Where Does Turkish Come From? Let’s Explore Its Roots!
Have you ever wondered where the Turkish language comes from? It sounds so unique — melodic, yet full of sharp endings and harmony. As someone who works with languages every day, I find Turkish absolutely fascinating, not just because of how it sounds, but because of its rich and complex history.
Turkish belongs to the Turkic language family, which includes over 30 languages spoken across a huge region — from Eastern Europe to Siberia and even parts of China. The roots of Turkish go way back to Central Asia, where the earliest Turkic tribes lived thousands of years ago. These tribes moved westward over time, bringing their language and culture with them.
One of the most important historical forms of Turkish is Old Turkic, which was used in inscriptions like the famous Orkhon monuments (8th century) found in Mongolia. Later, as the Seljuks and then the Ottomans rose to power, the language evolved — picking up words from Arabic, Persian, and later French. Ottoman Turkish, used in the Ottoman Empire, was full of foreign vocabulary and even used a completely different script (based on Arabic!).
Then came a major turning point: in 1928, as part of Atatürk’s language reforms, Turkey switched to the Latin alphabet, and the modern version of Turkish we hear today began to take shape. The goal was to simplify the language and make it more accessible to everyday people — and it worked!
Today’s Turkish is a vibrant, living language spoken by over 80 million people. It still carries traces of its long journey through time — with some words reminding us of its Central Asian past, and others of its Ottoman and European influences.
If you're learning Turkish, you're not just learning grammar or vocabulary — you’re discovering the story of a language that has traveled across continents and centuries. And that, to me, makes it even more exciting.
Have you just started learning Turkish? Or are you curious about its history
