Early republican reforms from the perspective of elite vs. the people, with particular reference to the alphabet and language reforms

Abstract

The people and the intellectuals, the two significant agents of the efforts of Westernization over centuries, were handled as two separate groups by two sides, which prevented the planned modernization at the desired rate. The principal way to overcome this gap, which is concretized within the context of alphabet and language reforms, is to comprehend mutually. So the position of the people in Westernization efforts is studied throughout the thesis. The thesis comprises of two parts: First, the general philosophy and the aims of the reforms put into effect after the formation of Republic, a general outlook of the people in the post-war period and the manner in which people comprehended the reforms are briefly examined. Second, the alphabet and language reforms from the perspective of its relation to the people have been examined. The gap between the intellectuals and the people is the common point of these two parts.