- Centre de recherches en histoire et épistémologie comparée de la linguistique d'Europe centrale et orientale (CRECLECO) / Université de Lausanne // Научно-исследовательский центр по истории и сравнительной эпистемологии языкознания центральной и восточной Европы
Univ. de Lausanne, Faculté des Lettres
Section de langues slaves, Option linguistique
Année 2006-2007,
Prof. Patrick SERIOT
Séminaire de 3e cycle : doctorants et mémorants
Séance du 12 juin 2007.
Mehmet UZMAN (Ankara) : Linguistics and Politics. The Case of Japhet and Sun-Language Theories
The exploratory travels from 16th century onwards, from the west to the east created the idea that there had been an essential connection, which goes back to very old times, between the east and the west. This amazing discovery increased the curiosity of the west to the East. Particularly, throughout the 19th century the linguists searched for origins and kinships between world languages, and in the course of time, they believed that there has existed a common root for all languages. Japhet and Sun-Language were the last theories engaged in this modernist origin/first-cause-seeking paradigm. However, due to their political and ideological implications and functions, they were not simply linguistic theories in the history of linguistics. Moreover, with this trait, they provide one of the most striking illustrations of linguistics and politics interaction in the history. These two language theories supplied theoretical logistic to the revolutionary regimes’ language policies in countries where they were put forward. Because of their extreme interpretations, they became the theories that revolutionist regimes could support.
Nikolai Marr's Japhet Language Theory was named as the “New Language Theory” in its heyday, since it was being viewed as an exit from the time’s scientific crisis and it posed a challenge to the Indo-European language theory. From 1930 to 1950 it became a theory that the regime showed favor in a huge country as Soviet Union where tens of languages were spoken. The way of Turkish/Turkey and Nikolai Marr’s theory has somehow intersected. His theory involved especially in the Turkic languages in Soviet Union and influenced their modern states.
In the years when Marr’s theory raised in the USSR, other language theory, Sun-Language Theory, was suggested in Turkey. Three years later then Marr’s scientific visit to Turkey was introduced the theory to the foreigner linguists in the third Turkish Language Congress. Its currency had not been as long as that of the Japhet Language Theory, since it was not put forward with the linguistic concerns. Its main search was to find a brilliant history for the Turkish nation. It was the last point to be reached in the adventure of root-seeking; however, it was not about the question of “who were/are we?”, but about the answer of “we were/are this”. That’s why it had an inherently political and ideological aspect since the beginning.
Having engaged in origin-seeking paradigm, the both theories strived to reach to the borders of history, utilising the similar methodological devices (mostly word etymologies). However, both of them were utilized to legitimate the projects towards the future. They affected the language processes in countries where they were put forward. They especially affected the vocabulary of the concerned languages in this respect. Both of the theories were used for the purpose to justify the existence of foreign words in the languages whose futures were wanted to determine. After having been utilized for different purposes for a certain time, they were leaved or rejected. In this point they seemed that they shared a similar destiny.
This paper will examine the relationship and parallelization between these two theories, and their involvement in language policy in countries (Turkey and USSR) where they functioned to legitimate the cultural policies of revolutionary powers.
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