Cem Dilçin and Turkish

In this article, Prof. Dr. Cahit Kavcar relates many anecdotes including his encounter with Prof. Cem Dilçin, their meticulous work that went into preparing the ‘‘Historical Dictionary of Turkish’’ under the direction of Agâh Sırrı Levend and the auspices of the Turkish Language Association and their participation in the celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of Ankara University. Kavcar, who lauds Prof. Dr. Cem Dilçin as a very accomplished, disciplined and serious scientist and his work as of high quality and precious, dedicates his article ‘‘Turkish and ITU’’ to Dilçin whom he regards as an intellectual devoted to the Turkish language. In this critical article, he considers the decision to make English the language of instruction at Istanbul Technical University as a deviation from the university’s historical line and traditional functions and as a failure to fulfil its missions and responsibilities.