, they proceeded through

a more efficient act of communication via sounds. People learned to shape their self-

communication, exchange information with the society, and express their manners with the

help of language.

Language is not only a sequence of figures but also a medium involving tradition

where we feel and acquire our existence. Thus, language which provides communication in

the society is not only the sign of the existence of a community speaking that language. At the

same time, it is the constructor, exhilarator, and the transmitter and product of the unique

culture that is inherited from generation to generation in that society. Language is a form of

human culture. It is both a means that creates culture and the product of this culture1. It is a

traditional and cultural world of meaning that we inherit. Every society can pronounce life and

communicate with their existence by virtue of their language. They can construct their

existence by means of language2.

The significance and inevitability of language in communicative competence is an

undeniable fact. Hence, people have always wanted to develop language within a frame of

rules for the purpose of expressive communication and leave it to later generations. The more

efficiently a language is organized with all its conditions, the more successful communicative

communication becomes.

Development of language has been accomplished with the help of literacy. However,

the generated written culture and several other conditions have weakened the impact of verbal

culture. Walter J. Ong divided verbal culture into two as primary and secondary periods of

verbal culture3. Primary verbal culture involves cultures whose communication is formed by

only the vernacular and which are not aware of the concepts of writing and printing.

Secondary verbal culture, on the other hand, consists of telephone, radio, television, and other

electronic appliances which entered our lives with today’s technology because their “verbal”

The Use of Verbal Language in Social Media in Turkey 55

quality, production, and functions first come from writing and text and then are transformed to

colloquial language4. The quality of this new verbal culture is considerably different than the

written culture formed by literate people.

This article aims to examine the differences of the secondary verbal culture from the

primary verbal culture as determined by Ong. Accordingly, the new verbal culture which

generated in the context of new communication devices shows itself most deliberately in the

social media on the internet. It is deliberately observed that this new form of culture which

shows important development diverges from the traditional verbal culture in many ways.

Several examples are given in order to show this difference. The transformations of the

Turkish language are intended to be demonstrated by comparing the “secondary verbal

culture” formed by the new communication technologies and concepts of verbal culture which

Ong indicates as “Psychodynamics of Verbal Culture”. Furthermore, the structure of the

language of messages transmitted in the social media is studied. For this purpose, a qualitative

research pattern is used. Several conclusions have been drawn by unfolding the differences

among the examples of the Primary verbal culture period and the Secondary verbal culture

period of the Turkish language. First and foremost, verbal culture should be held under a

microscope to be examined by means of mass communication devices.

2. The Evolution of Verbal Culture and Mass Communication Devices

It is not necessary to learn anything new in orality. Moreover, there is no need for

hurry. Inevitably, everything is learned by time. This, in a way, is like jazz. The members of

the jazz band already know what they will play when they appear on stage. With years of

experience, music is interpreted again by changing some of its parts in an improvisational

manner. While doing this, they do not have to remember every detail exactly. This way, the

audience has to evaluate the new interpretations with the previous ones. This situation

reminds of the verbal confrontation of minstrels in an Anatolian village. They aim for

surpassing the other verbally while struggling. In this struggle, minstrels are on top of their

virtuosity.

Verbal culture seems to be related to the ear. However, mimicry, costumed plays,

theatrical expression, in short, everything with visual dimension is related to verbal culture.

When the eye is in action, first books come, then cinema and television, and finally,

computers follow. The eye experienced in verbal culture functions as complementary to this


culture. In this regard, when the eye meets something new, it recalls what it has seen before; in

addition, it not only remembers what it read but also what it heard. It tries to comprehend the

new with its experience. Since the new communication devices and printed discourse depend

on the functions of vision and variations of its manners, orality has been made inflexible and

frozen besides being come down to diagrams, graphics, curves, and statistical representations

with the frequent use of these devices. These representations cause the assumption of an

empowered precision, existence, and moment by making discourse a technical object5.

Today, the effect of electronic devices on verbal development has been widely

discussed. Entering the verbal area is learned at age two or three which is the period in the life

of a juvenile before he becomes literate. Until school age, in other words, a few years spent

before literacy is the time span during the juvenile’s experience of the world and his/her inner

world. After the Medieval Age, discourse and literacy started to separate from each other, with

literacy gaining more significance. Therefore, verbalization did not function anymore and

people saw that literate individuals who could read and write permanent things like texts were

one step ahead of others. With the proliferation of literacy, ideas of enlightenment were

generated and they reached our day.

