Why are we murdering our Turkish language?

Language is one of the fundamental building blocks of a nation. For a society to be able to build a system and progress culturally and scientifically, it must first develop its language.

Its own mother tongue, its national language.

For social sharing, national integrity, and the continuity of development, communication, interaction, and integration are essential. This is possible through language. It is not easy for a society that does not protect its language to form a unique social character and cultural identity.

Language is also the primary tool for intellectual expression and information sharing. A person expresses themselves best in their own mother tongue. The more developed the language, the stronger our self-expression and interaction.

However, in recent years, the carelessness in the use of our Turkish language has begun to take on a serious dimension. Far from developing it, there seems to be a deliberate tendency to murder it. The language of the street had already deteriorated long ago. Most of us have been aware of this for a long time. It is as if an alternative language, heavy with slang, has formed spontaneously within Turkish.

Let us not just dismiss the street. It is a public space that we share with many people, both acquaintances and strangers, the moment we step out of our front door. In years past, perhaps twenty or thirty years ago, the street was seen as a socialization environment where people paid attention to their attire, their attitudes and behaviors, their way of speaking, etc. It was considered a kind of showcase for everyone, and people created a style accordingly. The street had a formality of its own. Nowadays, we observe that this distinction between home and street is becoming increasingly blurred. This confusion and intermingling significantly affect the use of language in particular. The language of the street is becoming increasingly coarse and ugly, but the most tragic part is that this is gradually becoming normalized, or rather, accepted as normal.

The deterioration of the language is unfortunately not limited to the street. The carelessness of the media in its use of language is much more distressing. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the media, which once set an example for society in the correct and effective use of Turkish, is now in the gutter. Especially with the spread of internet media, the process of murdering our Turkish language has gained momentum.

I truly cannot make sense of it. Why are our writers, intellectuals, journalists, and academics, whose entire job is to write and speak, unable to manage writing and explaining in their own mother tongue? Is it really that hard to understand the difference between the 'de/da' that means 'also/too' and the 'de/da' that means 'in/at'? Why are conjunctions and derivational suffixes confused?

Due to incorrect usage, the grammatical structure of Turkish is almost changing. Since when did the question particle 'mi/mı' start being written as a single word with the preceding word? Why? Who wanted it to be this way? It feels strange to see the question particle written as a single word in newspapers, internet texts, and even on billboards and advertisements. I cannot help but wonder if there was a rule change that I am unaware of.

There is no need to even dwell on punctuation marks. I am sure that very few people know the difference between a comma and a semicolon. Commas are used everywhere, whether appropriate or not, but I could say we have never been able to understand what a semicolon is for. We have an exclamation mark that has been completely abandoned and left homeless. Yet, it is a magnificent signifier for narratives involving emotional expression.

I truly cannot believe it. When we have such a beautiful Turkish language, one that offers magnificent possibilities for expression and articulation with its periods, commas, exclamation marks, derivational and inflectional suffixes, conjunctions, adjectives, and adverbs, why can we not use it effectively? Furthermore, why are we murdering our own mother tongue with our own hands and tongues?

Let us also look at other societies. We see how they protect their own languages. The reason English is becoming a world language is that the societies from which it emerged protect it. If the whole world wants to speak/write English today, it is not because it is a very sympathetic language, but because the societies from which it emerged protect it, constantly develop it, and enrich it. If we cannot find a single language error when we glance at the American or British media, we should put our hats in front of us and think about the situation we have fallen into.

Turning our backs on our own language and treating it recklessly will not earn us the love of others, but it may increase the interest of exploitative segments in us.

Therefore, let us come to our senses and protect our Turkish language. Let us write, speak, and tell stories in our beautiful Turkish. Creating awareness and sensitivity for Turkish to be a language of science, thought, and literature is a primary responsibility for all of us.