Of Armenian descent, Agop Dilâçar was born Hagop Martayan in Constantinople in 1895. His father was Vahan Martayan and his mother Eugenie Martayan (née Sarafian). He studied English in the local American School editing the school's publication "School News" (1907). In 1910, Dilâçar studied at the Robert College where he also learned German, Latin and Classical Greek, graduating in 1915. After completing his studies, he served as an officer in the Ottoman Army's Second Division in Diyarbakır. Dilâçar was awarded for his bravery and continued serving in the Ottoman Army reserves. Because of his knowledge of English, he worked as a Turkish Army interpreter for the British prisoners of war held after the Siege of Kut south of Baghdad. Dilâçar was arrested and escorted to Damascus for alleged secret extrajudicial contacts with the British prisoners. In Damascus, he was introduced for the first time to Mustafa Kemal Pasha (later known as Atatürk). Mustafa Kemal Pasha was then the Commander of the Ottoman Army's Seventh Division. Mustafa Kemal was impressed by Dilâçar's intelligence and secured a pardon for him and took him into his headquarters.
In 1918, Dilâçar moved to Lebanon, where he became the headmaster of Beirut's Sourp Nshan Armenian National School. In Lebanon, he established Louys, an Armenian periodical (in ArmenianԼոյս, meaning The Light). In 1919, he returned to Istanbul where he worked as a lecturer of English at the Robert College. In 1922, he married Méliné Martayan and the couple moved to Bulgaria where he taught Ottoman Turkish and ancient East languages at Sofia University in Sofia, Bulgaria. In Sofia he also published the Armenian weekly Mshagouyt (in Armenian Մշակոյթ, meaning Culture) and the monthly Armenian periodical Rahvira (in Armenian Ռահվիրայ).
Dilâçar published a study of Turkish language in Istanbul's Arevelk (in Armenian Արեւելք, meaning The East). A translated copy of the article gained the attention of Mustafa Kemal Pasha who invited him to return to Turkey where he lectured in Faculty of Languages, History and Geography.
On 22 September 1932, Dilâçar was invited as a linguist to the First Turkish Language Congress held in Dolmabahçe Palace supervised by Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey, together with two other linguists of Armenian ethnicity, İstepan Gurdikyan and Kevork Simkeşyan. He continued his work and research on the Turkish language as the head specialist and Secretary General of the newly founded Turkish Language Association in Ankara. Following the issue of the Law on Family Names in 1934, Mustafa Kemal Pasha suggested him the surname Dilaçar (literally meaning language opener), which he gladly accepted. Nevertheless, he continued to use the surname Martayan to sign his articles in the Armenian language. In return, Agop Martayan openly proposed the name Atatürk to Mustafa Kemal Pasha in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.[5]
Dilâçar taught history and language at Ankara University between 1936 and 1951. He also was the head adviser of the Türk Ansiklopedisi (Turkish Encyclopedia), between 1942 and 1960. He held his position and continued his research in linguistics at the Turkish Language Association until his death on 12 September 1979, in Istanbul.
Armenian publicationsEdit
In addition to his work in Turkish language, Dilâçar also published in Istanbul's Armenian media, in particular with the Armenian daily Marmara (in Armenian Մարմարա).
In 1922, Dilâçar published his literary work Aratchin Portsutyun (in Armenian «Առաջին Փորձութիւն» meaning First Try). Also in 1922, he translated Armenian playwright Levon Shant's play Hin Asdvadzner (in Armenian «Հին աստվածներ» meaning Old Gods) to English. In 1929 he published his Armenological study "Kri Dzakoume yev Daradzoume" (in Armenian «Գրի ծագումը և տարածումը» meaning the origin and spread of language) and in 1929 "Hapetapanoutyun" (in Armenian «Հաբեթաբանութիւն») in addition to an Armenian translation of a collection of English poetry under the title Albyoni Bardezen (in Armenian «Ալբիոնի պարտէզէն» meaning from the garden of Albion) also in 1929.
In 1951, Dilâçar published his book Hazar Hink Harur Amyagi Khoher («1500ամեակի խոհեր» - meaning Thoughts on the 1500th Anniversary). In 1956 he published his book Asdvadzashountche yev Ashkharhapare (in Armenian «Աստուածաշունչը եւ Աշխարհաբարը» meaning The Holy Bible and Modern Armenian language).
