Head of Department Message

FROM THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT

DEPARTMENT OF TURKISH LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

Science refers to the whole of human activity carried out for the purpose of obtaining the knowledge of almost everything that exists; precisely, accurately and objectively, and it contains a great variety by its nature. By virtue of the now generally accepted classification, the humanities, or more commonly the social sciences, constitute one of the main branches of science. The social sciences, in general, relate to the world of human meaning and are divided into various branches due to the elements related to this world. Language and literature have a central importance among these branches. Literature, which emerges as a result of the use of language and language as a distinctive feature of man, constitutes the subject of two separate disciplines as a general concept: Linguistics for the purpose of examining language in general, not any language; General Literary science, which deals with the study of literature in general, not any literature.  In addition to general linguistic and literary sciences, studies carried out to examine each language and literature on earth have also resulted in the formation of various languages and literatures as a branch of science. In fact, general linguistic and literary sciences were formed after the development of these sciences. Because it is not possible to talk about language and literature in general without examining languages and literatures in particular. Language as a concept can only be embodied by virtue of a spoken and written language. Otherwise, we can’t discuss language. Literature is always the literature of a language. There is a natural and necessary relationship between language and literature.

Turkish Language and Literature is a science that has been formed for the purpose of examining the Turkish language and literature with all its features and elements from past to present, and it is represented and taught in the departments bearing this name in universities, which are educational institutions where the sciences are included as a whole.

The science of Turkish language and literature and the department of Turkish Language and Literature in which this science is represented have a special importance among other language and literature departments. This importance is primarily due to the characteristics of Turkish and Turkish literature. Turkish language is not any language; as it is among the oldest languages in the world, it is also one of the most common languages in the world. It is also the language of a great civilization. Accordingly, Turkish literature is a great literature that has a long history and includes many literatures and literary works that are important not only for the Turkish nation but for all humanity. In this respect, there are Turkish Language and Literature departments not only in Turkey but also in many universities in various countries. It should also be noted that Turkish language and literature is a science of special importance for us as a Turkish nation in terms of covering our own language and literature.

The Department of Turkish Language and Literature is divided into two departments: Turkish Language and Turkish Literature. These main disciplines also have sub-branches. The Turkish language major includes two disciplines, Old Turkish Language and New Turkish Language; and the Turkish Literature major includes three disciplines, Old Turkish Literature, New Turkish Literature and Folk Literature. In all these departments, the knowledge gained so far is transferred to the student during the undergraduate education due to various main courses and elective courses such as Turkish, Ottoman Turkish, Introduction to Old Turkish Literature, Tanzimat Period Literature, etc. The aim is to teach Turkish language and literature at the expert level with its history, structure and all important works. In order to make this possible, students are taught the alphabets used by Turks throughout history; Göktürk, Uyghur and old Turkish alphabet; the texts written in these alphabets are taught in their original form. Graduates of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature are thus entitled to receive the title of science specialist and this title is also indicated in the undergraduate diploma given to the students after successfully completing their education.

Graduates of the Department of Turkish Language and Literature can perform services in many fields due to their expertise. As well as being able to work as a literature teacher in schools and private schools affiliated to the Ministry of Education, they can also work in areas such as press and publication, visual media, archive and librarianship where Turkish language and literature expertise is required.

In the department of Turkish language and literature, the science of an art is mentioned; it is not the art itself! The aim of the department is not to educate artists, but experts or scientists. However, it is a fact that learning Turkish Language and Literature makes significant contributions to the achievement of the goals of people who want to be artists, poets or novelists. The fact that many of our important writers such as Reşat Nuri Güntekin, Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar and Mustafa Kutlu graduated from the Department of Turkish Language and Literature is not a coincidence, but an indicator of this fact.

Our department undertakes to operate in line with the scope and purpose described above with the current education and training staff and to make every effort to ensure that students receive a qualified and distinguished education in the field of Turkish Language and Literature with great determination.

Prof. Dr. Muhammet YELTEN

Head of Turkish Language and Literature Department