On the evening of August 9, 1928, in Istanbul, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk took chalk and showed the public the new letters with which Turkey would write from now on. Just a few months later, the change was already law: on November 1, the Grand National Assembly passed Law No. 1353 on the Adoption and Application of Turkish Letters.
Thus, the Ottoman Turkish script, based on Arabic graphics, was replaced with an alphabet based on the Latin alphabet. The modern Turkish alphabet contains 29 letters. Ç, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ş and Ü were added to the Latin characters, which reflect the peculiarities of Turkish pronunciation. Q, W and X are not included.
The historical moment is often defined as the introduction of a new alphabet by Atatürk, but formally the decision was made by the Turkish parliament. The president is the political driver of the reform and personally presents it to the citizens. In a speech in Istanbul, he declared: “Our harmonious and rich language will be expressed through the new Turkish letters.“
The transition is scheduled for months
The change did not remain only on the pages of the law. From December 1, 1928, Turkish newspapers, magazines, public signs, signs and other printed materials had to use the new letters. From January 1, 1929, this requirement also extended to books. A longer transitional period was left for some official and private documents, which ended in June 1930.
Atatürk toured the country with a portable blackboard and personally showed how the letters were written. Lessons were held in schools, squares and other public places. The aim was for the reform to be implemented in a short time not only in the administration, but also in the everyday lives of the people.
Change of writing and the connection with the Ottoman past
The Ottoman alphabet used Arabic letters, but was not fully adapted to the sound system of the Turkish language. The Ottoman written language also contained a significant number of Arabic and Persian words and expressions, which made reading and writing difficult for a large part of the population. The new system was designed to make the connection between sound and letter clearer.
The reform was part of Ataturk's broader program to build a modern Turkish state after the founding of the republic in 1923. Along with changing the alphabet, it included changes to education, law, the calendar, clothing, and state institutions. The changeover to the Latin alphabet was seen as one of the most visible signs of the break with the Ottoman period.
The consequence was twofold. New generations began to read and write with an alphabet that is still used in Turkey today, but access to the vast corpus of Ottoman books, newspapers, and documents now required special training or transliteration. Thus, the 1928 reform changed not only the letters, but also the way Turkish society relates to its own past.
Sources: theguardian.com, history.com, trtworld.com