Özet:

This article aims to describe the political nature of the language reform initiated in the early years of the Republic. The historical background of the Tanzimat period, the assessments made in the process of simplification in the language, are separated by sharp lines and create a political polarization axis. It is possible to speak of two dominant views on the language reform: the Conservative is insistent in the point that the language reform is a paravan that blocks the connection with the past (Islam and Ottoman). The Republican part believes that the language reform is a bridge that lifts the gap between the state language and the national language; that it is a revolution that allows the country to get rid of the obstacles to its development. As a state policy, the language reform initiated by the establishment of the Turkish Language Testing Society in 1932 is questioned in the question of whether it is a paravan that breaks the contact with the past or a bridge that allows the state and the nation to merge. In this context, in the article, taking into account the simplification discussions in the language during the Tanzimat and Legitimate periods, the first Turkish Language Council is presenting an alternative perspective on the description of the language reform.