The media neither expresses verbal nor written culture. Mass communication devices

are rather far from verbal culture since interruption, discussion, asking questions, repetition,

and people getting out of control and reorganizing create the essence of orality. During

conversation, attendees can break the rules but prohibitions are always in the background.

Radio and television present us a message in a package. The images on television move along

much more rapidly than young brains can realize and analyze them6. Due to this reason,

television is in no way connected to reality, which causes their imagination to die down7. That

is why the issue of the bringing of discourse back by mass communication devices is

discussed.

The structure of culture shaped by the alphabet has started to change its form with

computers. The controllers of the education system depend on computers in order to solve the

problem of illiteracy, which draws them away from the traditional learning systems. For

instance, there is a decline in the percentage of reading books. In the research conducted by

the Ministry of Education in the U.S.A., the literacy rates were below the medium to be 13.8%

in 20038.

The duplication of texts with several computer programs is considered to be an

advantage together with easy and widespread access. Nevertheless, degrading language to this


kind of “communication” where it gains an instrumental form means trivializing and

commoditizing the culture that humans have been generating for thousands of years. Thus, a

person who has formal education turns out not to have read much after graduation. Only

people who go through an instructional learning phase can expertise in a field. The “ball of

works” created by human culture is imprisoned in a single area of human skill. Hence, people

cannot benefit from all human knowledge and skills earned by culture, being deprived of a

vast activity of thought.

In a computerized culture, behaviors have become in correspondence with computer

language. In the logic of computers, dimension is associated with yes/no structure. The

solutions of complex problems are simple options9. That is why the human being who has

created the computer logic is drifted to think in terms of the simple yes/no logic formed by the

computer.

Literacy is one of the most significant elements in the generating of civilization

because it presents a rule based, in other words, a disciplined learning frame. Thus, people

give direction to their behaviors with the help of rules and this helps the formation of their

character. As a result of the cooperation between grammar and morphology formed by written

culture (i.e. between rules and content), expressing oneself with rules is achieved. today,

written culture has been going through a metamorphosis due to computers. Text is blurring the

space by digitization. It does not exist on the page of a book anymore. ın addition, it is

removed from its cultural context by being torn from where it really belongs to by several

techniques.

The rich verbal culture has met the communication needs of people for years with its

ear-pleasing structure. Today, it continues to exist in patches. Traditions of verbal culture have

deeply affected the Turkish culture. For years, the communication mode of the people of

Anatolia has depended on verbal culture.

3. The Turkish Language and Social Media

With the emergence of various computer software, human beings have possessed a

device with which they can immediately and effectively spread their experience and thoughts

to millions of people. They now try to communicate with familiar or unfamiliar people with

the help of a huge virtual environment called the internet instead of slower and less effective

interpersonal communication methods. Therefore, people have found an opportunity to


transmit their thoughts, experiences, and messages to a wider community and to reach others’

at different levels.

On the websites configured as social networking internet sites and shortly called as the

social media, the texts, pictures and images used put forward the interest of the human being

in verbal information which is known to exist from the past to the present. Humans developed

the written culture and reached a certain development level until the 21st century while

constantly involving in verbal culture. Such harmony of the opportunities on the internet with

verbal culture is one of the reasons for the appeal of the internet.

People’s exhibitionistic demonstration of their emotions, texts, pictures, of what they

ear-witnessed and eye-witnessed by means of computers and the availability of this execution

in the virtual world rather than in social life are remarkable. As people digitize diaries and

transform texts beyond literal and normal texts to hypertexts, the structure of the text gains a

quality that keeps its distance to original texts. For instance, sentence structure changes with

the expressions like “slm, nbr, nslsın, hg, tşk, kib, iim, msn’dym, tklyrm”, transforming the

planning skills, calculating skills, and memory skills of humans who transmit their plans and

lives to a machine.

In recent years, social networking sites which emerged with several formats and

opportunities have continued to attract people widely. For instance, although the aims and

contents of websites like youtube, facebook and twitter are different; their aim is usually social

networking. With the removal of the barriers in media production, everybody becoming a

cameraman, electronically sending and broadcasting the images they take with the help of the

mobile phone cause the person to be a “virtual and stand-alone” media.

As Ong indicates, verbal culture should find a new place for itself in the digitized

culture by metamorphosis and develop in this setting. In this aspect, the most important

feature of verbal culture is its lack of text. When the qualities of texts formed by verbal

culture are compared with the language which emerged with digitized culture, the following

issues are put forth:

In verbal culture, the articulated style of expression is dominant. Simple sentences are

joined by various connectors. There is neither a detailed discourse nor complex grammar rules

because rules are out of context. Today, in social media, choppy sentences are preferred in

Turkish. In messages, irregular structure dominates. For example, affixes are misused. In the

mails on the internet, the conjunctions “de, da, ya da, ki” are used contiguously.


