Redhouse's Turkish dictionary : in two parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English. In which the Turkish words are represented in the Oriental character, as well as their correct pronunciation and accentuation shown in English letters / by J.W. Redhouse.

  • James Redhouse
Date:
1880
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Redhouse's Turkish dictionary : in two parts, English and Turkish, and Turkish and English. In which the Turkish words are represented in the Oriental character, as well as their correct pronunciation and accentuation shown in English letters / by J.W. Redhouse. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION. -♦O© IT is an extraordinary and lamentable fact that the language of the Turks has hitherto received little or no attention in England, although it is spoken by millions of people belonging to a vast empire with which we are closely connected by mutual vital interests, and is more or less used, in official circles, from Tunis in Africa to the walls of China. It is the Court language of Persia, and in many provinces of that country is spoken as much as Persian. It is difficult to account for the absolute neglect of the study of such an important language, considering that it is used by a people who once influenced half the world, who overturned and established empires, who have possessed the thrones of Persia, Syria, Greece, and Arabia, whose power was once dreaded by Italy, Germany and France, and to whom our proud Queen Elizabeth applied for aid against the Spanish Armada. The Turkish lan¬ guage has always been of the greatest consequence to us, owing to the importance of our political and commercial relations with the Ottoman Empire, and the complete ignorance of it on the part of our countrymen has greatly impeded proper communication and intercourse between the two nations and given rise to most serious misunderstandings and difficulties, both in the diplomatic and commercial world. Hitherto, the only means of com¬ munication between the two peoples has been the employment of Levantine interpreters, who seldom or never know either English or Turkish properly, and speak the latter unidiomatically and with a vulgar accent peculiarly dis¬ tasteful to the educated Osmanlis. Pecent events in the East, by which we have become in one sense identified with the Turkish Empire through having undertaken the Protectorate of Asia Minor and the administration of Cyprus, now render the acquisition of the Turkish language by English officials and commercial men more urgent than ever, and indeed it is absolutely indis¬ pensable if we wish to fulfil our task efficiently and avoid endless complica¬ tions with the natives and the Turkish Government. We may therefore hope that this subject will at last receive the attention it deserves on the part of the Government and the nation, that proper facilities will be afforded for the acquisition of the language by a Professorship of Turkish being
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