TURKEY'S NEW ALPHABET

Press, Volume LXXVI, Issue 22907, 2 January 1940, Page 6

TURKEY'S NEW ALPHABET

Milestone in Literacy Observed

NATION WHICH RELEARNT TO WRITE

(Published by arrangement with "Trie Christian Science Monitor."! ISTANBUL—Retaining a precarious noninvolvement in the midst of war which reverberates heavily against the borders of Turkey, this nation is still actively engaged-in the problems of peace and education. The youth of Turkey flocked to an exhibition in Ankara recently. It was an exhibition of particular significance to young persons—showing the progress of a country which had to go to school and relearn how to write its own language. The exhibition celebrated introduction of the Latin alphabet into Turkey. Ten years ago the reforming zeal of Kemal Ataturk turned its attention, to the cultural anomaly which burdened Turkey with a 92 per cent, proportion of illiteracy among its population. Ataturk Finds Cause Causes of this state of affairs were not difficult to discover, and, immediately Ataturk placed his finger on the main problem—intricacies of the Arabic script and its peculiar unsuitability for adaptation to Turkish phonetics. A compromise between picture and alphabetic writing, the 34 Arabic characters, symbolising the different vowels and consonants, are so complex and irregular the student's memory is asked to visualise almost every individual word; should he be content with memorising only the isolated hieroglyphics, the smooth reading of his language must ever remain for him a slow task. Little wonder that seven years was the normal time for a Turkish child to attain literate proficiency, and thus rose the unhappy contingency that only the wealthiest families could afford the education of their children, leaving the broad masses of the common people ignorant and divorced from culture. Certain Compensations At the same time Ataturk realised this obstructive script was not without certain compensations. Chiefly, he appreciated its artistic propensities, though its qualities of compactness and brevity also made out of it a form of shorthand the utility of which had not to be underestimated. Moreover, for ornamentation, the scrift was vital, as it was a tenet of the Moslem faith and no imitation of nature should be claimed a prerogative of man; in their complete ostracism of natural manifestations, either birds, trees, animals, or the like, the characters were thus unique for decorative work. It was up to Ataturk to determine whether centuries' use of this script in Turkey had emphasised its advantages or disadvantages. He chose to decide, not without reason, that disadvantages tipped the balance, and, the decision made, the practical work went promptly ahead with all the urgency characteristic of the dictator. It was May 24, 1928, when Ataturk sounded .his first experiment by announcing that thenceforth the so-called Arabic numerals should replace the actual Arabic numerals then in use. Popular Approval The change was sufficiently acclaimed to convince its instigator of a popular response to his proposed augmentation of the experiment. In Istanbul, August 9, 1928, was a. memorable day; in one of the main squares of the city appeared a unique tableau. Its components were Kemal . Ataturk and a blackboard. Immense crowds gathered, and, before them, the new dictator of this country, chalk in hand, began a personal lesson elucidating the first mysteries of Latin characters. Statutory sanction was quickly acquired for the reform, and by the spring of 1929, just 10 years ago, evening schools opened all over the countrr* to teach the people the new alphabet. By the early 1930'5, illiteracy declined 10 per cent. The deficiency is largely with adults and most in Turkish towns or villages are to-day able to read and write.

In some instances, the phonetic basis of the written language was carx-ied to extremes and .Turkish newspaper readers would learn on occasion that Ekselans Franklen Ruzvelt was in V.asington. Withal, these 10 years of literacy reform have left a deep impress on Turkish culture.