THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF TURKISH MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY: FROM THE OTTOMAN PERIOD TO THE REPUBLICAN ERA

TÜRK TIBBİ TERMİNOLOJİSİNİN TARİHSEL GELİŞİMİ

Abstract

This study systematically examines the historical development of Turkish medical terminology from the Ottoman period to the Republican era. In the research, 141 academic sources were screened and analyzed to evaluate historical medical texts. The objective of the study is to chronologically investigate the changes and developments in Turkish medical language from the Ottoman period to the Republican era and to identify the linguistic, cultural, and political factors influencing this process.

The earliest Turkish medical texts written during the Old Anatolian Turkish period demonstrate the potential of the Turkish language to function as a scientific language. During the Ottoman era, with the influx of Arabic and Persian vocabulary, a hybrid use of these three languages became dominant; subsequently, the influence of French increased during the 19th-century Westernization movements. With the comprehensive Turkification reforms initiated in the Republican period, significant progress was made toward conducting medical education in Turkish and establishing Turkish equivalents for foreign terminology. However, a quest for balance between international terminology of Latin and Greek origin and Turkish terms persists today.

In conclusion, the evolution of Turkish medical terminology represents a significant facet of the Turkish language's journey toward becoming a scientific language—a process that continues to this day.