List of Replaced Loanwords in Turkish

List Of Replaced Loanwords In Turkish

Contemporary Turkish includes Ottoman Turkish loanwords—mostly of Arabic and French, but also Persian, Greek, and Italian origin—which were replaced with their Turkish counterparts suggested by the Turkish Language Association (Turkish: Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK) as a part of the cultural reforms - in the broader framework of Atatürk's Reforms - following the foundation of Republic of Turkey.

The TDK, established by Atatürk in 1932 in order to conduct research on the Turkish language, also undertook the initiative to replace Arabic and Persian loanwords with their Turkish counterparts. The Association succeeded in removing several hundred Arabic words from the language. While most of the words introduced into the language in this process were newly derived from existing Turkish verbal roots, TDK also suggested using old Turkish words which had not been used in the language for centuries.

There are generational differences in vocabulary preference. While those born before the 1940s tend to use the old Arabic origin words (even the obsolete ones), younger generations commonly use the newer expressions. Some new words have not been widely adopted, in part because they failed to convey the intrinsic meanings of their old equivalents. Many new words have taken up somewhat different meanings, and cannot necessarily be used interchangeably used with their old counterpart.

Many of the loanwords (especially the Arabic, Persian and French ones) are still widely used today. Some authorities assert that the use of loanwords spoils the language's harmony because they clearly sound foreign.

Read more about List Of Replaced Loanwords In Turkish:  Connotations and Implications of Word Choice, Origin of The Words in Turkish Vocabulary, Word Derivations

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