LANGUAGE AND ALPHABET POLICY OF M.A.RAS

Abstract

The early XX century was a tumultuous time in society, marked by political
conflicts, debates over language and alphabet, and the formation of groups with
differing views and ideologies, all under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. Serious discussions and struggles for national self-awareness were ongoing. The phonetic, grammatical, and lexical-semantic peculiarities of Ottoman Turkish are evident in both literary works and the language used in the press. At times, literary
language norms are confused with the Luru language, and writers prefer to use language that is easily understood by the general public. These societal changes are a
result of foreign language education. M.A.Rasulzade repeatedly emphasised that
foreign language schools promote an imperialist agenda and should be avoided. He
argued that such schools distance the nation from its roots, causing it to forget its
history, literature, and traditions. As a result, they can not benefit the country and
its people. The aim of education should be to raise a generation with strong national morals. The author dedicates the policy of language and alphabet to the task of
educating the nation. “...From now on, an ignorant nation will be weak, and woe to the weak!...If a nation wants to be happy in general, and does not want to be
crushed under the feet of others, it should be educated and capable in general, the
whole nation should study, do education and science, and be literate”.