From Yıldız Palace Library Collection with Examples; Language Policies and Language Education in the Period of Sultan Abdülhamid II.

Abstract

One of the issues at the heart of the Ottoman Empire throughout history was education, bearing in mind that education is the guarantee of a nation’s progress. The biggest breakthrough in the field of education in the Ottoman Empire took place during and after the reign of Abdulhamid II. In this period, the language of education and instruction was an important issue in the studies conducted for the dissemination of educational institutions throughout the country. In addition to Arabic Language, the necessity of learning western languages emerged from the times when the Ottoman Empire’s relations with the western states had begun to gain traction owing to political developments. In modern schools, some western languages were introduced, especially the French language.Within the scope of this study where the era of Abdulhamid II is prioritized to understand the place of foreign language education within the education system, the general characteristics of the education system of the period are given in brief. Language policies and foreign language education of the period are examined. In addition, some examples from the Collection of Yıldız Palace Library, which has a very important place in the education system of Abdülhamid II period, are introduced and discussed.