LINGUISTS from Turkey

Top 3

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Turkish Linguists of all time. This list of famous Turkish Linguists is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Mesrop Mashtots (361 - 440)

With an HPI of 68.98, Mesrop Mashtots is the most famous Turkish Linguist.  His biography has been translated into 61 different languages on wikipedia.

Mesrop Mashtots (; Armenian: Մեսրոպ Մաշտոց Mesrop Maštoc'; Eastern Armenian: [mɛsˈɾop maʃˈtotsʰ]; Western Armenian: [mɛsˈɾob maʃˈtotsʰ]; 362 – February 17, 440 AD) was an Armenian linguist, composer, theologian, statesman, and hymnologist in the Sasanian Empire. He is venerated as a saint in the Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. He is best known for inventing the Armenian alphabet c. 405 AD, which was a fundamental step in strengthening Armenian national identity. He is also considered to be the creator of the Caucasian Albanian and Georgian alphabets by a number of scholars.

2. Agop Dilâçar (1895 - 1979)

With an HPI of 51.51, Agop Dilâçar is the 2nd most famous Turkish Linguist.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Agop Dilâçar (Armenian: Յակոբ Մարթայեան Hagop Martayan, Istanbul, 22 May 1895 – Istanbul, 12 September 1979) was a Turkish-Armenian linguist who specialized in Turkic languages and the first Secretary General and head specialist of the Turkish Language Association. He created the Latin-based modern Turkish alphabet and was proficient in 12 languages, including Armenian, Turkish, English, French, Greek, Spanish, Azerbaijani, Latin, German, Russian and Bulgarian.

3. Hrachia Acharian (1876 - 1953)

With an HPI of 49.87, Hrachia Acharian is the 3rd most famous Turkish Linguist.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Hrachia Acharian (Armenian: Հրաչեայ Աճառեան, reformed spelling: Հրաչյա Աճառյան Armenian pronunciation: [həɾɑt͡ʃʰˈjɑ ɑt͡ʃɑrˈjɑn]; 8 March 1876 – 16 April 1953) was an Armenian linguist, lexicographer, etymologist, and philologist. An Istanbul Armenian, Acharian studied at local Armenian schools and at the Sorbonne, under Antoine Meillet, and the University of Strasbourg, under Heinrich Hübschmann. He then taught in various Armenian communities in the Russian Empire and Iran before settling in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1923, working at Yerevan State University until his death. A polyglot, Acharian compiled several major dictionaries, including the monumental Armenian Etymological Dictionary, extensively studied Armenian dialects, compiled catalogs of Armenian manuscripts, and authored comprehensive studies on the history of Armenian language and alphabet. Acharian is considered the father of Armenian linguistics.