Zeynep Korkmaz

Zeynep Korkmaz (born 5 July 1922) is a prominent Turkish scholar and dialectologist.

Early life and education

Korkmaz was born in Nevşehir on 5 July 1922. Her parents are Yusuf Hüsnü Dengi and Şefika Dengi. She has an elder sister and a brother.

She received elementary and secondary education in İzmir. In 1940, she graduated from Izmir Girls' High School. She graduated from Ankara University with a bachelor of arts degree in Turkish language and literature in 1944. She completed her PhD. studies at the same department in 1950. Her Ph.D. thesis was concerned with dialects of Anatolia.

Career

Following graduation, she became an assistant at the Faculty of Language, History and Geography (DTCF) of Ankara University in 1945. Then she began to work as an assistant at the department of Turkish language and literature of the same university in 1948. She went to Hamburg University for post-doctoral studies. She worked as a visiting scholar there from 1954 to 1955 and studied Old Turkish Language with A. von Gabain, O. Pritsak and O. Von Essen. She became associate professor in 1957 and professor in 1964. She retired in 1990.

Membership

Korkmaz is a member of the Turkish Culture Research Institute; Permanent International Altaistic Conference (PIAC); Ottoman-Pre-Ottoman Research Committee; Societas Uralo-Altaica; İLESAM (Professional Union of Turkish Science and Literature Academicians, Ankara).

Works

Korkmaz has 16 books and more than 250 articles about the Turkish language. Some of her books are given below:

(1963). Nevşehir ve Yöresi Ağızları (Turkish = Dialects of Nevşehir and nearby area), DTCF: Ankara

(1973). Cumhuriyet Döneminde Türk Dili (Turkish= Turkish Language in the Republic Era), DTCF:Ankara

On her 60th birthday in 1982, a book was published by her pupils with the title of Prof. Dr. Zeynep Korkmaz'ın Hayatı ve Eserleri (Prof. Dr. Zeynep Korkmaz's life and works).

Personal life

Korkmaz married Mehmet Korkmaz, who died in 1984. She has two children.