Dilâçar had numerous written works in linguistics, literature, studies and translations in Armenian. For example his literary work Salin Vra (Kragan Portser) (in Armenian Սալին Վրայ (գրական փորձեր), a collection of poems Khonchadz Yerazner (in Armenian «Խոնջած Երազներ»), a theatrical piece Tsaykatiter (in Armenian «Ցայգաթիթեռ») and studies like "Levon Shant, Ir Pilisopayoutyune yev Kegharvesde" (in Armenian Լեւոն Շանթ՝ Իր Փիլիսոփայութիւնը եւ Գեղարուեստը, meaning Levon Shant, his philosophy and artistry) and "Hay Tyutsaznavebe, Pakhtadadagan Himi Vera" (in Armenian Հայ Դիւցազնավէպը Բաղդատատական Հիմի Վրայ meaning The Armenian heroic epic novel on a comparative basis).
Armenian descentEdit
After his death in 1979, in a news coverage, the then only Turkish TV channel TRT concealed the first name "Agop", which would suggest an Armenian descent, and instead mentioned "A. Dilaçar", using only the initial of his forename together with his surname.[6][7][8][9] However, in a TV program in TRT, which Dilaçar joined, his first name was pronounced and spelled as well, crediting him "Agop Dilaçar".[10]
ControversyEdit
It is an issue of controversy whether Dilâçar was the person who officially proposed the surname Atatürk to the founder of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Pasha,[5] or Saffet Arıkan's "Ulu Önderimiz Ata Türk Mustafa Kemal" (Our Great Leader Ata Türk Mustafa Kemal) sentence in the opening speech of the 2nd Language Day on 26 September 1934 became an inspiration for surname Atatürk.[11] Contemporary newspapers and other articles favor the latter claim.[12][13]
PublicationsEdit
in Turkish
Azeri Türkçesi (Azerbaijani Turkish), 1950
Batı Türkçesi (Western Turkish), 1953
Lehçelerin Yazılma Tarzı (Writing Style of Dialects)
Türk Dil ve Lehçelerinin Tasnifi Meselesi (Classification Issue of the Turkish Languages and Dialects), 1954
Devlet Dili Olarak Türkçe (Turkish as a State Language), 1962
Wilhelm Thomsen ve Orhon Yazıtlarının Çözülüşü (Wilhelm Thomson and Encoding of the Orkhon Inscriptions), 1963
Türk Diline Genel Bir Bakış (A General Look at the Turkish Language), 1964
Türkiye'de Dil Özleşmesi (Language Purification in Turkey), 1965
Dil, Diller ve Dilcilik (Language, Languages and Linguistics), 1968
Kutadgu Bilig İncelemesi (Research of the Kutadgu Bilig), 1972
Anadili İlkeleri ve Türkiye Dışındaki Uygulamalar (Native Language Principles and Applications Outside Turkey), 1978
in French
Les bases bio-psychologiques de la Theorie Güneş Dil (1936)
in Armenian
1500ամեակի խոհեր (Hazar Hink Harur Amyagi Khoher, Thoughts on the 1500th Anniversary), 1951
Աստուածաշունչը եւ աշխարհաբարը (Asdvadzashountche yev Ashkharhapare, The Bible and the Armenian Modern Language), 1956
Յօդուածներ (Hotvadzner, Articles), 2000
Համայնապատկեր հայ մշակոյթի (Hamaynabadger Hay Meshagouyti Panorama of the Armenian Culture), vol. I, 2004
Համայնապատկեր հայ մշակոյթի (Hamaynabadger Hay Meshagouyti Panorama of the Armenian Culture), vol. II, 2005
^Aidan Russell (2019). Truth, Silence and Violence in Emerging States : Histories of the Unspoken. Milton: Routledge. ISBN9781351141109. The modern Turkish alphabet based on Latin was composed by Hakob Martayan (Agop Dilâçar)
^Adam J. Goldwyn; Renée M. Silverman (2016). Mediterranean modernism : intercultural exchange and aesthetic development. New York: Springer. p. 224. ISBN9781137586568. With the establishment of the Turkish republic in 1923 and the language reforms initiated by Mustafa Kemal in 1928, the language went through a radical transformation: it would no longer be written in the Arabic alphabet but in the Latin, and it would be purified of its Arabic and Persian vocabulary. Concurrently, it would no longer be called Ottoman Turkish but simply Turkish. A language committee was established to adapt the Latin script to the phonetic demands of Turkish, resulting in a new alphabet of 29 letters. The script was founded by an Armenian, Hagop Martayan (1895-1979).
