The 1928 language revolution in Turkey involved the change of the Turkish writing script from the Arabic to the Latin alphabet, as well as the elimination of Arabic and Persian loan words and associated imported grammar. In this study, we assessed the impact this language revolution had on Turkish identity by examining it through the lens of Ottoman and Turkish literature and poetry. To achieve this, we compared literary and poetic themes from before and after the language revolution; we also studied the activity of prolific writers from before and after the transition to determine what effect, if any, the language revolution had on their artistic output. This research has helped to illuminate some of the finer points of Turkish identity that had been largely overlooked in favor of discussion on Islam and secularism, and the results of this study are broadly applicable to other, similar linguistic transitions around the world
