Several months ago, I wrote a post about how language changes and I supported that change is always, always, good. I received many comments on if the change in language which in a way drags the language closer to extinction or assimilation with the usage of words from different languages is still classified as "good". Well, I say that change, no matter what it is, is always for the better because humans and what we think change every passing second.
Turkey has changed a lot in the span of six days. With one single excessive act of the police on protesters, the whole country has risen, and is still rising. The streets are different now. The streets I used to shop in, Kızılay, Tunalı Hilmi, some of the main shopping districts of Ankara, now have tear gas cans around the sidewalks and slogans splattered across the walls. That coffee shop I used to get ice cream from is now the most hated shop in the district, because it did not allow the protesters running away from the tear gas in. The square in Kızılay, a place I know inch by inch, every shop and every turnabout, is now drained of cars and traffic and is crowded with protesters. The name plate of the clothes shop I used to shop from is barely distinguishable behind the clouds of tear gas.
And perhaps today, one of the most interesting things happened. Our -and I'm afraid I have to say "our", because, in the end, he is the
PM of the country we live in even though he regards himself as the PM of only the people who voted for him- PM, a couple of days ago, referred to the protesters, the people searching for their rights and seeking what they deserve, as "looters". The Turkish; "çapulcu".The sense of humor of the Turkish is quite different from other cultures. Right after the PM's speech just before he "flew (or fled, as you wish) off" to one of his trips, we embraced the word "çapulcu", and now, it has become a verb and a noun in English, at least on the World Wide Web and in our daily language. We use the word "chapulling" now all the time, because, we are "chapullers", as our PM says.
Our language has changed in one day, with one word fluttering out from between one person's lips. This change reflects the time and its people, as does any change. Years later, when I hear the word "çapulcu", I would be reminded of today and today's circumstances. I would notice how things have changed since today, hopefully, in the good way.
The Kızılay Square or Taksim Square will never be the same again. They will remain as popular tourist attractions and shopping districts, but they will never cease to be the place where thousands of "chapullers" stood up for their rights and fought. The word "çapulcu" will never mean the same thing that it meant seconds before the PM went off his carefully revised prompter speech. And this change, and the change that we will hopefully bring upon our country in the following days, will always help us move forward. We are proud to be, and will stay as, "chapullers"; one who searches and fights for his/her rights, no matter what they might say about us, or what the circumstances may be.
Do you Bob Marley's song "Jamming"? It has been running through my head for days, and all I can think of is, "I'm chapullin', I hope you like chapullin' too."
ReplyDeleteI'm not clever enough to follow through with the rest of the song. You should try it.