In verbal culture, several patterns are used in reinforcing memory10

. Descriptive words

are used to express verbal thoughts. For instance, with nicknames and several adjectives, the

quality of a phenomenon is expressed. In the Turkish verbal culture, these clusters are

frequently encountered. Objects are described with basic adjectives such as the description of

people by the clusters “akça kızlar” (pretty girls) and “koç yiğitler” (brave boys) in a poem by

the Turkish minstrel Karacaoğlan.

Today it is observed that adjectives or names are used in an ornamented and

exaggerated manner in the social media such as “güzeller” (the pretties), “kankalar” (buddies),

and “deliler” (the mads). Repetition and ornamentation to express something in verbal culture

reinforce recalling it later. In rhetoric, words are consumed in a fruitful and exaggerative

manner11

. Also named as the art of oratory, in rhetoric one should impress and convince

people. Yet, it is difficult to encounter examples of the art of oratory among the words in the

social media. Sentences are short and simple, without any purpose of impressing people. What

is important is to seize the moment and send messages.

In the traditional verbal culture, the conceptualized information is trapped in traditions

to prevent its extinction. Thus, information passes on to the following generations. In the

social media, information is transmitted via electronic script and symbols in the messages.

Similarly, in the West, the old, voiced mental structure did not disappear in a moment with the

invention of writing but gradually changed with the invention of the printing press and the

supervision facilities of information and memory12

. These changes finally penetrated into the

internet. Information is momentarily transmitted in the social media. There is neither a

cultural frame nor qualities around the information. In addition, symbols are used beside the

text in messages sent via the social media. For instance, small images describing several

human emotions such as laughing, feeling angry or surprised appears on their own or between

the lines.

In verbal culture, depending on human life, information has to verbalize and

conceptualize the foreign and objective world within the frame of familiar human contact13

. In

other words, verbal culture is in accordance with human life. For example, in order to learn

something, the education is given through the mentor system, without referring to books. The

messages sent in the social media reflect a mechanized cultural structure. Messages such as

“aynı partlar elimde yoktur” (I don’t have the same parts), “qimse çocuğun üzerine gitmesin

agresif press-over olmasın su enteresan topicte” (nobody should give a hard time to the boy

he shouldn’t be aggressive and press-over about this interesting topic) are examples to the use


of computer language in the social media. For example, in this sentence, the mixed

expressions from both Turkish and English and inverted sentence structure draw attention.

Most verbal actions dependent on or bearing trace of verbal tradition, differ from

literacy with their contentious manner. Bodily behaviors and physical violence are particular

to verbal culture. Swearing, name-calling, and strict polarizations like good-bad, virtuous-

virtueless, traitor-hero are more explicit in verbal culture. Here, language receives a combatant

manner in order to reflect what happens in human life. In verbal culture, the constant

superiority race among heroes results from this property of verbal mental phases, not from an

aggressive or romantic life style14

. In the social media, the same unfavorable behaviors are

encountered. In the messages, although this is controlled electronically or by administrators,

computerized attacks have been increasing. However, the interesting point is that the attackers

and victims do not know one another.

Text not only differentiates the known from the unknown, but also aims to make the

information “objective” by removing it from personal perception15

. Hence, information gains

freedom by avoiding human monopoly. In verbal culture, there are no boundaries between the

listener who narrates a myth and an imaginary hero. The plot, listener, and narrator somehow

identify with one another. In written culture, as legends and myths are transformed into

modern literature, the purpose is to maintain both literature and culture. Turks have succeeded

in maintaining their language with the help of verbal culture. However, today, this cultural

structure is speedily transforming16

.

In verbal culture, the constant equilibrium of the setting is to be at stake. Since out-

dated recollections are easily removed from memory, the balance of the moment is not readily

disturbed for the verbal society17

. In the structure of written culture, this balance is impaired

as information is recorded and passed onto the following generations. In verbal culture, the

focus is on seizing the moment. There is no structure formed by the past. In verbal culture,

words are uttered and then forgotten. In the social media, the most important feature of verbal

culture, seizing the moment is the point. It is not permanent like written culture.