^"This Side of Fifty: Çidem İnç - Hagop Martayan". 13 April 2015.
^(in Armenian) "Հակոբ Դիլաչարը Աթաթուրքի մոտ երգեց Զորավար Անդրանիկի երգը." ("Hagop Dilachar Sang Commander Andranik's Song in Atatürk's Presence"). Bnaban. July 7, 2012. Retrieved July 14, 2012.
^ abİrfan Özfatura: "Dilimizi dilim dilim... Agop Dilâçar" 2011-09-17 at the Wayback Machine (Turkish), Türkiye Gazetesi, April 3, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2012
^Cem Özdemir: "Der Völkermord an den Armeniern und die deutsche Öffentlichkeit", Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, panel discussion, Berlin, September 22, 2011
^Dr. Sarkis Adam: "Dilbilimci AGOP MARTAYAN-DİLAÇAR ın Ölümünün 30. Yıldönümü" 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine (Turkish), HyeTert, September 20, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2012
^"Agop Dilacar" 2014-02-22 at the Wayback Machine (Turkish), Nouvelles d'Arménie en Ligne, August 28, 2008. Retrieved February 15, 2012
^Yalçın Yusufoğlu: "Agop Martanyan Dilaçar" February 22, 2014, at the Wayback Machine (Turkish), September 13, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2012
agop, dilâçar, armenian, Յակոբ, Մարթայեան, hagop, martayan, istanbul, 1895, istanbul, september, 1979, turkish, armenian, linguist, specialized, turkic, languages, first, secretary, general, head, specialist, turkish, language, association, created, latin, bas. Agop Dilacar Armenian Յակոբ Մարթայեան Hagop Martayan Istanbul 22 May 1895 Istanbul 12 September 1979 was a Turkish Armenian linguist who specialized in Turkic languages and the first Secretary General and head specialist of the Turkish Language Association He created the Latin based modern Turkish alphabet 1 2 3 and was proficient in 12 languages 4 and in addition to Armenian and Turkish Dilacar knew English French Greek Spanish Azerbaijani Latin German Russian and Bulgarian Agop DilacarAgop DilacarBornHagop Martayan 1895 05 03 May 3 1895Constantinople Ottoman EmpireDiedSeptember 12 1979 1979 09 12 aged 84 Istanbul TurkeyNationalityTurkishOccupation s Linguist writer Contents 1 Biography 2 Armenian publications 3 Armenian descent 4 Controversy 5 Publications 6 See also 7 References 8 External linksBiography EditOf Armenian descent Agop Dilacar was born Hagop Martayan in Constantinople in 1895 His father was Vahan Martayan and his mother Eugenie Martayan nee Sarafian He studied English in the local American School editing the school s publication School News 1907 In 1910 Dilacar studied at the Robert College where he also learned German Latin and Classical Greek graduating in 1915 After completing his studies he served as an officer in the Ottoman Army s Second Division in Diyarbakir Dilacar was awarded for his bravery and continued serving in the Ottoman Army reserves Because of his knowledge of English he worked as a Turkish Army interpreter for the British prisoners of war held after the Siege of Kut south of Baghdad Dilacar was arrested and escorted to Damascus for alleged secret extrajudicial contacts with the British prisoners In Damascus he was introduced for the first time to Mustafa Kemal Pasha later known as Ataturk Mustafa Kemal Pasha was then the Commander of the Ottoman Army s Seventh Division Mustafa Kemal was impressed by Dilacar s intelligence and secured a pardon for him and took him into his headquarters In 1918 Dilacar moved to Lebanon where he became the headmaster of Beirut s Sourp Nshan Armenian National School In Lebanon he established Louys an Armenian periodical in Armenian Լոյս meaning The Light In 1919 he returned to Istanbul where he worked as a lecturer of English at the Robert College In 1922 he married Meline Martayan and the couple moved to Bulgaria where he taught Ottoman Turkish and ancient East languages at Sofia University in Sofia Bulgaria In Sofia he also published the Armenian weekly Mshagouyt in Armenian Մշակոյթ meaning Culture and the monthly Armenian periodical