Teknoloji Dili Olarak Türkçe
Osman ÖzdemirBu çalışmanın amacı, Türkçenin teknoloji dili olma durumunu geçmişten günümüze bir perspektifte ve teknoloji dili olma temel kavramları çerçevesinde incelemektir. Bu doğrultuda ilgili konu başlığı; teknoloji ile dil arasındaki ilişki, teknoloji, dil, düşünce ve bilim kavramları çerçevesinde tartışılmaktadır. Nitel araştırma yönteminin kullanıldığı bu çalışmada veri toplama aracı olarak doküman analizi tercih edilmiştir. Alan yazınındaki ilgili çalışmalar ele alınarak tümevarımsal bir veri analizi ile Türkçenin bilim dili olması konusunun çerçevesi çizilmeye çalışılmıştır. Çalışmanın ilk bölümünde dil ve teknoloji ile ilgili temel kavramlar, tarihsel bir perspektiften ele alınmaktadır. Bu doğrultuda çalışmanın ilk bölümünde dilin teknolojik araç olması durumu, dilin sahip olduğu kavram hazinesi ile düşünceyi ve dolayısıyla teknolojiyi etkilemesi, teknolojinin bir söylem biçimi olarak düşünceyi dolayısıyla dili şekillendirmesi, insan dili teknolojisi ve teknolojinin yeni kavramlar yaratılmasını sağlayarak dile olan katkısı ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın bulgu ve yorumlar kısmında ise bir dilin teknoloji dili olması hususu üzerinden Türkçenin mevcut durumu değerlendirilmektedir. Buna göre ilk olarak Türkçe ve teknolojinin karşılıklı ilişkisi incelenmektedir. Bu kısımda Türkçenin teknolojiye katkıları ile teknolojinin Türkçeye olan etkisi iki yönlü ele alınmaktadır. Ardından Türkçenin geçmişten günümüze bilim ve teknolojiye yaptığı etkiye tarihsel perspektiften değinilmekte, son olarak Türkçenin gelecekte teknoloji dili olma imkânları tartışılmaktadır. Bu doğrultuda Türkçenin yapısı itibarıyla teknoloji dili olma potansiyeline ve bunun bilim dili olarak işlenmesi ile olan ilişkisine değinilmiştir.
Turkish as a Technology Language
Osman ÖzdemirThe aim of this study is to examine the status of Turkish as a language of technology from the perspective of the past to the present and within the framework of the basic concepts of being a language of technology. Accordingly, the topic is discussed within the framework of technology, language, thought, science, and the relationship between technology and language. In this study, in which a basic qualitative research method was used, document analysis was preferred as a data collection tool. By considering relevant studies in the literature, an inductive data analysis was used to draw a framework for the issue of Turkish as a language of science. In the first part of the study, the basic concepts of language and technology were discussed from a historical perspective. Then, the status of language as a technology, the effect of language on thought and technology with its vocabulary set, technology shaping language and thought as a discourse, human language technology, and the contribution of technology to language by creating new concepts were discussed. In the findings section, the current situation of Turkish was analyzed through the issue of a language being a language of technology. Accordingly, the mutual relationship between Turkish and technology was discussed. In this section, the contributions of Turkish to technology and the effects of technology on Turkish were analyzed in two ways. Then, the impacts of Turkish on science and technology from past to present were mentioned from a historical perspective. Finally, the possibilities of Turkey as a future language of technology in the future were emphasized. In this direction, the potential of Turkish to be a language of technology in terms of its structure and its relationship with its processing as a language of science were mentioned.
The aim of this study is to discuss the relationship between language and technology in various dimensions and then to analyze the status of Turkish as a language of technology with its historical background, current situation and future predictions.
Thought, which is the source of technology, can be produced using the possibilities offered by language. In this regard, the productive power of language directly affects technological development. On the other hand, it is stated that technology as a discourse is a changingtransformative influence factor for the structure of thought, language and social order. In the same way, science and technology have contributed to the modernization of language and the change in forms of communication. Today, the relationship between language and technology is mostly considered in the context of the interaction between digital technology and language.
