In July 1908, the Young Turk Revolution forced the restoration of the 1876 constitution and parliament, beginning the Ottoman Empire’s Second Constitutional Era. This shift expanded political debate and print culture, creating more room for public arguments about education, literacy, and the everyday language used in government and newspapers.
After 1908, new and revived newspapers helped spread political ideas and cultural arguments to wider audiences. Publications such as Tanin became influential forums where writers discussed reform, nationalism, and how the written language could better match spoken Turkish.
The magazine Genç Kalemler began publishing in Thessaloniki in April 1911 and became closely associated with the “Yeni Lisan” (New Language) movement. Its writers argued that Ottoman Turkish was overly complex because it relied heavily on Arabic and Persian elements, and they promoted a simpler style closer to everyday Istanbul Turkish.
The Second Constitutional Era (1908–1920) ended as war, occupation, and political breakdown accelerated the Ottoman Empire’s collapse. These disruptions weakened older imperial institutions and set the stage for a new republic to reshape education and written communication on a national basis.
After the Republic of Turkey was established, leaders treated literacy as a central nation-building goal. Reformers increasingly viewed the Ottoman Turkish Arabic-based script as hard to learn for Turkish phonetics (speech sounds), and they began preparing for a major change in writing.
In May 1928, Turkey adopted modern “international” numerals (0–9), replacing older number forms used in Ottoman contexts. This was an early and practical step toward wider standardization in public writing, coming just months before the alphabet change.
By late June 1928, an academic committee was tasked with researching how a Latin-based alphabet could fit Turkish. This technical work mattered because the reform aimed to represent Turkish sounds more clearly, not just transliterate (letter-for-letter copy) the Ottoman script.
On 9 August 1928, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk announced that a Latin-based Turkish alphabet would replace the Ottoman Arabic-based script. The public announcement signaled that the reform was no longer a proposal but a state project, and it launched a nationwide effort to prepare teachers, officials, and the public.
In September 1928, the new Turkish alphabet was published as the government moved toward rapid implementation. The planned transition period was shortened dramatically, reflecting the leadership’s belief that a fast change was necessary to reshape education and public administration.
On 1 November 1928, Turkey passed Law No. 1353 (“Acceptance and Application of Turkish Letters”), formally adopting the new Latin-based Turkish alphabet. The law ended the official status of the Ottoman Turkish script and set deadlines for switching public writing to the new letters.
In November 1928, the government launched “Nation Schools” (Millet Mektepleri), short courses aimed especially at adults who had never learned to read. These courses connected the script change to a mass literacy campaign, helping spread the new alphabet beyond schools and into workplaces and local communities.
Starting in late 1928 and early 1929, the new alphabet became compulsory for public communications and state use, replacing the old script in official life. This shift rapidly changed newspapers, signage, and administration, making the Latin-based alphabet the everyday written standard of the Turkish Republic.
Language and script reform: transition from Ottoman Turkish to the Latin alphabet (1908–1928)