Since verbal cultures use notions based on the situation within the frame of functional

relation and this frame stands close to human life, the abstractness of the notions is at the

minimum level18

. In verbal culture, tangible phenomena are much more significant. Notions

are used not virtually or stylistically, but functionally and depending on the situation19

. For

instance, people who are shown the shape of a circle will materialize it as a plate since for

them, opinions beyond functional thought are of no significance, besides being boring and


non-functional20

. Verbal cultures are not interested in geometrical figures resulting from text-

shaped opinion, abstract categories, stereotyped logical examination periods, definitions, even

detailed descriptions or exquisite ego analysis21

. Contrary to verbal culture ruled by concrete

life, the abstract structure of the social media is interesting. Despite the reality of people, the

vagueness of time and space strengthen this abstract structure.

Illiterate people do not use deduction much22

. Due to this reason, they do not move

from the general to the specific. Nobody is interested in the general. What is important is the

experienced things. Since the reality of what is encountered in the secondary verbal structure

is under suspect, it diverges from verbal culture in which concrete phenomena is examined.

In the social media, the definition of “toprak” is as follows: “Topraq askerde ayni

$ehir ya da uc a$$agi be$ yukari civar $ehirlerden gelen er ve erba$larin birbirlerine

kullandiklari hitap $ekli”. (Topraq is a way of addressing among soldiers or privates who

come from neighboring cities in military service). In this way, a structure is formed by words

and letters against the grammar rules in Turkish. With this feature, it diverges from verbal

cultural structure. As above mentioned, the letters w, q, x, used in English and symbols like $

are used in messages. In addition to this, words of English origin like “bye, from, ok, pls, pc,

tnx: thanks” are frequently used such as “pls asl-Please age, sex, loacation-lütfen yaş cinsiyet

bölge”, “bradır-erkek kardeş”, “F.M-female-male-kız-erkek”, “hand-have-nice day-iyi

günler”23

.

In messaging in the social media, Turkish haplology and elision are encountered such

as “bişi-bir şey (something), 1 dakka- bir dakika (one moment), 1 şey-bir şey, brz-biraz (a

little), cvp-cevap (answer), efem, efendim (sir/well/sorry), gzl-güzel (nice), hşçkl-hoşçakal

(good bye), 2miz-ikimiz (2 of us), ktrl-kontör (unit), izm-İzmir (Smyrna), msj-mesaj(message),

nbr- ne haber (howdy?)”24

.

In the messages, there are expressions without vowels like “Cvp-cevap, tmm-tamam, ,

smd-şimdi, gb-gibi, kdr-kadar, drs-ders, hyr-hayır, and snr grşrz-sonra görüşürüz”25

. Besides,

there are expressions without the use of consonants as well: “ii-iyi, özlüorm-özlüyorum, olum-

oğlun, öle-öyle, hatılamak-hatırlamak, diosam-diyorsam”26

. Phrasal verbs are worth

mentioning, too, like “k.i.b.-kendine iyi bak” (take care of yourself), “tşk-teşekkür ederim”

(thank you), “Noldu-ne oldu” (What happened?)27

. Sometimes, there are differences in

spelling such as “yüsünden-yüzünden, sisde-sizde, tikat-dikkat, bis-biz, güsel-güzel, efet-

evet”28

. Especially in short messages, there are voice changes like “bij-biz”, “çaar-çağır”,

“reca-rica”, “saten-zate”29

. In the messages, elements of colloquial language are common;


for example “güsel olur walla yaa, ne diyon yaw, ii be kanka senden nbr, yuvarlanıoz denir

yaa, nbr lan”30

. The repetition of certain words for the purpose of emphasis is also frequently

encountered such as “Hayırrrrrrrrrrrr” (Noooooooooo), “hımmmmmmmm” (Wellllll,),

“heeeeeeeyyyyyy”, “neeeeeeee” (Whatttttt), “eeeeeeevet” (Yesssss), “haaaaaaarika”

(Woooonderful)31

. In the messages, prepositions are either shortened or changed like “Böle-

böyle”, “hps-hepsi”, “n-ne”, “yni-yani”32

.

There are also structures against Turkish grammar rules. Capital letters are

used together with small letters in the spelling of words like “valla sagol BEN KAÇIOM”,

“HEMEN geLİYOM, Telefonu AÇ”. Compound and separate words are misused such as

“bikere, bşi-bir şey, Kız nededı”33

.

4. Conclusion

Since the new communication devices started using information, new problems

have emerged as well as new opportunities. With the internet, a new setting of verbal culture

has come to the scene. This new setting is quite different from both traditional verbal culture

and written culture.

People have communicated with the help of language and formed a cultural setting

whose words and manners are to be passed on from generation to generation within the

community. Literacy has greatly affected the development of language. Culture has made

orality permanent with certain rules of writing and its disciplined structure. Today, literacy has

lost its importance and people have been face to face with a cultural setting similar to verbal

culture which is the first requirement of a language. Therefore, the study of the new form of

language which generated with help of new technological devices has become necessary.

