Lewis ... writes in a lively and witty style. Absolutely essential for collections supporting Turkish and linguistics departments at all levels... This book is a fascinating description of what can happen when language reform is attempted in an unplanned but enthusiastic fashion.'
Choice
Lewis's book is learned, eloquent, and witty... Particularly effective and entertaining are those passages ... Read morewhich he skillfully translates twice - first in their unadulterated form with their full complement of words of non-Turkic origin, then in their clean-up, pure Turkic form.'
Sino-Platonic Papers
Very informative - especially for the nonspecialist - and worthwhile reading ... this book can and must be recommended to anyone interested in the modern Turkish language.'
Anthropological Linguistics
Professor Lewis has written a fascinating book and he deserves the gratitude and appreciation of both colleagues and non-specialists alike. Lewis has succeeded in making a demanding task seem particularly easy and even graceful. As a stylist, Lewis is incisive, sometime brutally candid, and almost always witty. The book is sure to remain the last word on the language reform for a long time to come.
Journal of Middle Eastern Studies
Review from previous edition The Turkish Language Reform is a dramatic story, entertainingly written, and not overly long. What is more, it provides a great insight into the practicalities of language planning.... From the moment you read 'A catastrophic success' in the subtitle you know that Lewis's intention is to provide interesting, entertaining reading. The story is a great one ... and well worth the read.'
Journal of Sociolinguistics 5/2, 2001
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