Ottoman Turkish

Also known as Ottoman, Ottoman Turkish language, Ottoman language, ota

language that was used in the Ottoman Empire

AI overview

Ottoman Turkish was the language spoken and written in the Ottoman Empire, which at its height was one of the world's largest and most powerful states. It matters historically because understanding this language helps us read documents and literature from an empire that shaped the politics, culture, and geography of Europe, Asia, and Africa for over 600 years.

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Wikidata facts

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P10369: Wąchock
described at URL: turkic.elegantlexicon.com/lx.php?lx=osm
start time: 1299-07-29
end time: 1923-10-29
native label: لسان عثمانى
Commons category: Ottoman Turkish language
Wikimedia language code: ota
exact match: publications.europa.eu/resource/authority/language/OTA
P8168: 1943–1944 Italian campaign medal
P13311: Koblenz

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Ottoman Turkish (لسان عثمانی, Lisân-ı Osmânî, Turkish pronunciation: [liˈsaːnɯ osˈmaːniː]; Turkish: Osmanlıca; Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). Written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet, it borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Persian and Arabic (through Persian). Ottoman Turkish was largely unintelligible to rural Turks, who continued to use kaba Türkçe ("raw/vulgar Turkish"; compare Vulgar Latin and Demotic Greek), which used far fewer foreign loanwords and is the basis of the modern standard.

Terms for the language included lisan-i-Türki or zeban-i-Türki ("Turkish language"), or, alternatively during the Ottoman era, lisan-i-Rum or zeban-i-Rum ("the language of Rum"). The Tanzimât era (1839–1876) saw the application of the term "Ottoman" when referring to the language (لسان عثمانی lisân-ı Osmânî or عثمانلیجه Osmanlıca). Modern Turkish uses the same terms when referring to the language of that era (Osmanlıca and Osmanlı Türkçesi). More generically, the Turkish language was called تركجه Türkçe or تركی Türkî "Turkish".