Turcologist
(B. 1906, Yevşirme village/Kazan – D. 24th June 1989, Ankara). She
is the daughter of the author Ayaz İshaki İdilli, one of the leaders of 20th
century Kazan Turks. She received her primary education from her grandfather
İlacettin Hazret and grand mother Kameriye; besides she was educated in Russian
schools. In 1922 she escaped to Germany through Finland and continued her high
school education here. She graduated from Turcology Department, Faculty of
Philosophy in Berlin University (1932). She made a PhD on the Tatar dialect
supervised by the German Turcologist Willy Bang - Kaup. Her PhD thesis was
published in Rome under the title Denominale Verbbildungen in den Türksprachen (Building Verbs from Nouns in Turkish Dialects
1933). Upon graduating from university (1932) she married Tahir Çağatay
(1902-84), one of the academic members of Department of Philosophy in the
Faculty of Language, History and Geography (DTCF). When the 2nd
World War started she came to Ankara with her husband in 1939 and started to
work as an assistant officer in DTCF Turcology Department Library. She became
an associate professor in Turcology Department with her work Eski Osmanlıca’da
Fiil Müştakları in 1943 and a professor in 1953.
She
published her articles in Millî Yol which was published by his father in
Berlin as the press organ of İdil-Ural Independence Committee, in Azerbaijan Emel,
Türk Kültürü and Türk Yurdu magazines. She published the first
volume of Türk Lehçeleri Örnekleri in 1950 for which she worked for long
years (second volume, 1977). This work which was prepared using the comparative
examination method has been used for a long time as a source book in higher education
institutes of Turcology.
WORKS:
Çora Batır (Krakow, 1935),
Altun Yaruktan İki Parça (1945), Denomanale Vebbildungen in der
Türkprachen (Roma, 1953), Kazakça Metinler (1961), Türk
Lehçeleri Örnekleri (2 volumes, 1963, 1972), Türk
Lehçeleri Üzerine Denemeler (1978).
