From The Tadeusz Kowalski Archives 1 – Correspondence with Hüseyin Namık Orkun and Prometheism

Hilal Oytun Altun

Makale detayları

From The Tadeusz Kowalski Archives 1 – Correspondence with Hüseyin Namık Orkun and Prometheism

Yazarlar:

Hilal Oytun Altun

Yayıncı:

Marmara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.4 Issue 1, pp.1-31

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351539

pISSN:

2651-4257

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 In this study, the correspondence between two scholars, Tadeusz Kowalski 1889-1948 and Hüseyin Namık Orkun 1902-1956, who have shaped modern Turcology studies in Poland and Turkey, has been analyzed. The fifteen archival documents examined in this article consist of twelve letters written by Hüseyin Namık Orkun to Kowalski and three drafts of letters Kowalski prepared to send to Orkun. Orkuns letters span from September 1933 to November 1939, while Kowalskis letter drafts are dated November 1933 and June 1934. The letters, that contain noteworthy details from the history of Turkology, revolve around the emergence of certain works by these two scholars, the challenges they encountered during their works, and their evaluations of various publications and research topics within the field of Turkology. In addition, references to the obstacles against the use of phonetic transcription characters in accordance with scientific standards following the alphabet reform bear witness to the political pressures on science. Orkun expresses frustration over not being able to use the phonetic transcription, despite its critical importance for scientific accuracy. Although Orkun managed to print Orkhon script charactersspecifically cast at a print househe was unable to incorporate proper phonetic transcription in his masterwork, Eski Türk Yazıtları Old Turkic Inscriptions. The letters also contain certain details that I believe could be associated with Prometheism, a movement against Russian and Soviet expansionism. These correspondences, that offer a first-hand perspective on the personalities of their authors and the era in which they were written, can also be read as examples reflecting the stylistic features of letter-writing in Turkish. The letters also bear witness to the fact that, during the 1930s, Turkish orthography using the Latin alphabet had not yet been standardized.

 In this study, the correspondence between two scholars, Tadeusz Kowalski 1889-1948 and Hüseyin Namık Orkun 1902-1956, who have shaped modern Turcology studies in Poland and Turkey, has been analyzed. The fifteen archival documents examined in this article consist of twelve letters written by Hüseyin Namık Orkun to Kowalski and three drafts of letters Kowalski prepared to send to Orkun. Orkuns letters span from September 1933 to November 1939, while Kowalskis letter drafts are dated November 1933 and June 1934. The letters, that contain noteworthy details from the history of Turkology, revolve around the emergence of certain works by these two scholars, the challenges they encountered during their works, and their evaluations of various publications and research topics within the field of Turkology. In addition, references to the obstacles against the use of phonetic transcription characters in accordance with scientific standards following the alphabet reform bear witness to the political pressures on science. Orkun expresses frustration over not being able to use the phonetic transcription, despite its critical importance for scientific accuracy. Although Orkun managed to print Orkhon script charactersspecifically cast at a print househe was unable to incorporate proper phonetic transcription in his masterwork, Eski Türk Yazıtları Old Turkic Inscriptions. The letters also contain certain details that I believe could be associated with Prometheism, a movement against Russian and Soviet expansionism. These correspondences, that offer a first-hand perspective on the personalities of their authors and the era in which they were written, can also be read as examples reflecting the stylistic features of letter-writing in Turkish. The letters also bear witness to the fact that, during the 1930s, Turkish orthography using the Latin alphabet had not yet been standardized.