Rahvira in Armenian Ռահվիրայ Dilacar published a study of Turkish language in Istanbul s Arevelk in Armenian Արեւելք meaning The East A translated copy of the article gained the attention of Mustafa Kemal Pasha who invited him to return to Turkey where he lectured in Faculty of Languages History and Geography On 22 September 1932 Dilacar was invited as a linguist to the First Turkish Language Congress held in Dolmabahce Palace supervised by Ataturk the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey together with two other linguists of Armenian ethnicity Istepan Gurdikyan and Kevork Simkesyan He continued his work and research on the Turkish language as the head specialist and Secretary General of the newly founded Turkish Language Association in Ankara Following the issue of the Law on Family Names in 1934 Mustafa Kemal Pasha suggested him the surname Dilacar literally meaning language opener which he gladly accepted Nevertheless he continued to use the surname Martayan to sign his articles in the Armenian language In return Agop Martayan openly proposed the name Ataturk to Mustafa Kemal Pasha in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey 5 Dilacar taught history and language at Ankara University between 1936 and 1951 He also was the head adviser of the Turk Ansiklopedisi Turkish Encyclopedia between 1942 and 1960 He held his position and continued his research in linguistics at the Turkish Language Association until his death on 12 September 1979 in Istanbul Armenian publications EditIn addition to his work in Turkish language Dilacar also published in Istanbul s Armenian media in particular with the Armenian daily Marmara in Armenian Մարմարա In 1922 Dilacar published his literary work Aratchin Portsutyun in Armenian Առաջին Փորձութիւն meaning First Try Also in 1922 he translated Armenian playwright Levon Shant s play Hin Asdvadzner in Armenian Հին աստվածներ meaning Old Gods to English In 1929 he published his Armenological study Kri Dzakoume yev Daradzoume in Armenian Գրի ծագումը և տարածումը meaning the origin and spread of language and in 1929 Hapetapanoutyun in Armenian Հաբեթաբանութիւն in addition to an Armenian translation of a collection of English poetry under the title Albyoni Bardezen in Armenian Ալբիոնի պարտէզէն meaning from the garden of Albion also in 1929 In 1951 Dilacar published his book Hazar Hink Harur Amyagi Khoher 1500ամեակի խոհեր meaning Thoughts on the 1500th Anniversary In 1956 he published his book Asdvadzashountche yev Ashkharhapare in Armenian Աստուածաշունչը եւ Աշխարհաբարը meaning The Holy Bible and Modern Armenian language Dilacar had numerous written works in linguistics literature studies and translations in Armenian For example his literary work Salin Vra Kragan Portser in Armenian Սալին Վրայ գրական փորձեր a collection of poems Khonchadz Yerazner in Armenian Խոնջած Երազներ a theatrical piece Tsaykatiter in Armenian Ցայգաթիթեռ and studies like Levon Shant Ir Pilisopayoutyune yev Kegharvesde in Armenian Լեւոն Շանթ Իր Փիլիսոփայութիւնը եւ Գեղարուեստը meaning Levon Shant his philosophy and artistry and Hay Tyutsaznavebe Pakhtadadagan Himi Vera in Armenian Հայ Դիւցազնավէպը Բաղդատատական Հիմի Վրայ meaning The Armenian heroic epic novel on a comparative basis Armenian descent EditAfter his death in 1979 in a news coverage the then only Turkish TV channel TRT concealed the first name Agop which would suggest an Armenian descent and instead mentioned A Dilacar using only the initial of his forename together with his surname 6 7 8 9 However in a TV program in TRT which Dilacar joined his first name was pronounced and spelled as well crediting him Agop Dilacar 10 Controversy EditIt is an issue of controversy whether Dilacar was the person who officially proposed the surname Ataturk to the founder of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Pasha 5 or Saffet Arikan s Ulu Onderimiz Ata Turk Mustafa Kemal Our Great Leader Ata Turk Mustafa Kemal sentence in the