AKKAYA, Mehmet Şükrü

Linguist and historian (b. 1895, Sivas – d. 10 January 1971, İstanbul). He attended the Kuleli Military High School and left his studies when he was at the last grade of War School to participate in the War of the Dardanelles. He left the army after the declaration of the Republic. He studied language and history in Germany. He received Atatürk’s admiration with the thesis he submitted to the Second Language Congress under the name of Dil Düzelmesi Üzerine Düşünceler (Thoughts on the Improvement of Language) and he was elected to the Turkish Language Association as a specialist member. He retired in 1959 when he was an associate professor at Ankara University, Faculty of Language, Department of History and Geography.

WORKS:

Askerlik, İdare, Siyaset İçin Istılah Olabilecek Türkçe Sözler (Turkish Words to be used for Military, Administrative and Political Technical Terms, 1953), Eti Tarih ve Medeniyeti (The History and Civilization of the Hittites, 1934), Osmanlı Devleti’nin Kuruluşu (The Foundation of the Ottoman Empire, 1934), Etrüsk Kültürü ve Roma Diline Tesiri (The Etruscan Culture and its Effects on the Roman Language, 1936), Türk Fonetiği (Turkish Phonetics, by Prof. Bergstrasses 1936), Tarih İlmine Giriş (Introduction to the Science of History, by E. Bernheim, 1936), Sümer Dilinin Babil Diline Tesiri (The Sumerian Effect on Babylonian, 1937), Dil Düzelmesi Üzerine Düşünceler (Thoughts on the Improvement of Language, 1944), Eski Alman Destanlarında Atilla'nın Akisleri (The Reflections of Attila on the Old German Epics, 1944), Humanizm'den Önce Almanya'da Dil ve Edebiyatın Genel Durumu (The General Situation of Language and Literature in Germany Before Humanism, 1947), Humanizm'in Çıkışı ve Yayılışı (The Formation and Spread of Humanism, 1947), Pakistan Gezisi (Journey to Pakistan, 1947).