 In this study, the correspondence between two scholars, Tadeusz Kowalski 1889-1948 and Hüseyin Namık Orkun 1902-1956, who have shaped modern Turcology studies in Poland and Turkey, has been analyzed. The fifteen archival documents examined in this article consist of twelve letters written by Hüseyin Namık Orkun to Kowalski and three drafts of letters Kowalski prepared to send to Orkun. Orkuns letters span from September 1933 to November 1939, while Kowalskis letter drafts are dated November 1933 and June 1934. The letters, that contain noteworthy details from the history of Turkology, revolve around the emergence of certain works by these two scholars, the challenges they encountered during their works, and their evaluations of various publications and research topics within the field of Turkology. In addition, references to the obstacles against the use of phonetic transcription characters in accordance with scientific standards following the alphabet reform bear witness to the political pressures on science. Orkun expresses frustration over not being able to use the phonetic transcription, despite its critical importance for scientific accuracy. Although Orkun managed to print Orkhon script charactersspecifically cast at a print househe was unable to incorporate proper phonetic transcription in his masterwork, Eski Türk Yazıtları Old Turkic Inscriptions. The letters also contain certain details that I believe could be associated with Prometheism, a movement against Russian and Soviet expansionism. These correspondences, that offer a first-hand perspective on the personalities of their authors and the era in which they were written, can also be read as examples reflecting the stylistic features of letter-writing in Turkish. The letters also bear witness to the fact that, during the 1930s, Turkish orthography using the Latin alphabet had not yet been standardized.

 Bu çalışmada Polonyada ve Türkiyede modern Türkiyat çalışmalarına yön vermiş olan iki bilim adamının, Tadeusz Kowalski 1889-1948 ve Hüseyin Namık Orkunun 1902-1956 yazışmaları değerlendirilmiştir. İncelediğimiz on beş arşiv belgesi, Hüseyin Namık Orkunun Kowalskiye yazmış olduğu on iki mektupla; Kowalskinin Orkuna göndermek üzere hazırlamış olduğu üç mektubun müsveddelerinden oluşmaktadır. Orkunun mektuplarının ilki 1933 yılının Eylül ayında; sonuncusu ise 1939 Kasımında yazılmıştır. Kowalskinin mektup müsveddeleri ise Kasım 1933 ve Haziran 1934 tarihlidir. Türklük biliminin tarihi bakımından dikkate değer detaylar içeren mektupların konuları, iki bilim adamının bazı çalışmalarının ortaya çıkış süreçleri, bu süreçlerde karşılaştıkları güçlükler, Türkoloji alanında çeşitli yayın ve araştırma konularıyla ilgili değerlendirmeler etrafındadır. Bunlara ek olarak, alfabe devriminin akabinde, ilmî standartlara uygun fonetik transkripsiyon harflerinin kullanılması yönündeki engellere dair değiniler, siyasetin bilim üzerindeki baskısına tanıklık etmektedir. Orkun, bilimsel ölçütlere uygunluk bakımından kritik önemde olan transkripsiyon işaretlerini kullanamamış olmaktan üzüntü duymaktadır. En önemli eseri olan Eski Türk Yazıtlarında matbaada özel olarak dökülmüş Orhon alfabesi karakterlerini basmayı başarmış ancak fonetik transkripsiyon yapamamıştır. Mektuplarda ayrıca Rus ve Sovyet yayılmacılığına karşı bir hareket olan Prometecilikle bağdaştırılabileceğini düşündüğüm bazı detaylar da vardır. Yazarlarının şahsiyetlerine ve yazıldıkları döneme dair birinci elden bilgi sunan bu yazışmalar, Türkçede mektup türünün üslup özelliklerini yansıtan örnekler olarak da okunabilecek niteliktedir. Mektuplar 30lu yıllarda henüz Latin alfabeli Türkçe imlanın standartlaşmamış olduğunu da tanıklamaktadır.

Makale detayları

From The Tadeusz Kowalski Archives 1 – Correspondence with Hüseyin Namık Orkun and Prometheism

Yazarlar:

Hilal Oytun Altun

Yayıncı:

Marmara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.4 Issue 1, pp.1-31

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351539

pISSN:

2651-4257

Hüseyin Namık Orkun

Tadeusz Kowalski

History of Turkology

Prometheism

Letters.Hüseyin Namık Orkun

Tadeusz Kowalski

Türkoloji tarihi

Prometecilik

Mektup.

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Hilal Oytun Altun

Yayıncı: Marmara University

Ana Başlıklar: Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi: Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.4 Issue 1, pp.1-31

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 6/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001351539

pISSN: 2651-4257

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Hilal Oytun Altun

Yayıncı:

Marmara University

Ana Başlıklar:

Eski Türk Dili (Orhun | Uygur | Karahanlı)

Dergi:

Türklük Araştırmaları Dergisi Vol.4 Issue 1, pp.1-31

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

6/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001351539

pISSN:

2651-4257