Abstract
Since the Neolithic period, Anatolia, situated on the threshold of the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) such as Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Çakmaktepe, and serving as a locus of human (Lat. homo sapiens) settlement, the being also described as homo loquens (Eng. “the speaking animal”), can be characterized as a “pantheon of languages” (Akkuş, 2025, p. 361) This characterization stems from its geography: bordered on the one hand by the Caucasus, described by the Arab historian-geographer al-Masʿūdī as the “Mountain of Languages,” and on the other by the “Fertile Crescent,” where Sumerian, the first language to be committed to writing, was spoken. In this geography, some of the earliest Indo-European languages, such as the Hittite language, as well as Hurrian, were spoken, and thousands of documents belonging to these languages have been unearthed through archaeological excavations.
References
- Akkuş, M. (2025). Denizin kıyısındaki fısıltılar: Doğu Karadeniz’de konuşulan tehlike altındaki diller. Eleştirel Pedagoji Dergisi, 77, 361-370.
- Moseley, C. (2010). Atlas of the world’s languages in danger. Third Edition. Paris: UNESCO. Online version. Accessed September 14 2015. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to knowledge/ linguistic-diversity-and-multilingualism-on-internet/atlas-of languages- in-danger/.
- Nevskaya, İ., & Erdal, M. (2016). Giriş. In S. Eker & Ü. Çevik Şavk (Eds.), Tehlikedeki Türk dilleri I (pp. i–xvi). Uluslararası Türk Akademisi ve Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Uluslararası Türk-Kazak Üniversitesi.
Abstract
Since the Neolithic period, Anatolia, situated on the threshold of the Taş Tepeler (Stone Hills) such as Göbeklitepe, Karahantepe, and Çakmaktepe, and serving as a locus of human (Lat. homo sapiens) settlement, the being also described as homo loquens (Eng. “the speaking animal”), can be characterized as a “pantheon of languages” (Akkuş, 2025, p. 361) This characterization stems from its geography: bordered on the one hand by the Caucasus, described by the Arab historian-geographer al-Masʿūdī as the “Mountain of Languages,” and on the other by the “Fertile Crescent,” where Sumerian, the first language to be committed to writing, was spoken. In this geography, some of the earliest Indo-European languages, such as the Hittite language, as well as Hurrian, were spoken, and thousands of documents belonging to these languages have been unearthed through archaeological excavations.
References
- Akkuş, M. (2025). Denizin kıyısındaki fısıltılar: Doğu Karadeniz’de konuşulan tehlike altındaki diller. Eleştirel Pedagoji Dergisi, 77, 361-370.
- Moseley, C. (2010). Atlas of the world’s languages in danger. Third Edition. Paris: UNESCO. Online version. Accessed September 14 2015. http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/access-to knowledge/ linguistic-diversity-and-multilingualism-on-internet/atlas-of languages- in-danger/.
- Nevskaya, İ., & Erdal, M. (2016). Giriş. In S. Eker & Ü. Çevik Şavk (Eds.), Tehlikedeki Türk dilleri I (pp. i–xvi). Uluslararası Türk Akademisi ve Hoca Ahmet Yesevi Uluslararası Türk-Kazak Üniversitesi.
Details
| Primary Language | English |
|---|---|
| Subjects | Linguistic Performance Science |
| Journal Section | Editorial |
| Authors | |
| Submission Date | January 24, 2026 |
| Acceptance Date | January 26, 2026 |
| Publication Date | January 27, 2026 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 36 Issue: 3 - Türkiye'de Tehlikedeki Diller Özel Sayısı (Konuk Editörler: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) / Special Issue - Endangered Languages in Turkey (Guest Editors: Mehmet Akkuş, Çiğdem Sağın Şimşek) |
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Journal DOI: 10.18492/dad