Institute of Historical Research Section of Neohellenic Research
Program of Ottoman Studies
Program Director: Evangelia Balta, Director of Research Instructor: Dimitris Loupis, Research Fellow (Ottoman Epigraphy Project)
Program Description
The Course of Ottoman Language and Paleography is a seminar organized by the Program of Ottoman Studies. Dimitris Loupis, the course instructor, is a guest fellow of the aforementioned program with research focusing on Ottoman Epigraphy. Evangelia Balta is scientific program manager. The course, which has a time span of eight months (October to May) is financed by the Turkish Cultural Foundation (www.turkishculturalfoundation.org). The teaching of Ottoman language and its paleography is the subject of the seminar, which lasts three years. The course, organized according to the academic calendar, is held once a week for three hours and is planned to last for two semesters of fourteen three-hour classes each. A written examination takes place in the fourteenth class of every semester. The seminar has a target group of university students (undergraduate and postgraduate) and researchers, who are interested in learning Ottoman in order to be able to approach any source of textual character.
The increasing interest of historical research in Greece in the study of the Ottoman period necessitates training in approaching sources in the Ottoman language. Therefore the Program of Ottoman Studies took the decision to develop ancillary educational projects, in parallel to its research activities, with the aim of enhancing the study of the Ottoman era.
Course Outline
As already mentioned the program is planned as a three-year seminar course. The first year (Level I) is introductory with emphasis on the basic morphosyntactic phenomena of Ottoman language, and students carry out exercises on printed texts. During the second year (Level II) most of the grammar and syntax is taught, while students work on printed and manuscript texts. Manuscript text is introduced in parallel to Ottoman paleography details. The third year (Level III) of the seminar cycle is devoted to a deeper study of the language and its paleography. Classes are concentrated on the panorama of Ottoman textual sources, from literature and narrative texts, primarily historiography, to various archival texts, like registers, decrees, and deeds, and texts of archaeological character such as epigraphy and numismatics. Thus every student who graduates the seminar is sufficiently educated and methodologically capable of approaching textual sources of his/her own interest and making use of them in his/her research.
The third year of the program (2014-2015) Levels II and III are taught in two classes respectively. The seminar is organized according to educational models of Harvard University and its Bok Center for Education, where instructor Dimitris Loupis was trained in the creation of academic courses and their teaching, while he was prepared to work as a Teaching Fellow during his doctoral studies.
In the first meeting of every class a syllabus with details on the course identity, its description, teaching material and handbook, class timetable and content, evaluation, and finally a select bibliography with methods, handbooks, grammars and dictionaries is given to students. Printed handouts and material in pdf form are available for every class. In order to facilitate course process and provide students with an adequate depository of necessary resources, the course opened its own electronic library accessible to those registered. All material is deposited there in pdf format.
Students who have not attended previous levels are admitted to Levels II and III after a written examination, which takes place in late September of every academic year. A student who successfully completes the three-year course is given a certificate of studies. Registration is done during the first class of every Level. For the academic year 2024-2015 students are required to pay an annual fee of 50€.
Student attendance is checked at every class meeting, participation in class is also taken into consideration, while homework is given and controlled by the instructor. At the end of each semester there is a written examination. Overall evaluation is as follows:
Written exercises/homework: 20%
Written exam at the end of Fall semester: 30%
Written exam at the end of Spring semester: 30%
Participation in class, attendance: 20%
Absence from four, or more, of the fourteen lessons per semester is considered inadequate attendance, therefore in such a case a certificate of studies cannot be given.
Paleography topics (access restricted to registered students)
Morphosyntactic phenomena (access restricted to registered students)
Library (access restricted to registered students)
LEVEL ΙΙΙ
Syllabus, Level II, 2014-2015
Texts (access restricted to registered students)
Paleography topics (access restricted to registered students)
Morphosyntactic phenomena (access restricted to registered students)
Library (access restricted to registered students)
Students' Comments
All of us have the right to make a journey into knowledge. The Ottoman language may offer such a journey, as it displays the literary world of another era. Dealing with a language of past centuries is also interesting, since it allows us to discover the secrets of an entire culture.
