The replacing of loanwords in Turkish was part of a policy of Turkification of Turkey's first President Atatürk. The Ottoman Turkish language had many loanwords from Arabic and Persian, but also European languages such as French, Greek, and Italian origin—which were officially replaced with new or revived Turkish terms suggested by the Turkish Language Association (Turkish: Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK) during the Turkish language reform, as a part of the cultural reforms—in the broader framework of Atatürk's reforms—following the foundation of the Republic of Turkey. The TDK, established by Atatürk in 1932 to research the Turkish language, also sought to replace foreign loanwords (mainly Arabic) 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; like yanıt, birey, gözgü. Most of these words are widely used today, whereas their predecessors are considered archaic. Some words were used before language reform too but they were used much less than the Persian ones. Some words were taken from rural areas but most of them had different meanings, like ürün. Mongolian also played an important role too, because Mongolian preserved the old Turkic borrowings, such as ulus and çağ. 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 with their old counterpart. Historically, Arabic was the language of the mosque and Persian was the language of education and poetry. A deliberate usage of either (eschewing the usage of a "western" word) often implies a religious subtext or romanticism, respectively. Similarly, the use of European words may be favored to impart a perceived "modern" character. The use of "pure Turkic" words may be employed as an expression of nationalism or as a linguistic "simplification".
Replaced loanwords of Arabic origin The list gives the Ottoman Turkish word, the modern spelling of the word in Turkish (as suggested by TDK), the modern Turkish equivalent, and its meaning in English. Arabs also used the following words as loanwords for their language. * Old words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts. ** New words that are not as frequently used as the old words.
Replaced loanwords of French origin French words started to infiltrate the Turkish language in the time of Franco-Ottoman alliance, and further when administrative reforms (Tanzimat) started taking place in the Ottoman Empire. The extent of French influence was such that the number of French loanwords was close to 5,000. Most of the French loanwords are still widely used in Turkish today. * Words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.
Replaced loanwords of Persian origin The list gives the Ottoman Turkish word, the modern spelling of the word in Turkish (as suggested by TDK), the modern Turkish equivalent, and its meaning in English. There are around 1,500 Persian words in Turkish. Arabic language and culture is general perceived by Turks to be more "foreign" than Persian language and culture, which had a native presence in Anatolia since the time of the Achaemenids, and was patronised for millennia afterwards by other dynasties with a presence in Anatolia such as the Sasanians, Seleucids, Seljuks, Sultanate of Rum, and lastly, the Ottomans, amongst others. ** New words used simultaneously with old words.
Replaced loanwords of other origin * Words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.** New words that are not as frequently used as the old words
See also Animal name changes in Turkey Geographical name changes in Turkey List of French loanwords in Persian
Notes
Sources Yazım Kılavuzu, the official spelling guide of the Turkish language on TDK website
