Vakanüvis - Uluslararası Tarih Araştırmaları Dergisi

Öz

In this study, the Language Studies Committee (Tedkikat-ı Lisaniye Heyeti), which is one of the last period Ottoman scientific committees, is discussed based on archive documents. The Language Studies Committee is a scientific committee established to deal with language, spelling, letters and textbook problems, which were frequently discussed in the last period of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in early 1917 under the chairmanship of Namık Kemal's son, Ali Ekrem Bey. Language Studies Committee; It is divided into three branches, namely the Literary Committee, the Dictionary Committee and the Grammar Committee. The duties and purposes of the committees were determined by a directive written by Ali Ekrem Bey himself. Accordingly, the task of the Literary Committee was primarily to prepare a literature textbook for high schools and to produce a journal consisting of literary works in verse and prose. The task of the other two committees was to prepare an excellent Turkish dictionary, Turkish grammar book and spelling guide.
All three committees working under the Language Studies Committee would have their own chairman, but the head of the Language Studies Committee would be the "general chairman". Among the members of the Language Studies Committee are prominent literary figures of the period, university professors and writers such as Ziya Gökalp, Mehmet Akif, Yahya Kemal and Ahmet Rasim. A spelling guide titled Usul-i Imla was published by the Grammar Committee of the Language Studies Committee in 1917. However, it cannot be said that the works designed at the beginning can be done. As a matter of fact, a “perfect Turkish dictionary” could not be prepared, literature textbooks for high schools and a journal consisting of the compilation of literary texts could not be published.