Established in 1923, the Republic of Turkey instituted many reforms to modernize and
define its new nation-state. Some of the most significant reforms of the late 1920s and
early 1930s in Turkey involved the Turkish language. Aside from trying to purge the
language of non-Turkish words, the alphabet was Latinized and twenty-nine letters came
to replace the Arabic script in which Turkish was being written. Ottoman Turkish refers
to the pre-1928 Turkish when the Arabic script as well as a large amount of Persian and
Arabic vocabulary were in use. The style and vocabulary of Ottoman Turkish varies
throughout the history of the Empire which spans over six hundred years. Thus, certain
periods reflect a greater Persian influence while others may have a stronger Arabic
influence. For those wishing to pursue academic research in Middle Eastern or East
European history, knowledge of Ottoman Turkish will be an extremely valuable tool. A
solid foundation in modern Turkish will make the more complicated Ottoman Turkish
much more accessible.