Used in the transmission of culture to large masses, the media has generated a

one-way communication flow until today. The setting of communication started with the new

communication devices differs from the traditional media with its interactionist character. For

instance, with the internet, an indigenous computer language emerged. This computer

language is like neither traditional verbal culture nor written culture. In this new setting called

as the internet culture, the use of language changes with differing expressions. This new type

of language is used in the communication medium of the internet called social media.

The articulated and irregular structure of verbal culture is valid in this new culture,

too. Several adjectives that are used in verbal culture are sparingly and inelaborately used in

the social media. In verbal culture, information is transmitted to the following generations


with the help of traditions. In the social media on the internet, the use of information applies

to the particular moment and there is no concern for future use.

Verbal culture is in accordance with human life and nature. On the other hand, social

media stands for a computerized cultural structure. Several strict polarizations in verbal

culture are more explicit. In the social media generated by the internet, this polarization is

more ambiguous.

In verbal culture abstractness is at the minimum level. However, in the social media,

communication takes place in an abstract setting. Although people are real, time and space are

almost indefinite. Situations contrary to the rules of language emerged with the new

communication devices. For instance, irregular words and letters are used in messages.

Distorted words and letters in English are used in a confusing and meaningless manner. In

these messages, there are expressions without the use of vowels or consonants besides

haplology and elision. Several sentences are used just by writing the initials. Moreover, letters

of words are changed. There are also sentences belonging to colloquial language and words

changed for emphasis.

All these changes experienced in communication technologies have decreased the

effect of literacy which was formed by writing. Messages transmitted in this medium are

meaningless and superfluous. Transformations of the language negatively affect and spoil the

written culture. Therefore, the social media setting should be focused on more, without

ignoring the significance of academic studies in this aspect.

1 Aliye Çınar, Modern Batı Düşüncesinde Dilin Kökeni Olarak Ontolojik Farklılık Sorunu, Uludağ Universitesi.

İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, Cilt: 16, N: 1, 2007 p: 200. 2 ibid., p.,201.

3 Walter J. Ong, Sözlü ve Yazılı Kültür: Sözün Teknolojileşmesi. Trans.: Sema Postacıoğlu Banon, İstanbul,

Metis Yayınları. 1999. p.22-23. 4 ibid., p., 23-24.

5 Eser Köker, Kitapta Kurutulmuş Çiçekler yada Sözlü Kültür Üzerinde Düşünmek, Ankara, Dipnot

Yayınları, 2005, pp., 60-61. 6 Barry Sanders, Öküzün A’sı: Elektronik Çağda Yazılı Kültürün Çöküşü ve Şiddetin Yükselişi, İstanbul,

Ayrıntı Yay, 1999, p.,45. 7 ibid., pp.,46-50.

8 National Center for Education Statics, National Assessment of Adult Literacy, Retrieved December 30, 2011

from http://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/overview.aspx. p.,1. 9 Sanders, Öküzün. , p.,135.

10 Ong, Sözlü, p.,54

11 Ong, Sözlü p.,57.

12 Erol Göka, Türklerin Psikolojisi, İstanbul, Timaş, 2008, p., 128.

13 Ong, Sözlü, p.,59.

14 Göka, Sözlü p.,121.

15 Ong, Sözlü, p.,62.


16

Göka, Türklerin p.,132. 17

Ong, Sözlü p.,63. 18

ibid., p.,66. 19

Göka, Türklerin p.,121. 20

Ong, Sözlü p.,69. 21

ibid., p.,72. 22

ibid., p.,70. 23

Mehmet Aksüt ve diğerleri, “Sanalca, Sanal Odalarda (İnternet) İletişim ve Türkçe”, Retrieved from

http://www.ab.org.tr/ab06/bildiri/23.doc, p.,4. 24

ibid., p.,4. 25

Havva Yaman, ve Yavuz Erdoğan, “ İnternet Kullanımının Türkçeye Etkileri: Nitel Bir Çalışma”, Journal of

Language and Linguistic Studies, Vol.3, Bo.2, October 2007, p.,243. 26

ibid., p.,243 27

Aksüt, “Sanalca”., p., 5. 28

Yaman, “İnternet”, p.,243. 29

Aksüt,” Sanalca”., p., 6. 30

Yaman, “İnternet”,., p.,244. 31

ibid., p.,244. 32

Aksüt, “Sanalca”., p., 6. 33

Yaman, “İnternet”,., p.,244.

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The Use of Verbal Language in Social Media in Turkey

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