I would like to start by talking about a dialogue of Confucius and the people around him.
They asked Confucius a question like “If you were a country’s manager, what would you do first?”
He responded: “I would undoubtedly correct the language first.”
The audience was surprised. “Why?” they asked.
Confucius’ reaction was as follows:
“Because if the language is corrupted what is said does not express what is intended to be said; if what is said does not reflect the intended meaning, the desired action will not be taken. If what is desired is not done, art and morality will worsen; If morality and art are damaged, justice goes astray; if justice goes astray; The people become helpless and are dragged into a depression. Eventually, the opportunity to make the right decision about what is said disappears. Language is crucial in avoiding such a situation.”
Actually, it is a very short and clear explanation. If there is a corruption in the language, everything related to it will be corrupted. Language is a tool that enables communication between people. One of the elements that create a nation is language; People speaking the same language form a whole among themselves. A nation is a community of people speaking the same language. With the deterioration of the language, the nation inevitably begins to deteriorate. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the national language. The corruption of the language paves the way for the corruption of the national culture.
People express their feelings and thoughts, wishes and complaints through language. When language corrupted, communication also corrupted; It becomes difficult for people and generations to understand each other and the continuity of the nation is interrupted. Language is the element that distinguishes a nation from others. One of the ways to divide a nation is to corrupt and distort the language of that nation. Let’s think about the situation of our Turkish in this respect!
Turkish is one of the most beautiful, richest, largest and most established languages in the world. It is a language that has been spoken, written and read on 3 continents for centuries. Today, Turkish is still a language spoken in a wide geography around the world with its different accents and dialects. It is very smooth to use. It makes explanations easier with the additions it takes. In fact, I would like to include a visual that has recently entered (or re-entered) the trend.
Turkish is actually an easier and clearer language to use, with suffixes that allow us to make more detailed temporal distinctions (seen, heard, learned from the second or third hand, etc.). (Most known languages do not have this feature.) But nowadays, there are forgotten words that are almost not used and are not given the necessary importance.
Turkish has evolved beyond the meanings in which it is understood and spoken. The advent of the internet, the rise in cross-cultural communication, and the globalization of the world have all accelerated the interaction between languages. Due to this, Turkish has begun to include a variety of foreign languages. Turkish is getting worse, especially because of the direct adoption of some words from western languages. Turkish is degenerating, and using alternative terms to convey and define ideas that already have Turkish equivalents speeds up the process. Turkish should be preserved in this regard.
On the other hand, there are mutual exchanges between nations and national cultures. This results from mutual interaction. Thanks to this interaction, languages can also be influenced by each other. In this context, Turkish has influenced and been influenced by some other languages throughout history. Turkish, which was influenced by Arabic and Persian during the Islamization process, began to be influenced by French, German and English during the Westernization process we experienced as a nation after the Tanzimat. Some people do not oppose the existence of words from European languages entering Turkish, as much as they oppose the entry of Arabic and Persian words into our language. This is a surprising and alarming attitude and I think it is wrong. However, today the words we borrow from other languages have reached such an extent that it would be correct to call this language anarchy. Children’s names, street names, district and town names, and shop names are mostly foreign names. Does it seem normal to you? It’s almost like “I guess this isn’t Türkiye!” one is wanted to say. People who are loyal to their culture and nation must protect the Turkish language. Colonial powers try to corrupt the language of the nations they begin to colonize.
Today, countries are no longer occupied by wars, but by culture and economy; This is an invisible but more effective method of invasion. Turkish language and Turkish culture are being invaded. Turkish culture and Turkish language are under attack; A gap is being created between generations. Unfortunately, if this change continues, just as we could not understand Turkish used 50 years ago, perhaps the new generations, the generation 20 years after us, will not be able to understand Turkish at all.
Unfortunately, with the corruption of the Turkish language and turning a blind eye to this, Turkish people cannot produce thought and culture, and by importing the language from outside, imitating the language, they have started to imitate in the production of thought and culture. Imitation in language brings imitation in thought and culture; we can no longer be ourselves; We are changing!