Owing to its structural and functional features, language can be considered a technological tool because it is a common form of production and development, solves people’s problems in daily life, is adaptable to every new situation and cultural context, and has the feature of “natural collective technology”. Meanwhile, technology changes communication styles and preferences in the digital environment. Society’s self-expression in digital environments is called “digital discourse” and linguistics is conducting important research in this field. With the development of technology, “human language technology” has also developed, which enables computers to understand human language and produce using language mechanisms.
In this study, in which a basic qualitative research method was used, document analysis was preferred as a data collection tool. By considering relevant studies in the literature, an inductive data analysis was used to draw a framework for the issue of Turkish as a language of science.
Human language allows us to express and categorize all concepts, whether concrete or abstract, and to reason within the framework of these concepts. Therefore, the results of thought production such as science and technology are expressed and developed through language. Researchers establish a direct relationship between language and thought. From the relationship between language and thought, it can be seen that much of our conceptual system is metaphorical, i.e., the development of a technology requires the use of existing conceptual networks. Thus, technological developments are directly related to language as they require ‘metaphorical thinking’, ‘abstraction’, ‘communication’ and ‘synthesis’ skills in the conceptual dimension and sufficient level of ‘vocabulary’.
Technological developments change language, and the way people think because technological tools affect the forms and capacities of communication. Today, because of the impact of internet technology on communication, there has been a great change in the textual and verbal dimensions of language. When we divide human history into oral and written paradigms in terms of communication, it is stated that the second oral paradigm emerged in language with the internet.
Another effect of technology on language is that new technologies encourage the derivation of new concepts and words. Therefore, while technology is explained using the existing vocabulary when it first emerges, new terms suitable for this technology are developed over time.
Studies on the effects of technology, especially internet-based digital technologies, on language generally focus on the breakthrough of the internet in communication and the phenomenon of globalization. Therefore, when we examine the effect of technology on Turkish, we can focus on issues such as the introduction of new words and concepts into the language, foreign word borrowings, foreign grammatical borrowings, and foreign language spelling features.
The effects of technology on Turkish today are generally characterized as negative. However, Turkish has also made significant contributions to science and technology throughout history. With the Industrial Revolution, it was observed that Turks lagged in the field of science and technology, but after the establishment of the Turkish Republic, Turkey started to make intensive efforts toward scientific and technological production. Today, Turkish production is carried out in many technological fields, and efforts are being made to Turkify the term.
In fact, the issue of Turkish as a language of technology should be addressed in terms of its characteristics as a language of science. Because scientific production turns into technologies used in daily life at the next stage. Differences in development between Turkey and developed countries producing technology, the current status of Turkish education, and, of course, Turkish language’s competence are the sub-headings that need to be addressed in terms of Turkish being a language of science and technology. From this perspective, it is appropriate to discuss the possibilities of Turkish becoming a language of technology from four dimensions.
First, it is stated that for a language to become a language of science and then a language of technology, it must first be a ‘language of education’. Since the Ottoman Empire, Turkish has been used as the language of education, and studies have been conducted since the Tanzimat Period to Turkify terms. The second important feature of the language is that it is ‘prone to abstract thinking and has words that evoke rich associations in penetrating existence’. It is emphasized that simplification studies have damaged the richness of thinking in the past, but currently, Turkey has a sufficient vocabulary, can express thoughts in detail, and can successfully create technological terms. The third feature is ‘the language being suitable for the human mind to think and not having difficulty expressing thought’. The suitability of the language structure for development and its power of derivation makes Turkish competent in technology production. The Turkifying of terms by the Turkish Language Association (TDK) ensures that technological production is compatible with the Turkish mindset. The fourth important feature of being a language of science and technology is its suitability for development and enrichment and its ability to produce equivalents for innovations in the fields of science and technology.