CONSTANTINOPLE AND NORSIN
Mumtazer Turkone
Sunday’s Zaman
16.08.2009
There is a contradiction in a question posed by Devlet Bahceli to
the president, who referred to Guroymak as Norsin. "Will you also
change the signboard reading ‘Istanbul’ that you encounter on the
highway traveling from Gebze to Istanbul to ‘Constantinople’?" asked
Bahceli. Here are my questions: What will happen if we change
it? What change will this make? The answer: Only our habits will
change. Why? It is because there is nothing in the name "Istanbul"
that belongs to Turks, Turkishness or the Turkish language other than
our habits. Istanbul as a name is as alien to the Turkish language
as Constantinople; it may even be more alien.
We may discuss all aspects of the Kurdish issue. We may tolerate
Bahceli’s and Deniz Baykal’s opposition stained with rage and
political interests. In the end, diverse views will clash freely with
each other, and everyone will be held responsible for the views they
advocate. Eventually, democracy will create a common ground. Therefore,
we can tolerate all sorts of ideas and discuss all the different
opinions with maturity. But can we do so with ignorance? Who can
say that s/he is entitled to inflict unhappiness on a great nation
because of his/her ignorance?
Etymologically, Istanbul is derived from the Greek word
Constantinople. It is written and pronounced in different
forms. Stampoli is the closest one to the original. Istanbul is
the Armenian pronunciation of the Greek word that means "civic,"
"of city" and "urban." Inspired by the Armenian word "Esdanbol,"
we started to call this beautiful city Istanbul.
Many of the settlements in Turkey do not have Turkish names. All the
city names ending with "-bolu," including Gelibolu, Safranbolu,
Tirebolu and even Istanbul, are derived from the Greek word
"polis" meaning "city." Because of the same reason, we call our
civilian security organization "polis" like many countries around
the world. Iskenderun is derived from Alexander and named after
Alexander the Great, the great commander and ruler. As one can
easily guess, Kayseri comes from "Kaiser" (Caesar), the title of
Roman emperors. Diyarbakir is an Arabic word, while some Kurds prefer
to call it Amed, a name also used by Armenians. In the eastern and
southeastern provinces, many settlements still have names derived
from Armenian. There is a simple reason for this. The Turkish language
has only existed in these lands for 1,000 years, but Anatolia is the
cradle of many ancient civilizations.
Changing the names that people have been using for centuries
overnight has nothing to do with the nationalism of the dominant
nation. Changing these names is purely an attack of vandalism on
culture and history. Such an attack may come only from a mind that
is primitive, uncivilized, parvenu, wild and ill, a mind that is full
of hatred. Ignorance is another characteristic of such a person. This
untamed ignorance even went further, changing the purely Turkish names
of places after the military coup of Sept. 12, 1980. For example, the
name of the village of Dodurga near Ankara was changed, but someone
said: "What the hell are you doing? Dodurga is the name of a Turkmen
clan." So the village regained its name.
Not only our language, but our civilization also has a great mixture
of diverse wisdom. The Ottoman Empire was established in this diverse
synthesis. This synthesis accommodated the Mogul customs, the Ottoman
timar system, Sassanid (Persian) bureaucracy, Islamic law and Turkish
traditions.
"Norsin" sounds familiar to me. As "Nor" is derived from "Nur"
(light), I can assert that it is associated with proper names such as
"Nursin." I do not have to run an etymological analysis in order to
understand what "Istanbul" means.
Law No. 2932, passed by the military junta as a last-minute piece of
legislation in 1983, deprived Kurds of their language. To call Kurds
our "sisters and brothers" while at the same time defending the names
changed at that time is nothing other than a big contradiction. This
is particularly so if those who did not object to this ban and the
name changes at that time — including myself — are expected to
engage in self-criticism.
Changing the name of Istanbul to Constantinople is perfectly acceptable
from a linguistic point of view, but we have the right to be given
a reasonable explanation for refusing to call Guroymak Norsin.