opening speech of the 2nd Language Day on 26 September 1934 became an inspiration for surname Ataturk 11 Contemporary newspapers and other articles favor the latter claim 12 13 Publications Editin TurkishAzeri Turkcesi Azerbaijani Turkish 1950 Bati Turkcesi Western Turkish 1953 Lehcelerin Yazilma Tarzi Writing Style of Dialects Turk Dil ve Lehcelerinin Tasnifi Meselesi Classification Issue of the Turkish Languages and Dialects 1954 Devlet Dili Olarak Turkce Turkish as a State Language 1962 Wilhelm Thomsen ve Orhon Yazitlarinin Cozulusu Wilhelm Thomson and Encoding of the Orkhon Inscriptions 1963 Turk Diline Genel Bir Bakis A General Look at the Turkish Language 1964 Turkiye de Dil Ozlesmesi Language Purification in Turkey 1965 Dil Diller ve Dilcilik Language Languages and Linguistics 1968 Kutadgu Bilig Incelemesi Research of the Kutadgu Bilig 1972 Anadili Ilkeleri ve Turkiye Disindaki Uygulamalar Native Language Principles and Applications Outside Turkey 1978in FrenchLes bases bio psychologiques de la Theorie Gunes Dil 1936 in Armenian1500ամեակի խոհեր Hazar Hink Harur Amyagi Khoher Thoughts on the 1500th Anniversary 1951 Աստուածաշունչը եւ աշխարհաբարը Asdvadzashountche yev Ashkharhapare The Bible and the Armenian Modern Language 1956 Յօդուածներ Hotvadzner Articles 2000 Համայնապատկեր հայ մշակոյթի Hamaynabadger Hay Meshagouyti Panorama of the Armenian Culture vol I 2004 Համայնապատկեր հայ մշակոյթի Hamaynabadger Hay Meshagouyti Panorama of the Armenian Culture vol II 2005See also EditTurkish language Turkish Language Association Ataturk s Reforms Sun Language Theory Karamanoglu Mehmet BeyReferences Edit Aidan Russell 2019 Truth Silence and Violence in Emerging States Histories of the Unspoken Milton Routledge ISBN 9781351141109 The modern Turkish alphabet based on Latin was composed by Hakob Martayan Agop Dilacar Adam J Goldwyn Renee M Silverman 2016 Mediterranean modernism intercultural exchange and aesthetic development New York Springer p 224 ISBN 9781137586568 With the establishment of the Turkish republic in 1923 and the language reforms initiated by Mustafa Kemal in 1928 the language went through a radical transformation it would no longer be written in the Arabic alphabet but in the Latin and it would be purified of its Arabic and Persian vocabulary Concurrently it would no longer be called Ottoman Turkish but simply Turkish A language committee was established to adapt the Latin script to the phonetic demands of Turkish resulting in a new alphabet of 29 letters The script was founded by an Armenian Hagop Martayan 1895 1979 This Side of Fifty Cidem Inc Hagop Martayan 13 April 2015 in Armenian Հակոբ Դիլաչարը Աթաթուրքի մոտ երգեց Զորավար Անդրանիկի երգը Hagop Dilachar Sang Commander Andranik s Song in Ataturk s Presence Bnaban July 7 2012 Retrieved July 14 2012 a b Irfan Ozfatura Dilimizi dilim dilim Agop Dilacar Archived 2011 09 17 at the Wayback Machine Turkish Turkiye Gazetesi April 3 2011 Retrieved February 15 2012 Cem Ozdemir Der Volkermord an den Armeniern und die deutsche Offentlichkeit Heinrich Boll Stiftung panel discussion Berlin September 22 2011 Dr Sarkis Adam Dilbilimci AGOP MARTAYAN DILACAR in Olumunun 30 Yildonumu Archived 2014 02 22 at the Wayback Machine Turkish HyeTert September 20 2009 Retrieved February 15 2012 Agop Dilacar Archived 2014 02 22 at the Wayback Machine Turkish Nouvelles d Armenie en Ligne August 28 2008 Retrieved February 15 2012 Yalcin Yusufoglu Agop Martanyan Dilacar Archived February 22 2014 at the Wayback Machine Turkish September 13 2009 Retrieved February 15 2012 Agop Dilacar Ataturk u Anlatiyor in Turkish Gazi onerilen 14 soyadini kabul etmis Haberturk Retrieved June 14 2017 Agop Dilacar Ile Ilgili Iddialar Malumatfurus in Turkish 2022 01 22 Retrieved 2022 04 19 Butun Dunya External links EditDilacar s biography in Turkish Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Agop Dilacar amp oldid 1168946157, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