Athina Gerochristou
BA student in History and Archaeology
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Undoubtedly learning the Ottoman language is a unique experience of dealing with a generally unknown area. Furthermore it creates a peaceful bridge between Greece and Turkey. Through such a well organized seminar a common linguistic past and present is revealed, and we realize that the two peoples have more things bringing them together than keeping them apart.
Alkiviadis Pantopoulos
MA student in Byzantine Archaeology
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens
Two neighboring peoples with cultures that shaped human history are obliged to make the necessary steps in order to get to know each other. In the case of Greece and Turkey, which shared a common destiny for centuries, we observe stagnation; however changes that have started to take place recently are promising. The study of Ottoman language and our introduction to the paleography of a part of the Islamic area open up the way for us to understand the Islamic world in general.
Efstathia Rammou
Educator
BA in History, Ionian University, Corfu
The course on Ottoman language at the National Hellenic Research Foundation during the academic year 2012-2013 was a pleasant surprise for the academic horizon in Athens. My interest, both visual and linguistic, had started earlier, when I first came in contact with buildings and inscriptions of Ottoman art in Turkey. Initially I received a bachelor's degree in archaeology, but I continued my studies in the field of translation at the Ionian University. I am currently working as a professional in translation. Given the fact that I love the Turkish language, which I have been studying intensively over the last two years, I was happy to learn about the Course on Ottoman Language & Paleography. I am very interested in continuing with the study of Ottoman in order to be able to both enjoy reading it and translate manuscripts. Through Ottoman I can approach the Arabic and Persian languages, which I plan to study further in the future.
It is important for us to have the opportunity to attend a perfectly structured course with rich bibliographical references, but also with the use of tools like the course's electronic library with textbooks, grammars and dictionaries, which facilitate the comprehension and consolidation of the material taught. I hope I will be able to complete this course, which has become a habit!
Theodora Thymiopoulou
Translator
BA in Archaeology & Translation
I believe that the study of Ottoman language together with its Turkish and Arabic elements is very important for several reasons. Mostly because it both enriches our knowledge and provides us with the opportunity to better understand the Ottoman and Arabic culture. Knowing the languages of neighboring peoples allows us to approach them and develop human relations with them. In my opinion the precise and comprehensive teaching of these languages in Greece until now has been inadequate, even when it was offered by state institutions or by private language schools. Through this program held by the National Hellenic Research Foundation I realize that my knowledge of these languages has substantially improved for the first time. Therefore I firmly believe that this project should go on and expand.
Panagiota Sougia
Journalist-Book Publisher
My grandfather, who lived in Smyrna a century ago, spoke and wrote in Ottoman. Today I feel happy to approach my past through an enchanting journey into the language, history, and culture of this little-known neighbor.
Anastasia Stavridi
Architect
Ottoman language is the basis of a rich culture, a significant part of which is music. I believe that the music of a people, as a means of communication, as well as art, is closely tied το its language and the art of speech and writing. Therefore the seminar on Ottoman Language and Paleography, when completed, will give me the ability to study in depth Ottoman music throughout its historical development, together with the interaction that took place between neighboring cultures.
Athanasia-Agrambeli Tsekou
Musicologist
The seminar on Ottoman language and paleography organized by the National Hellenic Research Foundation is extremely interesting and of crucial importance for my research in Ottoman numismatics and epigraphy, newly developing fields in our country. A fact that also has to be pointed out is that the aforementioned seminar is the first of its kind to be offered for free by a Greek public institution in Athens, thus strengthening the cultural ties between the two countries.
Nikos Panoutsopoulos
Archaeologist
I believe that it is very useful for me to study the Ottoman language, because both for professional and research reasons I need to make use of Ottoman archives. Since I already know Modern Turkish, the study of Ottoman language helps me to deepen my knowledge.
Savvas Tsilenis
Dr. Architect Urbanist
Head of Technical Division
National Hellenic Research Foundation
I consider the course on Ottoman language and paleography very interesting, because it puts me in contact with a culture, the architectural monuments of which have been the subject of my professional and research activities. I hope that soon I will be able to read the inscriptions on these monuments. I would also like to note that this program covers the needs of Greek scholars, who want to study the numerous archival documents as well as inscriptions on objects kept in Greek museums of Asia Minor Hellenism.
Athina Christophidou
Architect
Honorary Director
Directorate for the Restoration of Byzantine and Post-Byzantine Monuments, Ministry of Culture
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