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| Language Law of 1928 (Turkey) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Language Law of 1928 |
| Native name | Türk Harflerinin Kabulü Hakkında Kanun |
| Enacted by | Grand National Assembly of Turkey |
| Date enacted | 1 November 1928 |
| Territory | Republic of Turkey |
| Status | amended |
Language Law of 1928 (Turkey) was a statutory act adopted by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey that replaced the Ottoman Turkish script with a modified Latin script for writing Turkish. It formed a central component of the Kemalist reforms led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and intersected with measures pursued by the Republic of Turkey leadership, the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi and the Ministry of Education under figures such as Hâmit Zübeyr Koşay and Hüseyin Şükrü Aydemir.
The law emerged amid transitional politics following the Turkish War of Independence and the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, when the leadership sought cultural, legal and linguistic modernisation similar to reforms in Weimar Republic, Soviet Union script reforms, and the Iranian Constitutional Revolution debates. Debates in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey involved allies and opponents including proponents from the Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası and critics linked to remnants of the Committee of Union and Progress and conservative networks centered in Istanbul and Ankara. Intellectuals such as Ziya Gökalp, Saffet Arıkan, and advisors influenced the policy alongside educators from the Darülfünun and the Ministry of National Education (Turkey). International observers compared the move to script reforms in Hungary and script policy in Finland while legal scholars referenced precedents like the Swiss Civil Code codification efforts.
The statute mandated replacement of the Arabic alphabet-based Ottoman Turkish alphabet with a 29-letter alphabet derived from the Latin script and promulgated orthographic rules that affected spelling, phonetics and public signage. It revoked prior provisions governing official records maintained under the Ottoman Empire legal corpus, amending civil registrations overseen by the Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs and altering administrative instruments used by ministries including the Ministry of Interior (Turkey), the Ministry of Justice (Turkey), and the Postal Service (Turkey). The law required conversion of statutes, decrees and school materials, prompting coordination with bodies like the Turkish Historical Society and the Turkish Language Association founded shortly after, to codify vocabulary and loanword policy.
Implementation was directed by executive decrees from the Presidency of Turkey and executed through the Grand National Assembly of Turkey's committees with administrative support from provincial offices in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and other cities. The Ministry of National Education organized literacy campaigns, teacher retraining, and distribution of primers, while the Istanbul University faculty and the Gazi Education Institute provided pedagogical materials. Municipalities like the Istanbul Municipality and the Ankara Municipality changed public signage; ministries such as the Ministry of Finance (Turkey) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey) updated fiscal ledgers and diplomatic correspondence. The Turkish Language Association and publishing houses including Matbaa-i Amire successors oversaw standardisation; the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation later reinforced script norms for broadcasting.
The reform rapidly transformed curricula at institutions like the Istanbul High School and the Galatasaray High School, altering textbooks used at primary schools and teacher training at the Gazi Teacher Training Center. Mass literacy campaigns targeted rural districts, with mobile classes and public lectures in venues such as the Atatürk Cultural Center and town halls in Samsun and Bursa. Newspapers including Cumhuriyet, Hakimiyet-i Milliye and Milliyet converted to the new script, affecting readership and the publishing industry; banks such as the Türkiye İş Bankası updated account ledgers. The shift influenced bibliographic records held in institutions like the Istanbul University Library and the National Library of Turkey and transformed legal practice at courthouses like the Istanbul Courthouse.
Contestation came from conservative clergy circles associated with the Şeyhülislam legacy and from Ottomanist intellectuals sympathetic to Ottomanism; opposition was voiced in regional newspapers and by political figures in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey who cited continuity with Ottoman administrative traditions. Critics referenced impacts on access to classical sources in Ottoman Turkish and Persian literature and raised concerns in communities in Van, Diğer provinces. Supporters including İsmet İnönü and members of the Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi defended the law as necessary for Westernisation and nation-building, framing the measure alongside reforms affecting the Turkish Civil Code and the Hat Law.
Long-term consequences included a rapid increase in reported literacy rates, transformation of national identity narratives promoted by institutions like the Turkish Historical Society and the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, and shifts in the reception of Ottoman historiography preserved in archives such as the Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi. The reform catalysed lexical purification campaigns at the Turkish Language Association and affected diaspora communities in Balkans, Istanbul Armenians and Anatolian Greeks, altering intergenerational transmission. Contemporary debates in legislative bodies and cultural institutions continue to reference the 1928 measure in discussions alongside later reforms in Turkish language reform and education policy; its legacy endures in museum exhibits at the Atatürk Museum and archival projects at the National Library of Turkey.
Category:Law of Turkey Category:Turkish language