THE ROLE OF SKARLATOS VIZANTIOS IN GREEK LEXICOGRAPHY AND TURKISH LOANWORDS AS DETERMINED FROM HIS DICTIONARY PUBLISHED IN 1835

Abstract

<p class="ql-align-justify">After Greece gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, the Phanariot scholar Skarlatos Vizantios (1798-1878) wrote the first modern Greek dictionary, which was published in 1835. This article provides a general overview of Greek lexicography and language studies in ancient Greek while also mentioning medieval, Byzantine, and modern Greek lexicography. Following this approach,&nbsp;we examine the contributions of Vizantios to Greek lexicography and his dictionary To Leksiko tis Kath’imas Ellinikis Dialektu (1835) lexicographically with emphasis on micro and macro structure. The other issues addressed are the loaning process, Turkish loanwords (Turkisms) in Greek, and relevant studies conducted specifically in Greece. A total of 581 Turkish loanwords are identified in the dictionary. These words are categorized under conceptual fields such as human, administration/organization, plant, animal, food/nutrition, materials, goods, space, and modes of transportation. Over a period of more than 180 years, approximately 310 words have been preserved in the Greek vocabulary and appear in current Greek dictionaries as keywords. Although phonological differences raise difficulties on the grounds that Greek and Turkish belong to different language families, Turkish loanwords seem adapted to Greek morphology and are intertwined with Greek literature, history, and social and cultural life.&nbsp;